Ready Player One: Lessons and Applicable Literature

by William Treuting
Although Ready Player One is a work of fiction, it is replete with lessons applicable to the current and future Marine Corps. Below are a few examples of the valuable lessons I was able to extrapolate from the text; each is paired with several recommended articles published in the Gazette that share relevancy to the topic. While I do not wholly accept the arguments of many of the articles mentioned, they are important contributions to the debate over how to best adjust to the changing technological trends in today’s world.
• The virtual world has intangible value that has consequences in the physical world. The OASIS, despite being a virtual environment, serves as both the primary escape from the poverty and mundane lifestyle of the physical world. The value and importance of the OASIS to people’s daily lives causes it to become a target to those wishing to exploit the simulation for their own benefit, as is the case with Innovative Online Industries’ desire to find the Easter Egg to control the OASIS. Marines, of all ranks and ages, need to understand the value and importance of the virtual realm to the average citizen. While the OASIS was an all-encompassing virtual-world, contemporary examples can be found in many social media and entertainment platforms. For many people who rely on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, and Reddit for information and entertainment, these platforms are the vital channels through which many operate and communicate on a daily basis. Similar to how IOI understood that controlling the OASIS was crucial to controlling real-world assets in Ready Player One, both friendly and adversarial forces in contemporary society are attempting to manipulate and control the virtual world to further their personal agendas. Ready Player One provides Marines with a comprehensible allegory through which to view the significance of the virtual world and how it is a critical target for those wishing to influence the physical world. For those interested in this concept, I recommend:
-The Bigger Picture, Capt Eric Abrams, April 2019
-Public Affairs Qualification Course Graduates, Col Riccoh Player, April 2019
-Information Warfare, Col Russell Zink, USMCR, April 2019
-Cybersecurity, 2ndLt Paul Hwang, April 2019
• Humans must be able to outpace and outmaneuver obstacles posed in the virtual world. The central protagonist in Ready Player One, Wade Watts, undergoes a variety of obstacles based on pop-cultural references to find the Easter Egg and control the OASIS. Wade’s success stems from his ability to accurately comprehend and anticipate the nature of the challenges that he faces. However, Wade’s struggle is further enhanced by IOI’s attempts to secure control of the OASIS, often resulting in direct confrontations in both the real and physical world. This added pressure from an external power forces Wade to think outside of the box and find ways to leverage his strengths over IOI. Wade allows himself to be captured by IOI, allowing him access to their facilities. Once he infiltrates the organization, Wade is able to hack into IOI’s network and secure critical information from the adversarial organization. Despite being a work of fiction, Ready Player One demonstrates the importance of innovation in the virtual world. Current and future Marines will operate in an increasingly technologically driven and connected world. With adversarial forces developing advanced capabilities to exploit weaknesses, Marines will have to remain one step ahead to both outpace and outmaneuver any enemy’s attempt to leverage the virtual world. Suggested reading on this topic include:
-Future Cyber Evolution, Lt Col M.E. Tobin, April 2019
-Cyberspace, Capt Steven Marion, April 2019
-Tactical Cyberspace Warfare, Maj Byron Owen, April 2019 (web article)

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