Og confesses that he has been listening in on the group’s conversations for a long time and explains that he has superuser access in the OASIS which allows him complete freedom. Og tells the group that he wants to help them in order to “protect the spirit and integrity of [Halliday’s] contest” (314). He admits that he and Halliday met shortly before Halliday’s death so Halliday could tell Og about the contest and ask him to “intervene if it ever became necessary” (314). Og then suggests that if Wade, Art3mis, Shoto, and Aech all come to his home in Oregon, he can provide them with OASIS access and physical protection so they can carry out their plan. He commissions air travel for Shoto and Art3mis and asks Aech to drive his RV to Ohio to pick up Wade.

Wade sends out the call-to-arms email to all gunters; along with Wade’s leaked footage, it becomes hot news all over the OASIS. When Aech arrives in Ohio, Wade discovers that rather than looking like the Caucasian male avatar he has known for years, she is in fact a “heavyset African American girl” (318). Wade tells Aech that this doesn’t matter; she is still his best friend.