The Truth Machine

by James L. Halperin

  When he had killed Scoggins, his options decreased. Even then he had spurned the opportunity to confess under terms of the Amnesty Laws. Unfortunately, that option had expired 10 months ago.

  Although there was nothing he could do to change the circumstances, he did attempt to assuage his conscience. He gave almost all his ATI dividends to charities—over $5 billion in 2031, and double that amount so far in 2032 with another quarterly check to go. He set up a $50 billion venture capital fund to finance promising businesses in medicine and education. He continued to volunteer his time to government software projects. And he insisted that all ATI business practices be above reproach; the best interests of employees and customers took precedence over those of its shareholders, of which he was by far the largest.

  These were hardly sacrifices for Pete. In fact they often increased his wealth. For example, despite price-reduction of the ACIP (or possibly because of it), the market had multiplied so that in 2032 the division was on track to earn over $70 billion after taxes.

  ATI’s profit was a staggering sum, but insignificant compared with the ACIP’s true value to society. Virtual elimination of crime and increased efficiencies in government and industry had caused the standard of living in the United States to skyrocket. Personal income (adjusted for inflation) had already increased by 168 percent since 2024, mostly as a direct result of the ACIP. And the machine’s benefits would accelerate for years.

  Already used in virtually every business in America, the ACIP’s home market, at 11-percent penetration, was also expanding rapidly. Potential overseas figures for the ACIP had already been reflected in ATI’s stock price, now 39 times last year’s earnings. According to Fortune magazine, by January 2032, 16 of the 17 greatest personal fortunes in America had been created from ATI stock. And Pete Armstrong’s holdings were over 13 times greater than those of any other ATI stockholder.

  Pete received more press coverage than any person on the planet, most of it positive; his reclusiveness only added to his mystique. Not quite 43 years old, he was the most eligible bachelor on earth, yet he rarely dated. He was the most admired businessman in the world, yet he despised himself. Pete may have been the most intelligent human being on the face of the planet, yet increasingly often he thought, I am the lowest form of life.

  CHAPTER 38

  DIPLOMACY

  Beijing, China, and Paris, France

  September 15, 2035—The day before President West’s scheduled visit to Beijing, China implies it might not ratify the World Government Initiative unless the voting system is redesigned. Chinese Premier Yeung complains that the system unfairly favors those nations with the smallest populations.—The Justice Department releases projections that the number of criminals executed in the United States in 2035 will fall below 1,000 for the first time since Swift and Sure was enacted in 2005.

  “Please accept this token of the special friendship between our two countries, the two most generous nations on earth.”

  President David West presented Premier Lee Sun Yeung with the first handheld ACIP unit to leave United States soil. For several weeks China had been the only country outside North America authorized to receive shipments of ACIPs when exports had been legalized in 2029, a fact of which David was anxious to remind Yeung.

  The Premier accepted the gift in well-rehearsed, nearly perfect English. “Allowing China to import these Truth Machines six years ago was perhaps the greatest act of kindness ever bestowed upon us by another nation.”

  In fact the ACIPs, coveted by the Chinese government for law enforcement, had led to the downfall of China’s most corrupt political leaders. Ironically, many of those leaders had been the very ones clamoring for early access to the machines. Yeung himself, innocent of criminal intent but overly trusting of his subordinates, had barely escaped the fallout from a scandal that had cost him two of his closest advisors.

  But the benefits the ACIP had brought to most areas of Chinese life were astonishing. Crime was nearly eliminated. Science and industry flourished. The Chinese economy, which had fallen behind that of the United States during the five years that America had an exclusive on the ACIP, had recovered its position as the world’s largest. Not to mention the fact that in 2031 the Truth Machine had saved the great city of Shanghai from nuclear catastrophe.

  David, Diana, and Premier Yeung were escorted to a garden room where ACIPs and Sun Translator Units had been specially installed. The two machines had revolutionalized diplomacy, virtually eliminating misunderstandings.

  Using a combination of persuasion, friendship, cajoling, and thinly veiled threats against certain dictators who opposed it, David West had already received written commitments from every government on earth to submit to World Government if the WGI was ratified by 80 percent of nations representing at least 75 percent of the world’s population. But this would not be easy to accomplish, and without China, it would be virtually impossible.

  The three sat among flowers and fish ponds in specially made chairs facing each other. Although everyone knew the machines were there, no STUs were visible, and only the red and green ACIP lights could be seen in the left armrest of each chair.

  “Premier Yeung,” David asked, “how serious are you about withdrawing from the Initiative?”

  Yeung could have refused to answer, but that would have been counterproductive. “As long as I am Premier of China, we will ratify the World Government Initiative, even in its present form. But if you don’t give us some concession on the voting system, I will have difficulty remaining in office. I think there is only a small chance I would be impeached, but even if not, my ability to make sure the transition goes smoothly could be diminished.”

  The green light didn’t flicker.

  David asked him, “What’s the least it would take to assure you would remain in control of the process?”

  Yeung’s answer was evasive, but not deceitful. “If you could move the ‘one-person one-vote’ date ahead by 35 years to 2090, I am confident that would do it.” The light remained green.

  Of course that’d do it, David thought, but what’s the least it would take? Still, Yeung’s request was not unreasonable. OPOV in 2090 would give smaller nations a disproportionate voice in world politics for the first 45 years of World Government, but would phase in absolute democracy at a faster pace. And at several world summit meetings, David had publicly stated that the 2125 date was only a preliminary estimate for OPOV, subject to further negotiation.

  “The problem,” David said, “is that if I accede to your request, smaller nations might band together and threaten to withdraw unless we grant each of them some sort of concession. Any idea how to avoid that?”

  Yeung didn’t look at the ACIP lights. He knew that West had already been test-scipped by his staff on every conceivable declaration he might make today. Even in 2035, few people bothered to look at their ACIP lights anymore. Just knowing the subject was aware of the ACIP was enough to instill confidence.21

  Diana interrupted. “May I suggest something?”

  Both men nodded.

  “Some nations fear they might lose their autonomy in a World Government and don’t want to be overwhelmed by the voting power of giants like China.” This statement was true of course, but rather tactfully expressed. In fact, many government leaders hated the idea of giving up their power at all and resisted World Government any way they could. But without the ability to lie, politicians could offer their electorates no acceptable arguments for delay.

  “It’s an important goal of the Initiative,” Diana continued, “that large blocs of voters must not be manipulated by national governments into voting for programs they don’t really understand. The representative democracy of the United States has rarely decided national issues by referendum; its voters elect legislators to represent their interests. While far from perfect, the U.S. government has turned out to be the most successful political experiment in history and has lasted almost two and a half centuries for just this reason. Fortunatel
y, we have similar checks and balances in the WGI; elections of representatives will be much like our national elections. But there will be more frequent world referendums than there have ever been in the United States.”

  Diana continued, “As long as China still agrees that OPOV must include ‘issue testing,’22 I think the time-table could be moved ahead, at least to the year 2100. That’s regarded as a long way off and most countries view absolute democracy as a goal anyway. When we put it to a vote by country, you could call in some favors and so could we. We’d present it as a matter of fairness, rather than as a specific request from the world’s wealthiest and most populous nation. I suspect moving OPOV up to 2090 would make it much more difficult to get the votes we’d need, and we sure don’t want to give anyone an excuse to drop out. But I’m confident we could enact with OPOV in 2100 if China would guarantee not to press for further concessions.”

  “That’s only 10 more years,” David added, joking, “a mere nanosecond in the cosmic equation.”

  Yeung smiled. “Would you both be willing to spend a few days touring our country and talking about the World Government Initiative? Here in China, your first lady is the most famous and popular of all Americans. I think it might make a difference.”

  The green light held steady, since his uncertainty had been properly expressed.

  “We’d be honored.”

  “And I will agree to your suggestion.”

  The meeting had been choreographed over the previous few days, but the negotiations themselves, which might have taken years without the ACIP, lasted less than three minutes.

  As much as the ACIP had already transformed the science of negotiation in politics, it had done even more for business. On the same day in Paris, Tilly negotiated a licensing agreement to bundle ACIPs into software packages for briefcase-sized supercomputers. The negotiation was so important that she attended in person rather than talking via holographic image.

  She met with Peureux et Cie, the largest French integrated computer firm, and negotiated directly with Chloe Peureux, daughter of the founder.

  Each began by formally declaring, “I have reviewed and now understand all of my company’s calculations, and have confirmed both their accuracy and objectivity using scip and Thacker Guidelines on all parties involved. I am aware of no undisclosed facts that could affect either company.” Since they each held important positions, there was no possibility that any facts could have been withheld from them by their own people, especially with ACIPs universally in use.

  “We’ve calculated the value and related costs and are willing to pay as much as $220 annually per unit, if necessary,” Peureux told Tilly.

  “One of your competitors offered us $172, but you have much better name recognition, which will help sell more units,” Tilly revealed. “Therefore ATI is willing to sell Peureux the rights for as little as $126, if necessary.”

  Since Peureux’s costs were higher than ATI’s, they agreed to include the difference in their compromise. The process took about 90 seconds. They settled on an annual fee of $167 per unit.

  Prior to the ACIP, little of that information would have been disclosed. Worse yet, any information offered might not have been true and often wasn’t believed even if it were true. The buyer would start low, the seller would start high (the exact opposite of today’s method), and both would attempt to meet in the middle—eventually. The final price might have been the same, but the haggling would often take months or years, the legal fees could be astronomical, and the likelihood of a deal ever being made would be far less.

  Today’s meeting between Tilly and Peureux was (and remains) typical of scip-expedited business negotiations. Prior to the Truth Machine era, deal-making was so time-consuming that most potential transactions were never discussed in the first place.

  When business scips were first legalized, many companies had refused to divulge proprietary information. But those firms quickly discovered that companies who played by the new rules of free disclosure were capturing most of the market. Nearly all the hold-outs reconsidered. Those who didn’t adjust lost market share or went out of business.

  The volume of successfully consummated transactions rose exponentially, to the great benefit of every nation’s economy. Wealth was being created at a rate unprecedented in human history, and poverty had been virtually eliminated from the planet.

  CHAPTER 39

  RETIREMENT

  Washington DC

  January 20, 2037—Genzyme Corporation announces a successfully tested genetic therapy for all allergic reactions. The regimen, to be marketed under the name His tamex, consists of individually engineered histamine and immune response blockers delivered through the bloodstream by millions of self-replicating nanoma chines, each about one-fifth the size of a human cell. The machines were also designed to help repair tissue damaged by allergies. Genzyme reports that Histamex therapy has also proven effective against most forms of arthritis. FDA approval is expected to be granted, as usual, within three days of the announcement.—Former Vice President Caroline Whitcomb is inaugurated as the first female President of the United States. In her address, she pledges to “steadfastly uphold the policies and principles of the greatest leader of our time, President David West.”

  David West had served two four-year terms, during which America and the rest of the world experienced unprecedented economic growth and increased satisfaction with nearly every aspect of life. He had delivered on all his major promises to the American people, and at the end of his presidency his approval rating was over 90 percent. He had chosen his own successor, a woman regarded as a brilliant leader.

  By almost any measure, he had enjoyed an astoundingly successful presidency, but did not take credit for his success.

  In his farewell address on January 19, 2037, President West thanked Diana, “my wife, my partner, the love of my life.” He commended the leaders of every nation for their support of the World Government Initiative which, to the world’s amazement, had been ratified while David was still in office. He also offered high praise to his Vice President, now President-elect Caroline Whitcomb, daughter of former Treasury Secretary and presidential candidate Audrey Whitcomb, the first person for whom David had ever voted—32 years earlier.

  But he saved his kindest words for Pete.

  “Diana and I urge the world to recognize with gratitude our best friend, Randall Petersen Armstrong, the genius whose invention may have made the difference between the unprecedented improvement of the human condition we’ve enjoyed, versus our destruction, which might well have already occurred without the ACIP.

  “Today my biggest regret is that I didn’t try to persuade Congress to allow exports of ACIPs sooner. I wish I’d been more forceful in my efforts, but as an ATI stockholder, I didn’t want to appear as though I were lobbying for my own profit.”

  In retrospect, David was so well trusted even in the mid-2020s that few would have doubted his sincerity, but he hadn’t realized that at the time.

  He continued, “My timid lack of action cost the rest of the world several years of the most beneficial invention ever created. I consider it my worst mistake. Still, all in all, I’m delighted with the way things turned out.

  “At the beginning of the Truth Machine era, some were afraid that Pete’s invention might destroy a privacy we all took for granted. In a way they were right, but their fears missed the point. Now that we understand human nature more clearly, it is apparent how dangerous our situation was. No longer can we enjoy the same privacies while preserving safety for the human race. Privacy indulges secrecy, and it is secrecy that now most imperils our survival.

  “The only reasonable alternative to privacy is openness, which must always be a two-way street. If I access your archives, you should know that you’re being scrutinized, and that I’m the one who’s doing it. And you must receive equal entry to my archives as well. That’s openness, not surveillance. Otherwise our society could become totalitarian, like the realm depict
ed in George Orwell’s novel, 1984.”

  Finally David asked his constituency to practice this openness in their daily lives. “There are no laws requiring you to answer any question as long as you’re willing to accept the consequences of the refusal. When your teenage son or daughter asks if you’ve always been faithful to your spouse, or if you cheated on your taxes before the Truth Machine was introduced, you’re not required to reply. But I know that, were I fortunate enough to have a child, I’d let her scip me and would always respond openly to such questions, regardless of the answer. It’s far easier to forgive imperfection than lack of candor.”

  That phrase struck Pete like an arrow piercing his soul. He sat directly behind David and received a standing ovation when introduced to the crowd. He was pleased and proud, but also felt sick at heart.

  In his tormented imagination, he heard Charles Scoggins’s scornful laughter. Ha! What would they think if they knew the so-called savior of the human race was really a murderer and a liar?

  Immediately after Whitcomb’s inauguration, Pete and David attended a service at one of Washington DC’s many Unitarian churches. They had heard that Reverend Dr. Asia Jonas, the famous minister, would be conducting the service, so they decided to drop in unannounced. One Secret Service agent accompanied them, though he wasn’t needed; there were fewer than 500 murders in the United States in 2037 and hardly any were premeditated. The Steinberg mental illness tests had identified nearly all potential killers and allowed them to be successfully treated.