Idea for a book
In a society that values honesty in public life, fines are levied for discretion. Fail to reveal something you know publicly and you will be fined, with the amount proportional to the seriousness and impact of the secret. A class of professional gossips arises, people who are paid to reveal secrets and stump up the fine for them. When one of these Tellers accidentally discovers a murder committed by a senior politician, he has to try and get together the money for the fine so he can reveal what he knows, before the bailiffs for the Judge of the Truth catch up with him and force him to talk or the politician's people track him down and stop him talking forever.