Randomize

Weir is generally a good author, but this is uncomfortable for a technical person to read because he gets the science wrong.

* Spoilers ahead *

The premise is that digital casino gambling machines have been using pseudo-random numbers all this time because it’s impossible to generate true random numbers using only the Boolean logic gates of a classical digital computer. And now casino scammers with quantum computers can derive the random number seed. Andy has a casino IT person buy an entire quantum computer for the casino, just because it can generate true random numbers! The premise is that this is fighting quantum with quantum. The rest of the story hinges on another characteristic of quantum computing that I need not explain here.

What Andy seems to have missed, or ignored for the purpose of making a good story, is that quantum noise is ubiquitous. Making a true random number generator is a $5 amateur electronics project. Casinos, and the manufacturers of their equipment, have known this since digital gambling machines came about. You can learn more about this at the Wikipedia, search for “hardware random number generator”.

Many governments regulate the random number generators used in gambling facilities in the interest of fairness. Since 2012, the state of Nevada actually requires a chi-squared test on hardware RNGs and requires seed-per-game for software RNGs and that they continue to produce numbers at >100 Hz between uses in the game. That inserts human timing into the equation, so forget about using quantum computing to figure it out.

That this story assumed that gaming and its regulators were so stupid is a lot of what made it uncomfortable. They aren’t.

So, if you happen to know that, getting past Andy’s initial premise is uncomfortable.

Not going to be the best of the series, but an enjoyable romp from one of the best in the science fiction biz. Loved the narrator.

This is just not my cup of tea. The storyline is not very compelling, the dialogue is honestly exhausting to read, and it doesnt feel very futuristic to me? Like maybe these machines dont exist but I have no idea because I know literally nothing about quantum physics? I feel like possibly someone very into casinos and/or a physicist would enjoy this story, but not me…

Alfred Hitchcock loved McGuffins those secrets, treasures or things everybody is after and will do anything to get. But you never precisely know what they are. They just get the plot rolling.

Judging from his 2019 short story, Randomize, part of the Amazon Forward Collection, Id say Andy Weir likes McGuffins, too, though more of the microphysics kind. When challenged to illustrate how technology might impact mankind, the author choose quantum computing as his point of departure.

Set in the near future, Edwin Rutledge, manager of the Babylon Hotel and Casino, one of the multitude along the Las Vegas Strip, is competitive, proud and wary of his earned but possibly fleeting success. His latest foray is a Keno numbers generator based on the new capabilities of quantum computing.

In another part of town a very smart couple, Prashant and Sumi Singh, are planning a modern heist by taking advantage of a loop hole (worm hole, if you prefer) in the latest random numbers generator, QuanaTech 707, supporting Keno drawings. And wouldnt you know it – he has just sold the technology package to the Babylon.

The premise for the theft is quantum entanglement basically, the ability of electrons to mirror each others behavior at the quantum level even though separated, though nobody’s sure why or how. Yes, the modern McGuffin.

Despite this micro world twist the tale turns more on human psychology for its suspense and development than technology. While consistent with what I know of his writing albeit very limited the story seems more conventional than others in this Collection. The technology is more of an accessory, not forcing humans to respond too differently to its impact.

That said, Randomize is worth taking a chance for a fun, easy read.

(If interested, here are links to my Amazon reviews for other Forward Collection short stories:

Amor Towles You Have Arrived at your Destination:
https://www.amazon.com/review/R3I9Q3EY81DYTF/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8

Veronica Roths Ark: https://www.amazon.com/review/R1BH20S06203HK/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8

Paul Tremblays The Last Conversation: https://www.amazon.com/review/R2Q3HWY0SCW9R5/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8

Blake Crouchs: Summer Frost: https://www.amazon.com/review/R2Q3XD351WUGT9/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8

NK Jemisins Emergency Skin:
https://www.amazon.com/review/R1WKFGRTWHEROB/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8)

As the last installment to the six mind-bending short story, futuristic series, “Future,” this last entre created a satisfying end to the well-conceived and expertly written sextet of imaginative and thought-provoking stories.

This fast and delightful read highlights the uncertain ambiguity of quantum computing and the creative abilities of humans to create criminal misuses of any technological or mathematical achievement. Andy Weir’s focused storytelling includes subtle wit and wise sociological insights into how easy scientific advances can be corrupted for individual power and profit.

The author’s ability to stir the imagination, while also explaining advanced technologies simply, makes this engaging storyline believable and insightful. Audible’s narrative dramatic supplement adds complementary entertainment value to this provocative shot read.

I appreciate Amazon’s bringing these short collections together, allowing busy readers with the chance to explore unusual fictional topics by exceptional authors. An excellent way for curious minds to delve into engaging topics and read-test both familiar and unfamiliar authors, without investing too much time or money.

So glad I found this unique and memorable reading collection!

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