A sequel to the first novel, “Ready Player Two” follows Wade in the aftermath of winning the Easter Egg contest, inheriting Halliday’s fortune and becoming the head of the OASIS. OASIS is a simulation that allows its users to participate in an online interactive world through their avatars.
One day, Wade accidentally discovers a different form of the simulation, created by Halliday but kept secret. This newfound technology allows the users to experience the simulated world through their senses as if it’s reality (pain being excluded). It is called Oni, inspired by Japanese folklore. Wade decides to release this technology to the public, and it becomes a huge success. It allows people to escape the dire reality of their lives, with the climate change and poverty.
The technology also contains a message of a secret quest of discovering seven shards of the siren’s soul. This quest becomes a key to the progression of the plot, when Halliday’s stray avatar Anorak appears suddenly as an advanced form of artificial intelligence threatening Wade, his friends and humanity, forcing them to find the seven shards. Seven Shards are revealed to be parts of Kira’s preserved artificial intelligence, and they are necessary to awake her-which is Anorak’s plan all along.
Wade and his friends go on a quest filled with references of classic movies and pop culture, as well as heavy leaning on the Tolkien’s world-building in the form of a simulated world. At the end, Og (Kira’s husband) defeats and kills Anorak before succumbing to his injuries. Wade wakes Kira, and she reveals that Oni technology is a part of the creation of the AI versions of the OASIS users, creating a copy of the consciousness every time a user logs in using it. This is how they wake up Og again in the form of AI, as well as Samantha’s grandma.
At the end, Wade decides that the best way to help humanity move forward is to create AI copies of all the users and send them on a spaceship to explore the space, along with preserved human embryos. The narration shifts from Wade, to Percival, his AI version, revealing that he and Wade became different respective individuals. He describes his life on the Arcade, the spaceship, and their route towards discovering other forms of life.
The genre of the novel is science fiction, but based on the language it can also be categorized as young adult fiction. It explores the ever-exhausting and relevant topics of artificial intelligence and escapism. The novel also grazes the serious themes of climate change and pollution and fear of the humanity’s future. It contains plenty of pop-culture references, including John Hughes’ movies, Prince and Tolkien. The ending of the novel provides a tone of hopefulness, and it is left open as a teaser for future sequels.
