What could be more fascinating than watching a squad of heroic IT pros and developers saving the world from….just about everything?

We know—reading their email! So let's read them right here. Each week, we’ll quietly copy a message from one of our characters’ mail servers and reproduce it here.

Date: Thursday, July 31, 2008
From: Steve -
To: file merry8261@yahoo.com
Subject: Homeward bound…

"I'm sitting in railway station got a ticket for my destination…."
Better yet, I am sitting at an airport…with a ticket for home.

Security at ZZZ:
Mary,
How do I start? Would saying I am terribly sorry for not calling or writing be a good start?
I have been a jerk…I know. And I am sorry. Really.

But Mary, this mission…yes, that is what this trip is...this mission has been the culmination of everything I have ever wanted to happen in my work life. It all came together in some great convergence of talent. It was awesome…but it was also all consuming…in retrospect, perhaps too consuming.

I know what you are thinking…lame excuse. You are probably right……

But I wish you could have seen me the other day. We’ve been chasing down this wicked virus for months and now, as it was about to wreak havoc on a multi-national, multi-satellite initiative, I put on a the coolest space helmet loaded with a virtual reality visor and controls. And Mary, I did what every kid (and kid at heart) loves to do…I moved space craft around in outer space. I was anxious at first. I hadn’t played Moonbase Lander since I was a kid. But then it all came together…and it was like I had never stopped playing.

But this time I was not playing a game. And with the help of a powerful servers using the latest and fastest small form factor drive technology , my adult skill set melded with my child skills and I was actually skillfully controlling satellites from lots of countries—putting them back in orbit…keeping them from crashing to earth…saving lives and lots of money.

I hope you will accept this explanation. It was the thrill of a lifetime, but I am sorry about not communicating.

And Lee…I can't wait to see you. I have so many cool stories to tell you. For instance, do you know you can fly a corporate jet almost like a fighter jet? It’s true. Wait till I tell you some of the things we did over the South China Sea waiting for clearance to enter Chinese airspace.

See you soon,
Steve.