Ready Player One X reader

chapter 4

"She's perfect," Halliday finished. "And she'll never understand someone like me."

"Halliday went on a date with Ogden Morrow's wife?" I asked, still processing.

"Just once, years before Og and Karen were even married, but yeah." Parzival's expression was intense, focused. "And despite her importance to both their lives, despite the fact that she died in a car accident in 2034, the name 'Kira'—her OASIS name—is mentioned only once in all of Halliday's journals."

"That's not possible," the Curator interjected, his programming compelling him to correct false information.

"Look it up," Parzival challenged. "What we just saw is the only time she's ever mentioned."

"It makes no sense," the Curator continued, and for a moment, he seemed less like an NPC and more like a confused historian. "Karen 'Kira' Underwood was instrumental in the early OASIS design. She created the emotion engine, the system that reads user's micro-expressions and translates them to avatars. She was Morrow's wife for eight years. She should be everywhere in these records."

"Halliday purposely removed every mention of her except for this one," Parzival said with certainty.

"That's..." I started, then stopped. "That's heartbreaking. Why would he do that?"

"It was too painful," Art3mis said softly. "Having to see her face, hear her name, knowing she chose his best friend. He loved her."

"He never told her," Parzival added. "He couldn't. By the time he realized what he felt, she was with Morrow."

"He should have told her how he felt," Art3mis said, and something in her voice made me look at her. She wasn't watching the recording anymore. She was looking at Parzival.

"Yeah, well," I said, trying to break the sudden tension, "he missed his chance. Story of Halliday's life—brilliant with code, terrible with people."

"Look," Parzival continued, either oblivious to or ignoring the undercurrents. "I found the clue to the race in another scene, but I've always felt that the biggest clue to the entire contest was hidden here. Kira is the Rosebud at the center of Halliday's story. She's the big mystery. The thing he could never have, never figure out, never debug."

"You're right," the Curator said suddenly. "Your analysis is correct. I lose."

"Lose?" I asked.

"We had a bet," Parzival explained sheepishly. "All my coin against his...."

The Curator flicked a coin at Parzival—an actual physical quarter from the old world, rendered in perfect detail.

"A quarter?" Parzival laughed. "You can keep it."

He tossed it back. The Curator caught it and immediately threw it again, but Art3mis snatched it from the air with reflexes that reminded me why she was one of the best players in the OASIS.

She examined the coin, then looked at Parzival with an expression I couldn't read.

"You free Thursday?" she asked.

"Who, me?" Parzival's voice cracked slightly.

"No, him." She pointed behind Parzival. Both he and the Curator turned to look at nothing.

"Oh my God, yes, you!" Art3mis laughed, but there was nervousness underneath it. "The Distracted Globe. You know it?"

"The dance club?" Parzival sounded like she'd suggested they meet in a volcano.

"10:00 PM. Meet me there." She turned to me. "You're coming too, (G/T)."

"What? Why am I coming?" I protested.

"Because you're my best friend," she said simply, and something in my chest tightened at the present tense. Not 'were.' 'Are.' "And because it'll be fun."

"There's nothing there," I argued. "No clues, no challenges. Hundreds of people go there every day just to—"

"Just relax," she interrupted. "I'll see you both there."

She started to leave, literally dragging me with her, her grip surprisingly strong.

"Uh, bye-bye!" Parzival called after us, sounding lost.

Once we were outside the journal chamber, I pulled free from her grip.

"Arty, what are you doing?"

"Something I should have done a long time ago," she said, and for a moment, her carefully maintained mask slipped. "Maybe Halliday wasn't the only one who missed their chance by staying quiet."

Before I could respond, she logged out, leaving me standing alone in the archives, holding too many questions and not enough answers.