The Island Project: A Thriller by Taylor Buck

correct itself if in fall. The robot can actually sense if it’s off balance and shift weight to the appropriate areas.
    The CERTA scientists were actually capable of increasing the amount of AI that the robots could process, but the Department of Defense didn’t allow it. In 2014, The Artificial Intelligence Ethics and Regulations Act was passed, deeming any degree of intelligence used in robotic technology to first be approved by the DOD. They considered the regulations necessary due to the rise in AI over the past ten years.
    For the juggernauts, the DOD put an initiative in place to begin with a marginal amount of AI and gradually upgrade the software over time, as needed. This regulated the progress of the robots and allowed DARPA to monitor production at a safe and controlled distance. Over time, Perry had managed to keep DARPA audits to a minimum. Danner hadn’t seen an auditor come by in over eight months. He was curious to whether DARPA was aware of the current state of the juggernaut project.
    It was no secret that Dr. Perry felt restricted by the AI regulating. He accused the Department of Defense of being lumpenproletariats, and faulted them for being afraid of forward progression. Of course, he didn’t like any sort of limitations with regards to his science. Neither did Kenneth Braden, who was in charge of AI development. In fact Braden had caused a fuss on a few occasions with the auditors who had come by in the past. It was obvious he wanted to raise the levels of AI in the robots, but the DOD representatives were very specific with what they allowed, and they threatened to pull funding if the guidelines weren’t followed. In the end, Braden agreed to abide. Dr. Perry was forced to supervise and CERTA, as a whole, stayed within the given guiderails. But only Braden truly knew what AI level the juggernauts were operating at on any given day. On top of that, Dr. Perry wasn’t around much anymore. He was usually off giving lectures or meeting with dignified members of society to raise money for endeavors. Dr. Perry was getting old. And with his age he had become increasingly less involved with the minutiae of the projects CERTA was involved in. Braden clearly ran the juggernaut project, for example. He oversaw all development and basically engineered the entire robot.
    Danner had always seen Braden as an odd one. He was known as the lone ranger at CERTA, always working late and keeping to himself. To Danner—the guy was suspicious. Danner also noticed Dr. Perry seemed to hold private meetings with him on multiple occasions.

    Danner was making good time. He hopped over a bed of black lava rock and crossed into the Beta Section. He stopped to look around. He was now out of site from the facility. Nothing but trees, bushes and tropical plants surrounded him.
    Danner had been trekking cross-country to where Kane had last checked in from, avoiding the trails. He figured he was roughly a hundred yards from the shock fence. Soon the south gate entrance would be visible—a single access door in the shock fence wall.
    The morning sun was working its way up into the sky and Danner could feel the temperature beginning to rise. He removed his thermal shell, placing it into his supply pack and continued on. A few paces further, he came across the shock fence stretching as far as the eye could see, from east to west. As he moved in closer, he spotted the door about thirty yards down.
    It was open.
    The door was open.
    Danner broke into a sprint. They wouldn’t leave the door open, would they? Danner was quite confident that his team wouldn’t have intentionally allowed a careless act such as this. He had to get it shut. Even though it probably wouldn’t make a difference to Lorry, Danner figured anything he could do to prevent an escape would help.
    He ran fast toward the gate. He was within ten yards of the door when he tripped on a large object that sent him whirling toward the fence, landing him within just