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Randomize

Randomize

Hard Sci-FiScience Fiction
Pages
32
Published
2019
Language
English

Synopsis

At a Las Vegas casino, the arrival of a working quantum computer quietly breaks the math that keeps the house ahead: a game once protected by unpredictable numbers is suddenly predictable to anyone with the right machine. The casino brings in an expert to close the hole — but the same technology that defends the game can also be turned against it, setting up a quiet contest over who can outthink whom. A near-future short story built around a single technical premise, it follows the cat-and-mouse logic of the idea to a clean twist. Part of the 2019 Forward collection, it is classic Weir in miniature: one piece of real science, pushed just past the present, and played out as a puzzle.

Prose complexity
3/10

Vibe

TenseIntellectualFunny
HeistBetrayal

Genres

Hard Sci-Fi Science Fiction Thriller

About the author

A
Andy Weir

Born in 1972 in Davis, California and raised in Livermore, Andy Weir is the son of a Lawrence Livermore physicist and an electrical engineer. He began working as a programmer at fifteen for Sandia National Laboratories, studied computer science at UC San Diego without graduating, and spent roughly twenty-five years as a software engineer at companies including AOL, Palm, MobileIron, and Blizzard, where he worked on Warcraft II. He wrote science fiction as a hobby for years, publishing free on hi...

Characters

Nick ChenProtagonist

The casino’s IT expert at the center of the quantum-computing gambit.

Edwin RutledgeSupporting

The casino owner whose game is threatened by the new technology.

All characters in Randomize

Frequently asked questions

  • What collection is Randomize part of?

    It is one of six stories in Forward, a 2019 science-fiction collection curated by Blake Crouch and published by Amazon Original Stories.

  • What is the premise?

    A working quantum computer can predict the ‘random’ numbers a Las Vegas casino game relies on, and the same technology that could defend the game can also be used to beat it.

  • Is Randomize a novel?

    No, it is a short story — a quick, single-idea piece rather than a full-length book.

  • Is it connected to Weir’s novels?

    No. It is a standalone near-future story unrelated to The Martian, Artemis, or Project Hail Mary.

  • Is this book part of a series?

    This story is the sixth installment in the Forward Collection, which is an anthology of six standalone novellas by different authors exploring various future technologies.

  • Does this story require any background knowledge to understand?

    While the plot centers on quantum computing theory and includes technical terminology, the narrative is designed to be accessible without prior expertise in the subject.

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