''The Truth Machine'' (

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

) is a

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

James L. Halperin James L. Halperin (born October 31, 1952) is an American businessman and author, who is the co-founder and co-chairman of Heritage Auctions, now the largest American auction house with 2022 sales in excess of $1.45 billion. In 1985 Halperin author ...

about a genius who invents an infallible

lie detector A polygraph, often incorrectly referred to as a lie detector test, is a pseudoscientific device or procedure that measures and records several physiological indicators such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity while a pe ...

. Soon, every citizen must pass a thorough test under a Truth Machine to get a job or receive any sort of license. Eventually, people begin wearing them all the time, thus eliminating

dishonesty Dishonesty is acting without honesty. The term describes acts which are meant to deceive, cheat, or mislead. Dishonesty is a basic feature of most offences defined in criminal law, such as fraud, which relates to the illicit acquisition, conversi ...

in all parts of human interaction, and eliminating crime, terrorism and a great deal of general social problems.

Plot

The novel primarily focuses on the life story of Randall Peterson "Pete" Armstrong, a child prodigy with total recall memory, whose entire life's outlook has been defined by the tragic murder of his younger brother, Leonard, by an ex-convict who was believed to be capable of committing violent crimes again, but could not be imprisoned any longer under the current law structure. Pete is committed to making a difference for humanity that will atone for his brother's death and help millions of others, too. In his first year at Harvard at the age 13, Pete is recruited to enroll in a small, but exclusive, class of the brightest and most agile students on campus. In that class, he meets people and establishes friendships that will further his identity. It is there that the idea of a 'truth machine' is conceived and Pete realizes that its existence is possible and that he could do it. The 'truth machine' would be a mechanism that would be 100% accurate in determining if a person was lying or telling the truth. It could help eliminate crime and dishonesty in general. As long as it is employed universally (and not just by government officials), the 'truth machine' could revolutionize humanity and take it to that next evolutionary step which would help it avert its coming self-destruction. The protagonist places a back door in the book's otherwise infallible lie detector, allowing him to avoid detection when he repeats fragments of Walt Whitman's poem "

O Captain! My Captain! "O Captain! My Captain!" is an extended metaphor poem written by Walt Whitman in 1865 about Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, the death of U.S. president Abraham Lincoln. Well received upon publication, the poem was Whitman's first to be Anth ...

" in his mind.

Reception

The novel was originally self-published but eventually was picked up by

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

. The novel was extremely popular for several years, rising to #2 on Amazon.com at one point and selling several hundred thousand copies worldwide. It is still in print. In 2005 it was announced that the book was in development as a major motion picture at

Lions Gate Lions Gate, Lion Gate or similar terms may refer to: Gates *Lion Gate at Mycenae in Greece *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the ancient Hittite city of Hattusa, now in Turkey *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the gardens of Hampton Court Pala ...

References

External links

''The Truth Machine''
free download 1996 American novels Dystopian novels Novels about geopolitics American science fiction novels {{1990s-sf-novel-stub

Plot

Reception

See also

References

External links