Chapter II

"So, what now, Morphynn?" Finn asked, calling me my in-game name. He knew I always cringed a little hearing the alias my teenage self considered pretty edgy. It was supposed to be a clever way of writing "morphine" while avoiding the forbidden words filter, but to most it sounded more like some dorky wizard from Dungeons & Dragons.

Before the Pokémon world went live in the OASIS, I mainly played rock star simulations. On stage, backstage, in hotel rooms. It was pretty cool. Sometimes real people's avatars would show up between the NPC's in the crowd when I did a Lou Reed or Iggy Pop concert (their work was free of charge because it was ancient). But it didn't get me any fame or money, just a pleasant fantasy.

Then it became my image as a Pokémon trainer and gym leader. Changing my nickname and casual rocker look at this stage would be bad for business, since now I did have some renown within a small community. Luckily most people in the OASIS I hung out with used my real name. I never understood the point of hiding such personal info.

"I don't know, Pandasaurus", I replied. But Finn still considered his handle awesome and there was nothing I could say or do to change his mind about that. "Let's just pack up, I'm running late for my date with Sara."

Finn whistled teasingly.

"You guys are getting serious about this!" he said. Then with a big grin: "You know she's probably a fat dude in his sixties, right?"

My brother had quite a social life outside of the OASIS and lately he and his girlfriend were even discussing having kids. Meanwhile I did not only use the OASIS to pay the rent hunting Pokémon, but it was also where I spent most of my free time. Something that was no longer frowned upon. Most people these days would probably consider Finn the weirdo.

"Dude. You know I've caught you in your furry phase wanking with cat people."

"Right. Yes. Thanks for reminding me. Sometimes I finally manage to forget about that."

"Lucky you. Wish I could."

"Anyway, have fun now", Finn said. "Tah!"

I gave him a nod and teleported to my means of transportation, the Thunderbird 4 in orbit around Satoshi. I didn't know about the television show it was from, but when I found it at a second hand dealership I fell in love with the design. And it was a Ringo Starr tribute at the same time.

The little yellow submarine only needed a few modifications to serve as a vehicle I could use to travel from planet to planet in the OASIS. I was able to expand the cockpit a bit, to add some extra seats. Giving it a slightly more "command deck" feeling.

I typed in my destination and the little submarine set off.

The trip would take at least ten minutes, and I took off my vr-headset and haptic gloves for a moment without shutting down the simulation. A monitor on my desk let me keep an eye on the cockpit of the Thunderbird 4, while I walked around my apartment.

It was slowly getting dark outside, I noticed while overlooking Metro Vancouver from the 24th floor. I lived in Surrey, the skyscraper suburb. Finn and his girlfriend left for a quieter place near a lake, already with a family in mind. But I preferred to stay in a spot with guaranteed fast internet and quick food deliveries.

My date with Sara was in the OASIS, but nonetheless I felt the need to put on a clean t-shirt and brush my teeth. I redid my hair, even sprayed on some cologne. After a quick stop on the toilet I grabbed a fresh bottle of water, devoured a power bar in two bites and walked back to the adjustable chair from which I controlled my avatar.

I put my vr-gear back on and was back in my yellow ride.

Sara invited me to watch a soccer match. We often had little dates like this, showing each other our favorite spots in the OASIS. But Finn was right. I barely knew anything about this girl. Or dude. All I knew was her ASL. She was 28, identified as female and lived in Argentina. One of the better places to call home nowadays.

We met last year on Chthonia during the epic battle in which Wade Watts won Halliday's contest. Like millions of others in the OASIS, I felt it was my duty to show up on that historic day. Even if I were just to be cannon fodder.

I spent all my savings looking for the most expensive gun I could buy on the market. It turned out to be something called a BFG 9000. A big, fancy gun from the Doom franchise. I carried it into battle hoping to do at least one health point damage to the defenders.

It probably would've been smart to spend some of the money on armor too, but I had zero PvP experience. I'm one of those players that likes to stick to safe non-lethal zones. But all of a sudden I took part in the biggest, bloodiest battle ever fought in the OASIS.

During the siege we formed an endless wave of warriors that got mowed down by the dozens. When I found myself at the front of our lines I tried to aim the massive gun and of course tripped while doing that. I was about to get vaporized before being able to get one shot in, if not at that moment someone grabbed my hand and pulled me on her flying carpet.

"Don't point it at the ground, idiota. Point at that", the girl holding my hand said, nodding towards a giant Godzilla.

She was flawless, a perfect Disney princess. Big hair, wide eyes, pearly teeth, tiny waist. From every angle her avatar seemed to be hand drawn for an animated movie in the late 20th century. Her art style was reminiscent of iconic characters like Snow White, Cinderella, Belle and Jasmine. The flying carpet was clearly from Aladdin too.

She had dark hair and big brown eyes. Instead of a bombastic fairy tale dress, she wore a combat outfit that would be best described as guerilla chic. A modified AK-47 that blasted laser beams, finished her look perfectly.

"Thanks, Jasmine", I answered. Unfortunately.

"Cállate, idiota! Don't be racist!" she furiously yelled.

JolieRouge - as her nickname went - and I managed to give a good fight for at least a whole minute after that. I'm pretty sure I did some damage to Sorrento's Godzilla with the BFG 9000. Eventually we were still struck down, but we were happy to have done our part.

In the weeks after the Battle of Castle Anorak I kept in touch with Sara. We both lost most of our stuff and there wasn't much more to do in the OASIS than chat a bit. It took me a while to realize she didn't use real time translator software, but actually spoke English, unlike most players from latin-america.

I learned her Disney fandom came from happy childhood memories. Long summer vacations watching movies with her grandmother. I imagined these memories were in contrast with other parts of her life, but so far never asked Sara about it.

Sara was never invested much in the hunt for Halliday's easter egg. Nor did she pay attention to my own hunt for Mew. She was pretty fanatical about millennial nostalgia being one of the reasons the whole world went to pieces. Instead of fixing stuff, they chose escapism. Binging television shows, playing video games. Too busy keeping appearances on social media. Our generation had to live with the consequences.

It was a weird time in the OASIS. I remember a handy company selling shirts and pins with phrases like "I was there", followed by the date of the famous battle. Veterans could show off their heroism in exchange for a couple of bucks. It supposedly gave a sense of pride and accomplishment.

Eventually Wade Watts and his friends restored everyone's belongings as a thank you for helping out that day. I decided to keep the BFG 9000 and sell some of my shiny Pokémon to make rent. Still there was a sense of excitement in the OASIS of what would happen next. There were rumors about new hardware that would blow our minds ("and maybe something else too"). So far that was just vague speculation.

The Thunderbird 4 just entered the live sports zone. The planets here looked like giant balls. I passed a tennis ball, a basketball and a flat hockey disk before I got a view of my black and white checkered destination. The planet simply known as Football.

For some reason Gregarious Games, an American company, gave "soccer" the honor of using the term football. The most popular theory was that British Kira called that shot. The only of the three founders that actually watched a game now and then.

Others thought it might have been a stab at jocks that bullied Halliday at school. They now had to visit "Football (US)" whenever they wanted to catch a match. Probably it was just a financial decision.

I put my vehicle in orbit and teleported to the main spawn point on Football. I materialized in a generic, concrete stadium tunnel in which I had to pass a couple of portals to find my way to the sports arena I needed to be.

First I walked into the CONMEBOL wing, then through a couple of more catacombs and eventually found myself outside in front of a big yellow stadium. The Estadio Alberto J. Armando, home of Boca Juniors in Buenos Aires.

The game already started and the noise from the crowd was daunting. I never visited a match before, but experienced enough big stadium crowds in my previous life as a virtual rock star. This was something else. The fans didn't just clap, cheer and let out an occasional "Woohoo!". The sound the Boca Juniors supporters produced was more like viking Orcs on steroids, prepping for slaughter.

A bit overcome by the primal roars, drums, trumpets and firework blasts, I tried to find my seat. Not that I was going to need one. This section of the crowd seemed to prefer standing up.

There she was. Dressed in the blue-yellow home team's jersey, gnawing a big cigar. Too busy yelling and swearing at the pitch to notice me. Apparently Sara didn't agree with a decision the referee just made.

"Charming as always, princess," I yelled into her ear.

She turned her head and greeted me with a big grin. Then she pushed a blue-yellow scarf in my hands.

"Wear this."

Sara slapped an arm around me, started jumping and chanting a club song. Quickly hundreds of supporters jumped up and down all around us. Arms wrapped around each other, then going left and right, screaming like mad men. And one mad woman.

I managed to pick up the lyrics quickly.

"Oooh! Dale, dale, Bóóóó! Dale, dale, bóóóó! Oh, dale, dale, bóóóó!"

The participation awarded me an approving glance.

Things calmed down for a moment when a player had to undergo injury treatment.

"What's that thing on your head," Sara asked me, turning her gaze from the field for the first time this afternoon.

I quickly checked my inventory screen and noticed my avatar was still wearing the Silph Scope.

"Ha... Sorry about that. I was just fooling around with Finn. Let me just put that away."

"No, no! Put it on. I want to see you look stupid."

One look in her persistent eyes was enough to know I couldn't get out of this one. I obeyed, pressed down the goggles and posed for the princess. She was clearly enjoying it.

Then, right before I wanted to unequip the device, I noticed it. First on the stands, then up in the sky and even on the pitch. Something that shouldn't be here. They were Pokémon.