James Halliday
Quote 1
"As terrifying and painful as reality can be, it's also the only place where you can find true happiness." (38.48)
This is an unusual statement from Halliday, whose reality was OASIS, and who never seemed to have found any sort of happiness in the real world at all. Halliday's actions lead us to believe that he would choose OASIS over "reality" any day.