Mag’s respect for her uncle and mentor turns to awe when, at the urgent request of the United Nations, his company develops an artificial intelligence to curb a crippling global internet hacking crisis. The AI is christened “Dyrette” and to everyone’s delight data peace is restored. Mag’s youthful admiration changes to loathing, however, when she then discovers her Uncle Richard is secretly developing an implantable bio-metric device to connect people directly to Dyrette through the “internet of things.” Mags knows IoTs are fast becoming the electronic gatekeepers of commerce and travel. Not only does she feel the implant is dehumanizing she also considers such personal “supervision” to be the ultimate challenge to privacy and freedom.
She confronts her uncle. Making her choice between family and fighting a web-tethered fate Mags throws a handful of prototype wafers on his desk like so many gold doubloons and marches out of his office in disgust. She slips out of the company facility but not before inserting a “vulnerability” into Dyrette’s code.
The conflict plays out between them at a gathering of experts and futurists convened by the United Nations called the Summit of Meaning. The collective sense of global identity and culture brought on by the phenomena of Dyrette has compelled humanity to ask, what’s its role in the universe? Also fueling the passion to understand mankind’s significance is the growing scientific realization that there may be life on other planets. Uncle Richard has been asked to weigh in and Mag’s decides to secretly attend.
Mags recruits a group of students and off-grid resisters who use their talents to combat the tech mogul’s efforts. She and her colleagues win the first round by taking Dyrette off-line at the Summit and destroying a massive initial shipment of wafers; diminishing both her uncle’s reputation and his riches as the world watches on.
Unfortunately, she knows it’s only a matter of time before Uncle Richard reboots Dyrette and tries again. Mags also knows he’s got a score to settle with her, family or no family. Can she utilize the skills she learned working for her uncle fighting hackers to hack into Dyrette herself and stop him for good before it’s too late?