I really enjoyed this book.

Halperin created a world where his "Truth machine" would fit in. One where there is more violent crime, and no ACLU.

The story is being told by a reporter at Randall Armstrong trial some fifty years in the future. Armstrong, is a super genius. He has a brother a couple years younger that would probably have been the same, but is murdered at the age of three or four. Armstrong writes software that helps with crime solving. Sharing information between law enforcement agencies, etc.

David Witkowsky is the son of a compulsive gambler, and is on his way to being a juvenile delinquent until a judge sits him down. David turns himself around. He, his mother and brother leave the father behind, changing their name to West. David becomes an A student, an all-state quarterback, and is socially conscious. He turns down athletic scholarships to go to Harvard.

Armstrong, West and others meet at Harvard in this special invitation-only class. This is where Armstrong first mentions his idea of a truth machine. Charles Scroggins, a genius, but not quite as ethical, isn't thrilled with the idea.

I didn't realize when I was reading the book that Halperin was setting everything up like a trick shot in pool, so that when the cues struck the balls right they'd all fall into their respective pockets, and in this case he'd have his version of Utopia.