The Island Project: A Thriller (22 page)

CHAPTER 53

CERTA GROUNDS, BETA SECTOR

16 OCTOBER, 8:27 A.M.

The last thing Kam had done before he got off the phone was to open all doors and gates on the CERTA grounds. The large front gate swung open wide and Lee drove the Jeep through. As soon as they exited they were met by a slew of police cars and ambulances coming down the narrow road. Lee parked off to the side of the road while Bennett lifted Kelly out of the Jeep and carried her to the ambulance. The medics rushed out of the back with a gurney and helped Bennett lift her onto it.

Men and women in white uniforms crowded around Kelly, checking vitals and shoving tubes into her body. The lead medic, a woman named Karen, proceeded to ask Bennett questions about Kelly’s situation. She wanted to know how she had attained her injuries and roughly when they had occurred. Bennett told her everything he knew.

Before they loaded him into the ambulance, Bennett couldn’t help but notice a black SUV pull up and park far away from the scene. The men in dark suits who exited the vehicle looked ridiculously out of place in the tropical surroundings. They watched from afar until the ambulances left, then they proceeded onto the facility grounds.

About fifteen minutes later, a helicopter landed in the middle of the highway and Kelly was medevac’d to the Hilo Medical Center.

Kelly’s father, Dr. Donald Adler, was the attending physician on site. He had insisted he be the one to examine her. Bennett was taken to the hospital as well and was tended for his injuries in the room next to Kelly’s.

A few hours later, Kelly woke up.

Dr. Adler’s brief stated that she had received a near-fatal dose of Sodium Pentothal. If Kelly had received as much as an additional milliliter of Pentothal, her body would have completely shut down.

Tom Bennett had pulled the robot off of her, literally, just in time.

Outside of the laceration on his face, a minor concussion and two broken ribs—Tom Bennett was on the mend and was released from the hospital within a few days. He stayed behind, however, and remained by Kelly’s side as she was monitored throughout the week. Dr. Adler was pleased to have Tom’s company while he monitored his daughter’s progress.

News surrounding the illegal activities at CERTA blew up like a nuclear bomb. It turned out that the juggernaut project was only the tip of the iceberg. Dr. Rupert Perry had been leading a slew of unsanctioned initiatives that had never been approved by DARPA or the Department of Defense. All operations were shut down and the facility was ransacked for evidence. Detective Jim Lee headed up the investigation and worked as local contact to the Department of Defense. Oddly enough, it turned out that only about 90% of the company data was retrieved. There were entire files completely unaccounted for that, unfortunately—never turned up. The missing information was deemed extremely sensitive to the DOD, considering it retained entire engineering diagrams and schematics for the next-level robots.

The facility itself lay vacant in the forest. It was rumored that they would turn the grounds into a Ranger Station for the nearby Wildlife Refuge.

Rick Danner, Head of Security at the facility, was not accounted for. His body was never found.

CHAPTER 54

MALIBU, CALIFORNIA

6 NOVEMBER, 10:20 A.M.

THREE WEEKS PASSED.

Tom Bennett returned to the mainland to meet with the production agency about the movie. He was able to keep the events that happened on the island a secret, for the most part. As far as the agency knew, Tom had returned with an amazing portfolio of shoot locations. The producers were thrilled with the photos he brought back. They slated the film to begin production in one month. Bennett received a healthy compensation bonus for his scouting work and a pat on the back from the film’s Director himself.

Bennett pulled off the Pacific Coast Hwy and parked his car in front of his Malibu beachside villa. He walked through the house and stepped out onto the veranda overlooking the Pacific Ocean. He leaned on the banister and gazed out over the water.

The turquoise sea looked particularly vibrant today. The smell of saltwater hung in the air, which Bennett found comforting. He also got contentment knowing that the massive body of water shared a shoreline with a certain island roughly 2,500 miles away.

There happened to be someone there he had on his mind.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He dialed a number and heard the line connect.

“Hey you!”

“Hey…”

Bennett could hear her smiling. He loved that she did that.

“How was your meeting with the producers?”

“Good. They loved the shots. In fact they were so impressed that they’re moving up production a month to get started.”

“That’s great!” Kelly said.

“Yeah. How was you’re meeting with the board?” Bennett asked.

He heard Kelly let out a small chuckle. “You know, it went
really
good. It turns out an anonymous donor contributed a
very
generous amount of money to the Wildlife Observatory Fund. It was enough to reach our goal for the final phase of development
and
even contribute to our current animal shelter.”

“Wow, Kelly. That’s great news!” Bennett said enthusiastically.

“Yeah, right? Whoever did that was an incredibly kind and caring person. It’s too bad we’ll never know who it was.”

“Well, some things are better left a mystery. I can’t tell you how happy I am to hear that though.”

Bennett heard a voice in the background. It sounded like Kelly was somewhere crowded.

Kelly sighed. “I miss you…”

“Yeah, I miss you too. Next week…I’ll be back on the island. Then we’ll get to see each other.”

“Yeah…I can’t wait that long.” Kelly said, very matter of fact.

“I know, me neither.” Bennett said.

“No.
I really can’t
,” she said sweetly. “That’s why I’m at the airport…I’ll be there in a few hours.”

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CONCLUSION

THE TURNING POINT

I can recall…as many of us can…seeing the videos spread virally across the Internet. Videos, sent out by companies like DARPA and Boston Dynamics, showing robots in various stages of development.

The videos weren’t leaked, as might have been expected—quite the contrary. The videos were provided to inform the public of the progress being made.

It is a different time. A time when the general public is unabashedly accepting of such progress and intrigued to such a level that it overshadows the impending danger—which is seen by many as “inevitable”. The technology itself is transparent, and its delivery method is well thought out by brilliant marketing minds using the same marketing tactics that were introduced to cable television networks, consumer electronic manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies and multinational corporations. A simple method, which is achieved by a time-tested marketing formula:

Give the public a controlled degree of exposure during the creation of a concept. Over time as the product is developed, the public is given previews and updates on the progress at benchmark intervals. Throughout the process, feedback is collected by means of social buzz and interactive forums. By the time the product is complete, the public as a whole feels as if they achieved success as well. They are given a false sense of ownership, even before they actually own the product themselves.

Frogs, pots and boiling water.

The progression of Artificial Intelligence in robotics manufacturing has been intentionally transparent for a reason—
the technology is terrifying when left to the “unguided” imagination.
The only way for AI exploration to occur, without stigma, is if we all “sail the ocean blue” together. A journey with which marketing can help steer by creating a feeling of excitement, entitlement and an inexplicable sense of security.

The current state of AI in regards to robotics is very much in its infancy. However, it is growing exceedingly fast and branching far outside of assembly machines and chip manufacturing. It’s everywhere you look, and everywhere you don’t.

As far as the Defense Department is concerned, there is nothing to hide. Not yet.

It’s a race to the finish by which artificial intelligence is the subject and the finish line is—[fill in the blank]. The race is real, and the U.S. Department of Defense is subsidizing and even providing scholarships to those “most likely to succeed” in future development.

THE ISLAND PROJECT