
'Randomize' by Andy Weir is a short story set in the near future, focusing on Edwin Rutledge, manager of the Babylon Hotel and Casino, who is introduced as competitive and proud. The plot revolves around a heist planned by a smart couple, Prashant and Sumi Singh, involving a quantum computing-based Keno numbers generator. The story combines elements of quantum mechanics, technology, and human psychology to create a suspenseful narrative set in a fictional Las Vegas casino. Weir's writing style intricately weaves geeky science talk about quantum computing with elements of a basic heist story, exploring how advanced technologies can be misused for personal gains.
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From The Publisher:
Audible narration by Janina Gavankar (True Blood)
In the near future, if Vegas games are ingeniously scam-proof, then the heists have to be too, in this imaginative and whip-smart story by the New York Times bestselling author of The Martian.
An IT whiz at the Babylon Casino is enlisted to upgrade security for the game of keno and its random-number generator. The new quantum computer system is foolproof. But someone on the inside is no fool. For once the odds may not favor the house-unless human ingenuity isn't entirely a thing of the past.
Andy Weir's Randomize is part of Forward, a collection of six stories of the near and far future from out-of-this-world authors. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single thought-provoking sitting.
Ratings (13)
Loved It (6) | |
Liked It (1) | |
It Was OK (4) | |
Did Not Like (1) | |
Hated It (1) |
Reader Stats (25):
Read It (13) | |
Want To Read (8) | |
Not Interested (4) |
1 comment(s)
This is a solid sci-fi heist that relies on an old-fashioned what-if premise: What would happen if quantum computers existed, and how long would it take before someone figured out the criminal applications?
In this case, an enterprising engineer figures out how to defeat the random number generators at a casino and complications ensue. There isn’t a lot of plot to this story, since it’s mostly a thought experiment hung on a little bit of narrative, but the execution is well-done and I enjoyed reading it.
Randomize wasn’t amazing, but it was possibly my favorite from the Forward collection so far.
What can you read after
Randomize?
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