The Oracle

Fears of a weaponized blockchain become reality when a software developer races to deactivate the rogue smart contract targeting him for assassination.

Life is comfortable for a prominent, if schlubby, developer at a New York City blockchain company. That is, until FBI Special Agent Diane Duménil seeks his help against a bewildering threat: The Delphians, worshippers of the god Apollo, have launched a rogue program on a blockchain. It’s offering a crypto bounty to assassinate a European archaeology professor. 

The developer brushes off the danger until he learns the next target: himself. 

Mythical antiquity collides with a near-future cyberworld as The Oracle’s unassuming hero and his FBI partner race against time to dismantle the Delphians’ murderous blockchain software. Theirs is a whirlwind tale of oracles ancient and modern, vanished antiquities and conjured crypto billions, cybercriminals and digital idealists—narrated by a cynical hero normally more concerned with dark chocolate than the consequences of the technologies he’s pioneering. What happens when the crypto ideals of privacy and truth might cost human lives—especially your own?
 

Dr. Ari Juels is a professor at Cornell Tech in New York City and at Cornell University, and codirector of the Initiative for CryptoCurrencies and Contracts (IC3). A renowned expert on blockchains and smart contracts, he also serves as Chief Scientist at Chainlink Labs, developer of today’s most widely used blockchain oracles.

"Ari Juels is a brilliant researcher at the forefront of understanding cryptography and what it means for our ability to trust each other and what we see in the world."
—Vitalik Buterin, inventor of Ethereum

"A common definition of science fiction is 'making an argument for a world that has not yet come into existence.' In The Oracle, Ari Juels, a person at the heart of building tomorrow's world, does just that. A roller-coaster thriller that takes you irresistibly down a slippery slope of empowered cults using the latest technology to wag the societal dog. A must-read if you want to understand the new frontier that crypto brings to the real world. Brilliantly written and also very approachable, teaching you the basics of the crypto world of blockchain, smart contracts, and oracles in a fun and accessible way."
 —Laurence Moroney, AI Lead at Google and bestselling author

"At once a fun read and witty primer on the tech and moral quandaries of the blockchain universe. The Oracle is a rare treat."
—Martha Pollack, president, Cornell University

"Blockchain technology is changing the world and creating new myths and legends along the way. If you’re not in the thick of it—and even if you are—I can’t think of a more entertaining and exhilarating ride than The Oracle." 
—Dr. Emin Gün Sirer, founder and CEO, Ava Labs