Ratings1
Average rating5
When an AI that monitors casino gambling in Reno taunts a magician by revealing all his tricks, the magician is determined to exact his revenge... in Ian McDonald's Tor.com Original short story The Guile. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
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A free short story from TOR.com.
Set only a short time in our future, where AI starts to replace human jobs, a stage magician in a Reno casino is tormented by the casino's AI security robot. Can the magician's sleight of hand eventually outwit the AI?
Couple of quotes:
“In my theory,” Jack said without losing a beat—he knows how to work an audience—“every effect has two elements, the guile and the panache. The panache is all the showmanship, the patter, the props, the dressing. The panache is how you sell the effect. But the trick, the magic: That's the guile. The panache is there to hide the guile. People see the panache and miss the guile.-There are only ten magic effects. Vanish, produce, transform, restore. Transpose, transport, escape. Levitation, penetration, prediction. Everything else is panache.
3 stars -quick fun.