Heed the Dark Light

In a world divided by virtual sector walls after the dark web hack that caused the worldwide IoT meltdown, a group of people and magical beings who live in a parallel universe plan to reunite the globe. They will fight the dark force threatening to control the world through sophisticated artificial intelligence algorithms.
Years in the future, two young elite sproggers (recruits) of the most powerful military compound in the largest smart city in the U.S. go missing in a failed translocation operation. They land in an ancient crypt in Italy, to discover they're now among a small clan of magical beings who want to eradicate the evil force behind the artificial intelligence operating system that controls nearly the whole world through algorithms.
The race is on to find the sproggers before the unknown forces do.
About the Author: Originally from California, Duncan Hoode was a technical writer for over thirty years. Now retired, the author resides in Italy. "I researched smart cities, where everything is connected wirelessly (IoT), and information and communication technology (ICT) is used for data collection to manage assets and resources efficiently. But what data is really being collected, where does this information go, and who controls it? One night, I dreamt of a city where virtual screens drop out of thin air to give people advice on where to eat, what products to buy, which films to watch, what technology to use, essentially guiding people on every aspect of their lives. This inspired me to spin a heedful tale about power and technology run amok, because the ominous future is here."