102-463: Ready Player One is a 2011 science fiction novel, and the debut novel of American author Ernest Cline . The story, set in a dystopia in 2045, follows protagonist Wade Watts on his search for an Easter egg in a worldwide virtual reality game, the discovery of which would lead him to inherit the game creator's fortune and the game itself. Cline sold the rights to publish the novel in June 2010, in
204-765: A computer -like screen , computer viruses , video chat , tanning beds , home treadmills , and more. In 1963, the time travel-themed Doctor Who premiered on BBC Television. The original series ran until 1989 and was revived in 2005. It has been extremely popular worldwide and has greatly influenced later TV science fiction. Other programs in the 1960s included The Outer Limits (1963–1965), Lost in Space (1965–1968), and The Prisoner (1967). Star Trek (the original series), created by Gene Roddenberry , premiered in 1966 on NBC Television and ran for three seasons. It combined elements of space opera and Space Western . Only mildly successful at first,
306-428: A space opera , went on to become a worldwide popular culture phenomenon , and the second-highest-grossing film series of all time. Since the 1980s, science fiction films , along with fantasy , horror , and superhero films, have dominated Hollywood's big-budget productions. Science fiction films often " cross-over " with other genres, including film noir ( Blade Runner - 1982), family film ( E.T.
408-531: A base on Frobozz to farm Jade Keys for their company's avatars, unlocks the second Gate, and rapidly acquires the Crystal Key as well. Shoto, another high ranking gunter, tells Parzival that IOI have killed his partner Daito, passing it off as a suicide. Parzival finds the Jade Gate hidden in a Voight-Kampff machine from Blade Runner , and completes a remake of the 1987 arcade game Black Tiger . He
510-716: A bidding war to the Crown Publishing Group (a division of Random House ). The book was published on August 16, 2011. An audiobook narrated by Wil Wheaton was released the same day. In 2012, the book received an Alex Award from the Young Adult Library Services Association division of the American Library Association and won the 2011 Prometheus Award . A film adaptation , screenwritten by Cline and Zak Penn and directed by Steven Spielberg ,
612-489: A city in 1886. The city was the home of AK Steel Holding Corporation (formerly Armco ), a major steel works founded in 1900. Although offices were moved to nearby West Chester Township in 2007, the steel factory is still in Middletown. In 2020, Cleveland-Cliffs acquired AK Steel through an exchange of stock. Middletown is also home to Hook Field Municipal Airport , which was formerly served by commercial airlines but
714-471: A focal point in the culture wars during the 2010s. This led some critics to re-examine Ready Player One and accuse it as pandering towards more toxic elements of online gamer culture. Constance Grady of Vox wrote that "for readers in Cline's target demographic in 2011, [the book] felt empowering. For readers who weren't, it felt like a harmless piece of affirmation meant for someone else. Everyone deserves
816-535: A great and influential film. In 1954, Godzilla , directed by Ishirō Honda , began the kaiju subgenre of science fiction film, which feature large creatures of any form, usually attacking a major city or engaging other monsters in battle . 1968's 2001: A Space Odyssey , directed by Stanley Kubrick and based on the work of Arthur C. Clarke , rose above the mostly B-movie offerings up to that time both in scope and quality, and influenced later science fiction films. That same year, Planet of
918-677: A journey to the Moon and how the Earth 's motion is seen from there. Kepler has been called the "father of science fiction". Following the 17th-century development of the novel as a literary form , Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein (1818) and The Last Man (1826) helped define the form of the science fiction novel. Brian Aldiss has argued that Frankenstein was the first work of science fiction. Edgar Allan Poe wrote several stories considered to be science fiction, including " The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall " (1835), which featured
1020-508: A male householder with no wife present, and 38.2% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.97. The median age in the city was 38.3 years. 24.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.7% were from 25 to 44; 27.1% were from 45 to 64; and 14.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of
1122-421: A massive fight among avatars ensues. Parzival, Art3mis, Aech and Shoto use their mechas to fight Sorrento's Mechagodzilla Kiryu , though Parzival has to use an Ultraman artifact (obtained in a quest with Daito and Shoto) to defeat and kill Sorrento's mecha and avatar. When it becomes clear they will lose the battle, IOI detonates a doomsday device , which destroys castle Anorak and kills every avatar present in
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#17327876282521224-518: A message inviting all OASIS avatars to help them storm the castle. Parzival and his friends are interrupted by Ogden Morrow (the co-creator of the OASIS), who offers them a safe haven at his home in Oregon . Wade meets the real-life Aech and Ogden, but not Art3mis or Shoto, who are already hooked into Ogden's immersion pods. The day of the battle, Wade's booby trap successfully disables the force field, and
1326-659: A release date of December 15, 2017. On February 9, 2016, the release date was pushed back to March 30, 2018, to avoid competition with Star Wars: The Last Jedi . The movie began production in the spring of 2016 and was filmed in both the United States and the United Kingdom. On June 9, 2016, Variety stated that Spielberg's regular collaborator John Williams was planning on composing the film's score. However, scheduling conflicts with another Spielberg film, The Post , led to Spielberg signing Alan Silvestri for
1428-652: A riddle hidden in the Almanac , he realizes that the first key is located on the planet Ludus, the same virtual world as his own online high school, in a recreation of the Dungeons & Dragons module Tomb of Horrors . In the Tomb, Parzival defeats an AI Acererak at the video game Joust , and is awarded the Copper Key. His avatar's name appears on a public scoreboard, making him an instant celebrity. While leaving
1530-463: A scathing review that criticized the book's narrative style by stating "It’s... a terribly written piece of adolescent fantasy that, at heart, exemplifies everything wrong and repellent about modern nerd culture " and challenged its coming-of-age premise by calling it "a stunted-adolescent story". Regarding the abundance of pop culture references, Shager called the book "an unbearable celebration of nostalgic juvenilia". He summarized his argument against
1632-518: A silly escapist fantasy, right?" to "But in this world [...] only things that affect straight white dudes really matter". Writer Chris Isaac of Tor disagreed with these criticisms, stating that the backlash towards the book was an overcorrection in response to backlashes against similar books aimed at an audience of young women, such as Stephenie Meyer 's Twilight series. He notes a then-recent video essay from young adult author Lindsay Ellis , previously dismissive of Meyer's writings, that defended
1734-475: A social media backlash towards the book and the then-upcoming film adaptation. Upon the release of the film's trailer in July 2017 various passages from the book quickly became viral on Twitter and other social media platforms, mocking Cline's writing style and the book's extensive use of 80s pop culture references. Nick Shager, writing for The Daily Beast shortly before the release of the film adaptation, offered
1836-418: A society (on Earth or another planet) that has developed in wholly different ways from our own." There is a tendency among science fiction enthusiasts as their own arbiter in deciding what exactly constitutes science fiction. David Seed says it may be more useful to talk about science fiction as the intersection of other more concrete subgenres. Damon Knight summed up the difficulty, saying "Science fiction
1938-452: A timed booby trap to bring down the force field. He also acquires a wealth of incriminating information: footage of Daito's murder, records of the attempt on his own life, as well as plans to abduct Shoto and Art3mis and force them to find the Easter egg for IOI, then kill them afterwards. After escaping the corporation, he shares this information with his friends and news outlets, and sends out
2040-495: A total estimated readership of at least 1 million), making it the world's most popular science fiction periodical . In 1984, William Gibson 's first novel, Neuromancer , helped popularize cyberpunk and the word " cyberspace ", a term he originally coined in his 1982 short story Burning Chrome . In 1986, Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold began her Vorkosigan Saga . 1992's Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson predicted immense social upheaval due to
2142-532: A trip to the Moon . Jules Verne was noted for his attention to detail and scientific accuracy, especially in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas (1870). In 1887, the novel El anacronópete by Spanish author Enrique Gaspar y Rimbau introduced the first time machine . An early French/Belgian science fiction writer was J.-H. Rosny aîné (1856–1940). Rosny's masterpiece
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#17327876282522244-582: A very palatable form... New adventures pictured for us in the scientifiction of today are not at all impossible of realization tomorrow... Many great science stories destined to be of historical interest are still to be written... Posterity will point to them as having blazed a new trail, not only in literature and fiction, but progress as well. In 1928, E. E. "Doc" Smith 's first published work, The Skylark of Space , written in collaboration with Lee Hawkins Garby , appeared in Amazing Stories . It
2346-629: A world of harmony and conformity within a united totalitarian state . It influenced the emergence of dystopia as a literary genre . In 1926, Hugo Gernsback published the first American science fiction magazine , Amazing Stories . In its first issue he wrote: By 'scientifiction' I mean the Jules Verne, H. G. Wells and Edgar Allan Poe type of story—a charming romance intermingled with scientific fact and prophetic vision... Not only do these amazing tales make tremendously interesting reading—they are always instructive. They supply knowledge... in
2448-476: Is Les Navigateurs de l'Infini ( The Navigators of Infinity ) (1925) in which the word astronaut, "astronautique", was used for the first time. Many critics consider H. G. Wells one of science fiction's most important authors, or even "the Shakespeare of science fiction". His works include The Time Machine (1895), The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897), and The War of
2550-676: Is a city in Butler and Warren counties in the southwest of the U.S. state of Ohio . The population at the 2020 census was 50,987. It is part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area , 29 miles (47 km) northeast of Cincinnati and 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Dayton . Formerly in Lemon , Turtlecreek , and Franklin townships, Middletown was incorporated by the Ohio General Assembly on February 11, 1833, and became
2652-414: Is awarded a giant, usable mecha as a prize and is given a clue to the Crystal Key. He acquires the Crystal Key on planet Syrinx, and after playing the "Discovery" section of the song " 2112 ", finds a hidden secondary clue regarding the conditions to unlock the final gate. As Parzival messages Art3mis, Aech, and Shoto with instructions on how to get through the Jade Gate and obtain the Crystal Key, IOI finds
2754-476: Is believed to have been given by its founder, Stephen Vail, but questions remain unanswered as to why. One local historian stated that the city received its name because Vail had come from Middletown, New Jersey . Another writer believed that the city was named Middletown because it was the midway point of navigation on the Great Miami River , which was then considered a navigable stream. Another theory
2856-528: Is considered canonical to the Ready Player One fictional universe. As early as 2015, Cline had been reported to be working on a sequel to Ready Player One from screenwriter Zak Penn. Cline confirmed the sequel was in progress by December 2017, and would have a different story-line involving all of the characters, while still exploring pop culture references like the first book. Penguin House released
2958-580: Is credited to the city being roughly halfway between Dayton and Cincinnati. Vail centered the city in Fractional Section 28 of Town 2, Range 4 North. One of the first settlers in Middletown was Daniel Doty, who migrated there from New Jersey in the late 18th century. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 26.43 square miles (68.45 km ), of which 26.19 square miles (67.83 km )
3060-598: Is currently only for general aviation. A regional campus of Miami University is located in Middletown. In 1957, Middletown was designated as an All-America City . Middletown is mostly part of the 1788 Symmes Purchase of 311,682 acres (487.003 sq mi; 1,261.33 km ) purchased by Judge John Cleves Symmes of New Jersey in 1788 from the Continental Congress as part of the Land Ordinance of 1785 . Stephen Vail Jr. purchased land on
3162-400: Is land and 0.24 square miles (0.62 km ) is water. Middletown adjoins the Great Miami River . Middletown also borders the cities of Franklin, Monroe, Trenton, and Liberty and Madison Townships. As of the census of 2020, there were 50,987 people in 20,057 households in the city. The population density was 1,951.0 inhabitants per square mile (753.3/km ). The racial makeup of the city
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3264-635: Is often called the first great space opera . The same year, Philip Francis Nowlan 's original Buck Rogers story, Armageddon 2419 , also appeared in Amazing Stories . This was followed by a Buck Rogers comic strip , the first serious science fiction comic . Last and First Men: A Story of the Near and Far Future is a " future history " science fiction novel written in 1930 by the British author Olaf Stapledon . A work of unprecedented scale in
3366-512: Is one of the most influential examples of social science fiction , feminist science fiction , and anthropological science fiction . In 1979, Science Fiction World began publication in the People's Republic of China . It dominates the Chinese science fiction magazine market , at one time claiming a circulation of 300,000 copies per issue and an estimated 3–5 readers per copy (giving it
3468-560: Is related to fantasy , horror , and superhero fiction and contains many subgenres . Its exact definition has long been disputed among authors, critics, scholars, and readers. Subgenres include hard science fiction , which emphasizes scientific accuracy, and soft science fiction , focusing on social sciences. Other notable subgenres are cyberpunk , which explores the interface between technology and society, and climate fiction , addressing environmental issues. Precedents for science fiction are argued to exist as far back as antiquity, but
3570-473: Is relevant to the egg hunt, he decides to play a perfect game of Pac-Man and receives a quarter that cannot leave his inventory as a prize. Aech, after finding the Jade Key, provides a hint leading him to the planet Frobozz where he solves a recreation of the text adventure game Zork and whistles a 2600-hertz-sound through a Cap'n Crunch Bo'Sun whistle, awarding him the Jade Key. IOI establishes
3672-542: Is what we point to when we say it." Forrest J Ackerman has been credited with first using the term "sci-fi" (analogous to the then-trendy " hi-fi ") in about 1954. The first known use in print was a description of Donovan's Brain by movie critic Jesse Zunser in January 1954. As science fiction entered popular culture , writers and fans active in the field came to associate the term with low-budget, low-tech " B-movies " and with low-quality pulp science fiction . By
3774-542: The Golden Age of Science Fiction . Science fiction has been called the "literature of ideas ", and continues to evolve, incorporating diverse voices and themes, influencing not just literature but film, TV, and culture at large. Besides providing entertainment it can also criticize present-day society and explore alternatives, and inspiration a " sense of wonder ". According to Isaac Asimov , "Science fiction can be defined as that branch of literature which deals with
3876-711: The Ohio River . A 20 miles (32 km) branch called the Warren County Canal operated to Lebanon, Ohio from 1830 to 1852 when flooding on Shaker Run destroyed the branch. The Great Flood of 1913 destroyed most of the Miami and Erie in the area. The canal was paved over and became the Verity Parkway In 1982, Middletown opened the Canal Museum to commemorate the events. Middletown
3978-482: The Russian writer and paleontologist Ivan Yefremov presented a view of a future interstellar communist civilization and is considered one of the most important Soviet science fiction novels. In 1959, Robert A. Heinlein 's Starship Troopers marked a departure from his earlier juvenile stories and novels. It is one of the first and most influential examples of military science fiction , and introduced
4080-930: The South Main Street District and the John B. Tytus House . In Butler County, all sections of Middletown are in the Middletown City School District . The Warren County portion is divided among several school districts, with one of them being the Middletown City District, and the others being Franklin City School District and Lebanon City School District . The Middletown City district operates Middletown High School . Ohio State Route 4 runs north-south through Middletown. Ohio State Route 73 and Ohio State Route 122 run east-west through
4182-451: The information revolution . In 2007, Liu Cixin 's novel, The Three-Body Problem , was published in China. It was translated into English by Ken Liu and published by Tor Books in 2014, and won the 2015 Hugo Award for Best Novel , making Liu the first Asian writer to win the award. Emerging themes in late 20th and early 21st century science fiction include environmental issues ,
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4284-400: The 1970s, critics within the field, such as Damon Knight and Terry Carr , were using "sci fi" to distinguish hack-work from serious science fiction. Peter Nicholls writes that "SF" (or "sf") is "the preferred abbreviation within the community of sf writers and readers." Robert Heinlein found even "science fiction" insufficient for certain types of works in this genre, and suggested
4386-559: The Apes (the original), directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and based on the 1963 French novel La Planète des Singes by Pierre Boulle , was released to popular and critical acclaim, its vivid depiction of a post-apocalyptic world in which intelligent apes dominate humans . In 1977, George Lucas began the Star Wars film series with the film now identified as " Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope . " The series, often called
4488-689: The Crystal Gate in Halliday's private stronghold, Castle Anorak on the planet Chthonia. They use a powerful artifact to create an indestructible and impenetrable force field around the gate, but as they missed the hidden clue that Wade found, cannot determine how to open the gate. Wade manipulates his assumed identity in order to be arrested and placed in indentured servitude in IOI's tech support department. He then uses black market passwords and security exploits to hack into IOI's intranet and deploy
4590-572: The Easter egg in Adventure , the game with the first ever easter egg. His victory grants him control of the OASIS, and makes him a multi-billionaire. Sorrento and those involved are arrested for the murder of Daito and conspiring to kill Wade and the others. Back in Oregon, Wade and Art3mis, whose actual name is Samantha, meet in person and rekindle their relationship with a kiss. Wade remarks that, for
4692-583: The Extra-Terrestrial - 1983), war ( Enemy Mine - 1985), comedy ( Spaceballs - 1987, Galaxy Quest - 1999), animation ( WALL-E – 2008, Big Hero 6 – 2014), Western ( Serenity – 2005), action ( Edge of Tomorrow – 2014, The Matrix – 1999), adventure ( Jupiter Ascending – 2015, Interstellar – 2014), mystery ( Minority Report – 2002), thriller ( Ex Machina – 2014), drama ( Melancholia – 2011, Predestination – 2014), and romance ( Eternal Sunshine of
4794-463: The OASIS itself, which is worth trillions. To win the contest, a user must find three hidden keys, and use each one to unlock three hidden gates. Halliday's announcement leads to intense competition among "Gunters" (egg hunters) as well as IOI sponsoring a well-funded effort to find the Easter egg in order to take control of the OASIS and monetize it. However, when the novel begins, five years have passed since Halliday's death, and nobody has found any of
4896-464: The Spotless Mind – 2004, Her – 2013). Science fiction and television have consistently been in a close relationship. Television or television-like technologies frequently appeared in science fiction long before television itself became widely available in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The first known science fiction television program was a thirty-five-minute adapted excerpt of
4998-559: The States and Empires of the Moon (1657) and The States and Empires of the Sun (1662), Margaret Cavendish 's " The Blazing World " (1666), Jonathan Swift 's Gulliver's Travels (1726), Ludvig Holberg 's Nicolai Klimii Iter Subterraneum (1741) and Voltaire 's Micromégas (1752). Isaac Asimov and Carl Sagan considered Somnium the first science fiction story; it depicts
5100-521: The Worlds (1898). His science fiction imagined alien invasion , biological engineering , invisibility , and time travel . In his non-fiction futurologist works he predicted the advent of airplanes , military tanks , nuclear weapons , satellite television , space travel , and something resembling the World Wide Web . Edgar Rice Burroughs 's A Princess of Mars , published in 1912,
5202-409: The age of 6, 22.5% of residents were under the age of 18, and 17.2% were over the age of 65. The gender makeup of the city was 52.3% female and 47.7% male. The percentage of persons under 65 with a disability was 16.8%. The median household income was $ 42,290, and the annual per capita income average was $ 24,184. Approximately 22.5% of persons were below the poverty line. The average travel time to work
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#17327876282525304-403: The average family size was 2.94. In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.0% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.3 males. The median income for a household in the city
5406-479: The book as "the grown-up's Harry Potter " and that it "has it all – nostalgia, trivia, adventure, romance, heart and, dare I say it, some very fascinating social commentary." The book has been translated into over 20 languages. Discussion on the book was renewed in the months leading up to the release of Steven Spielberg's film adaptation. In contrast to the book's contemporary reviews, which were generally positive, these were substantially more negative and triggered
5508-402: The book by stating "It's a lionization of immature things (and immaturity) as an end to itself, rather than as the building blocks of more mature – and worthwhile – creations". Shager also lamented the book's " Peter Pan -ish infatuation with childishness, which comes coated in a stench of stale Doritos , Jolt Cola and lowbrow smugness". Shortly after the book was published, Gamergate became
5610-462: The book received a [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] (4.00 out of 5) based on critic reviews with the critical summary saying, "Most readers will find Cline's debut novel an inventive, adrenaline-filled, and fully accessible piece of literature". Among those praising the book were Entertainment Weekly , The Boston Globe , The A.V. Club , CNN.com , io9 , and Boing Boing . USA Today wrote that
5712-418: The book's "defective" worldbuilding , referred to its pop culture references as being repetitive and excessive in place of descriptive writing, and described the plot as weak. Lacero , a fan-fiction short story by Andy Weir , was published online in 2014, and later included in the 2016 limited edition of Ready Player One published by Subterranean Press. It functions as a precursor to the main novel, and
5814-577: The city was 47.5% male and 52.5% female. As of the census of 2000, there were 51,605 people, 21,469 households, and 13,933 families living in the city. The population density was 2,011.4 inhabitants per square mile (776.6/km ). There were 23,144 housing units at an average density of 902.1 per square mile (348.3/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 86.98% White , 10.59% African American , 0.25% Native American , 0.37% Asian , 0.03% Pacific Islander , 0.36% from other races , and 1.42% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.89% of
5916-420: The city was 83.3% White , 11.7% African American , 0.2% Native American , 0.5% Asian , 1.6% from other races , and 2.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.8% of the population. There were 20,238 households, of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.9% were married couples living together, 18.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.8% had
6018-624: The city. Ohio State Route 122 accesses Interstate 75 running to the east of Middletown. Middletown had multiple railroad stations serving the different railroads running through the city, Baltimore and Ohio , Erie Railroad , New York Central (earlier, the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway ) and Pennsylvania Railroad . The last passenger trains were the Baltimore and Ohio's Cincinnatian and Penn Central 's Cincinnati-Columbus train, both ending in 1971. Transit service
6120-413: The concept of powered armor exoskeletons . The German space opera series Perry Rhodan , written by various authors, started in 1961 with an account of the first Moon landing and has since expanded in space to multiple universes , and in time by billions of years. It has become the most popular science fiction book series of all time. In the 1960s and 1970s, New Wave science fiction
6222-506: The creation of microrobots and micromachinery , nanotechnology , smartdust , virtual reality , and artificial intelligence (including swarm intelligence ), as well as developing the ideas of "necroevolution" and the creation of artificial worlds. In 1965, Dune by Frank Herbert featured a much more complex and detailed imagined future society than had previously in most science fiction. In 1967 Anne McCaffrey began her Dragonriders of Pern science fantasy series. Two of
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#17327876282526324-419: The decline their world is facing, people turn to the OASIS, a virtual universe accessible by players using visors and haptic technology such as gloves. It was originally designed as an MMORPG (and so still contains gameplay elements like powerful, unique artifacts), but has evolved into a virtual world used ubiquitously by humanity, with its currency being one of the most stable in the real world. The OASIS
6426-472: The devoted aficionado or fan—has a hard time trying to explain what science fiction is," and the lack of a "full satisfactory definition" is because "there are no easily delineated limits to science fiction." Another definition comes from The Literature Book by DK and is, "scenarios that are at the time of writing technologically impossible, extrapolating from present-day science...[,]...or that deal with some form of speculative science-based conceit, such as
6528-590: The eastern bank of the Great Miami River from Symmes and platted 52 lots for the village in 1802. The purchase was complicated when it was discovered that Symmes did not own all the land thought to have been sold to Vail, and eventually, after Vail's death, the Ohio Supreme Court permitted the transactions to go through. In 1825, construction of the Miami and Erie Canal occurred, linking Middletown to Toledo, Ohio on Lake Erie and Cincinnati, Ohio on
6630-439: The episodes, ran from 1959 to 1964. It featured fantasy , suspense , and horror as well as science fiction, with each episode being a complete story. Critics have ranked it as one of the best TV programs of any genre . The animated series The Jetsons , while intended as comedy and only running for one season (1962–1963), predicted many inventions now in common use: flat-screen televisions , newspapers on
6732-462: The film WarGames . Art3mis clears the gate shortly afterwards, as does Wade's best friend Aech. Wade's fame enables him to make a living by endorsing virtual products. It also brings him to the attention of Nolan Sorrento, head of operations at IOI. When Wade refuses to join IOI, Sorrento attempts to kill him by blowing up the trailer where Wade lives, killing his aunt and disguising the explosion as an accident. Wade, who hadn't been in his trailer at
6834-514: The first part of a series of staged video gaming tests, similar to the plot of the novel. Cline also revealed that the competition's grand prize would be a DeLorean . The Easter egg was a URL hidden in the book for anoraksalmanac.com. This was the first stage of the contest where the 2011 Atari 2600 game The Stacks by developers Mike Mika & Kevin Wilson was featured. The game Ultimate Collector: Garage Sale by Austin-based developer Portalarium
6936-762: The first science fiction novel . Some of the stories from The Arabian Nights , along with the 10th-century The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter and Ibn al-Nafis 's 13th-century Theologus Autodidactus , are also argued to contain elements of science fiction. Written during the Scientific Revolution and later the Age of Enlightenment are considered true science-fantasy books. Francis Bacon 's New Atlantis (1627), Johannes Kepler 's Somnium (1634), Athanasius Kircher 's Itinerarium extaticum (1656), Cyrano de Bergerac 's Comical History of
7038-401: The first time in as long as he can remember, he has no desire to log into the OASIS. Ready Player One was a New York Times bestseller. According to Book Marks , the book received "rave" reviews based on ten critic reviews with seven being "rave" and one being "positive" and two being "mixed". In Bookmarks ' November/December 2011 issue, a magazine that aggregates critic reviews of books,
7140-486: The genre, it describes the history of humanity from the present onwards across two billion years. In 1937, John W. Campbell became editor of Astounding Science Fiction , an event that is sometimes considered the beginning of the Golden Age of Science Fiction , which was characterized by stories celebrating scientific achievement and progress . The "Golden Age" is often said to have ended in 1946, but sometimes
7242-402: The hunt. He decides not to leave his apartment or let any light in it until he has found the egg. After five months, Art3mis finally finds the Jade Key. On Archaide, Parzival stumbles across a hidden recreation of an arcade from Halliday's hometown in which he finds a Pac-Man arcade machine, with the high score set to 3,333,350 (10 points under the maximum score). Unsure as to whether or not it
7344-477: The implications of the Internet and the expanding information universe, questions about biotechnology , nanotechnology , and post-scarcity societies . Recent trends and subgenres include steampunk , biopunk , and mundane science fiction . The first, or at least one of the first, recorded science fiction film is 1902's A Trip to the Moon , directed by French filmmaker Georges Méliès . It
7446-537: The keys. Eighteen-year-old Wade Watts lives with his Aunt Alice in Oklahoma City in the "stacks", a poverty-stricken district constructed of trailer homes piled on top of each other. He spends his spare time as a gunter, logging on to the OASIS as an avatar under the moniker Parzival , reading James Halliday's journal Anorak's Almanac , and researching details of 1980s pop culture, mainly classic video games and movies that Halliday loved. After deciphering
7548-415: The late 1940s and the 1950s are included. In 1942, Isaac Asimov started his Foundation series , which chronicles the rise and fall of galactic empires and introduced psychohistory . The series was later awarded a one-time Hugo Award for "Best All-Time Series". Theodore Sturgeon 's More Than Human (1953) explored possible future human evolution . In 1957, Andromeda: A Space-Age Tale by
7650-456: The modern genre primarily arose in the 19th and early 20th centuries when popular writers began looking to technological progress and speculation. Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein , written in 1818, is often credited as the first true science fiction novel . Jules Verne and H.G. Wells are pivotal figures in the genre's development. In the 20th century, expanded with the introduction of space operas , dystopian literature, pulp magazines , and
7752-554: The novel "undoubtedly qualifies Cline as the hottest geek on the planet right now." NPR said that the book was "ridiculously fun and large-hearted". Cline "takes a far-out premise and engages the reader instantly" with a "deeply felt narrative [that] makes it almost impossible to stop turning the pages." Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote that "The book gets off to a witty start" but noted that it lacks at least one dimension, stating that gaming had overwhelmed everything else about this book. Rebecca Serle of HuffPost described
7854-478: The novellas included in the first novel, Dragonflight , made McCaffrey the first woman to win a Hugo or Nebula Award . In 1968, Philip K. Dick 's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was published. It is the literary source of the Blade Runner movie franchise . In 1969, The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin was set on a planet in which the inhabitants have no fixed gender . It
7956-638: The performances of Sheridan and Rylance, and noted it as an improvement on the book. The film nonetheless received criticism for its lack of character development and its "achingly regressive" view of pop culture fans. Science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to SF or sci-fi ) is a genre of speculative fiction , which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology , space exploration , time travel , parallel universes , and extraterrestrial life . It often explores human responses to changes in science and technology. Science fiction
8058-614: The play RUR , written by the Czech playwright Karel Čapek , broadcast live from the BBC's Alexandra Palace studios on 11 February 1938. The first popular science fiction program on American television was the children's adventure serial Captain Video and His Video Rangers , which ran from June 1949 to April 1955. The Twilight Zone (the original series), produced and narrated by Rod Serling , who also wrote or co-wrote most of
8160-408: The population. There were 21,469 households, out of which 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.9% were married couples living together, 14.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.1% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and
8262-468: The reaction of human beings to changes in science and technology ." Robert A. Heinlein wrote that "A handy short definition of almost all science fiction might read: realistic speculation about possible future events, based solidly on adequate knowledge of the real world, past and present, and on a thorough understanding of the nature and significance of the scientific method ." American science fiction author and editor Lester del Rey wrote, "Even
8364-615: The same day Cline finalized his publishing deal with Random House , one year prior to the novel's publication. Dan Farah brought the project into the studio and produced it with Donald De Line . Cline adapted his novel into a screenplay. Over the years, Eric Eason and Zak Penn assisted Cline with rewrites. Steven Spielberg signed on to direct in March 2015. Spielberg and Kristie Macosko Krieger of Amblin Partners also joined Deline and Farah as producers. Warner Bros. initially announced
8466-513: The score. The film stars Tye Sheridan , Olivia Cooke , Ben Mendelsohn , Lena Waithe , T. J. Miller , Simon Pegg , and Mark Rylance with Philip Zao, Win Morisaki , and Hannah John-Kamen in supporting roles. It premiered at South by Southwest on March 11, 2018, and was theatrically released by Warner Bros. in the United States on March 29, 2018. It received generally positive reviews from critics who praised its visuals and brisk pacing,
8568-593: The sector. Parzival survives, discovering the quarter he first obtained in Archaide was an artifact that granted him an extra life . As he enters the Crystal Gate, he announces that if he wins the final challenge, he will share his fortune with the three of his friends. In the final gate, he plays Tempest , role-plays King Arthur and various other characters in Monty Python and the Holy Grail , and retrieves
8670-437: The sequel, Ready Player Two on November 24, 2020. The plot follows Wade as he embarks on a new quest after discovering a new technology developed by Halliday. Between the weeks of November 29 and December 20 of 2020, it was number one on Amazon's fiction chart. Ten months after the first edition's release, Cline revealed on his blog that Ready Player One itself contained an elaborately hidden Easter egg. This clue would form
8772-589: The series gained popularity through syndication and extraordinary fan interest . It became a very popular and influential franchise with many films , television shows , novels , and other works and products. Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994) led to six additional live action Star Trek shows: Deep Space Nine (1993–1999), Voyager (1995–2001) , Enterprise (2001–2005), Discovery (2017–2024), Picard (2020–2023), and Strange New Worlds (2022–present), with more in some form of development. Middletown, Ohio Middletown
8874-409: The series had become far more tiresome than those who enjoyed it." Michael J. Nelson 's and Conor Lastowka's book review podcast series 372 Pages We'll Never Get Back was named after the number of pages that comprise the book's paperback edition. The book was the inaugural subject of the podcast, which is devoted to reviewing literature the hosts consider to be of dubious quality. They criticized
8976-515: The term speculative fiction to be used instead for those that are more "serious" or "thoughtful". Some scholars assert that science fiction had its beginnings in ancient times , when the line between myth and fact was blurred. Written in the 2nd century CE by the satirist Lucian , A True Story contains many themes and tropes characteristic of modern science fiction, including travel to other worlds, extraterrestrial lifeforms , interplanetary warfare, and artificial life . Some consider it
9078-430: The time of the explosion, escapes and moves to Columbus, Ohio (hometown of both GSS and IOI), where he assumes the pseudonym Bryce Lynch and lives in an anonymous apartment designed for hardcore OASIS users. He grows increasingly close with Art3mis, but when he confesses his feelings towards her, she declares that their relationship had been a mistake and ghosts him. During this time Wade becomes much more serious about
9180-501: The tomb, he meets Art3mis, a famous female gunter and blogger (and his crush), who had independently discovered the location of the key, but had not yet beaten Acererak. Parzival completes the Copper Gate on the planet Middletown , which is modeled after Halliday's boyhood home. He plays through the Dungeons of Daggorath video game in a recreation of Halliday's parents' house and then role-plays Matthew Broderick 's character in
9282-492: The writing of the Twilight books while singling out Ready Player One for its writing. Isaac writes "I don't think the lesson from Twilight should be that Ready Player One needs to be blasted in the same fashion, but rather that you can acknowledge the flaws of something without joining a hate mob or attacking anyone else for enjoying it. By the end of Twilight 's shelf life, people talking about how much they disliked
9384-481: Was $ 36,215, and the median income for a family was $ 43,867. Males had a median income of $ 35,705 versus $ 23,865 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 19,773. About 9.2% of families and 12.6% of the population were below the poverty line , including 18.4% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over. Sites in Middletown included on the National Register of Historic Places include
9486-406: Was 23.1 minutes. 59.2% of residents worked in the civilian labor force, 54.5% of whom were female. As of the census of 2010, there were 48,694 people, 20,238 households, and 12,505 families living in the city. The population density was 1,859.3 inhabitants per square mile (717.9/km ). There were 23,296 housing units at an average density of 889.5 per square mile (343.4/km ). The racial makeup of
9588-492: Was 81.3% White , 11.2% African American , 0.0% Native American , 0.7% Asian , 0.1% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander and 5.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.1% of the population. There were 20,057 households with an average 2.39 people living in each, 81% of whom had lived in the same house for at least 1 year. 85% of residents were high school graduates, and 15.6% had received Bachelor's degrees or higher. 6.2% of residents were under
9690-439: Was created by James Donovan Halliday, founder of Gregarious Simulation Systems (formerly Gregarious Games). Due to being split into 27 different sectors, the OASIS had its own worlds and zones. When Halliday died, his will consisted of a video stating to the public that he had left an Easter egg inside the OASIS, and the first person to find it would inherit his entire fortune, ownership of his corporation, and complete control of
9792-558: Was featured in the second stage of the contest. The final stage of the contest was announced on August 1, 2012, and was to set a world record on one of several classic arcade or Atari 2600 games. This was completed on August 9, 2012, by Craig Queen, who set a new world record in Joust . He was awarded the DeLorean on the TV series X-Play . The film rights were purchased by Warner Bros. on
9894-751: Was formerly provided by the privately-owned Ortman-Stewart Transportation Company, which ceased operations at the end of 1972. Today, the Butler County Regional Transit Authority provides bus service in the city with connections to Hamilton , Oxford , as well as Springdale , where riders can transfer to the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority serving greater Cincinnati . Vice President-elect JD Vance describes his life in Middletown in Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of
9996-404: Was influential on later filmmakers , bringing a different kind of creativity and fantasy . Méliès's innovative editing and special effects techniques were widely imitated and became important elements of the cinematic medium . 1927's Metropolis , directed by Fritz Lang , is the first feature-length science fiction film. Though not well received in its time, it is now considered
10098-484: Was known for its embrace of a high degree of experimentation, both in form and in content, and a highbrow and self-consciously " literary " or " artistic " sensibility . In 1961, Solaris by Stanisław Lem was published in Poland . The novel dealt with the theme of human limitations as its characters attempted to study a seemingly intelligent ocean on a newly discovered planet . Lem's work anticipated
10200-408: Was released on March 29, 2018. A sequel novel, Ready Player Two , was released on November 24, 2020, to a widely negative critical reception. In the 2040s, the world has been gripped by an energy crisis from the depletion of fossil fuels and the consequences of pollution , global warming , and overpopulation , causing widespread social problems, poverty , and economic stagnation . To escape
10302-461: Was served by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad , Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway , Erie Railroad and Pennsylvania Railroad . Middletown was principally known for its agriculture and paper mills but became most famous as a steel town when George Verity, founder of American Rolling Mill Company (ARMCO) opened a sheet steel rolling process plant in 1900. The city's name
10404-408: Was the first of his three- decade -long planetary romance series of Barsoom novels , which were set on Mars and featured John Carter as the hero . These novels were predecessors to YA novels , and drew inspiration from European science fiction and American Western novels . In 1924, We by Russian writer Yevgeny Zamyatin , one of the first dystopian novels, was published. It describes
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