by Brad Bowen

Created on: August 06, 2008

VIRTUAL CONTROL

Prologue

The eight men and two women waited in the richly appointed executive boardroom, each deep in thought and restless with anticipation. The room took up the entire top floor of the thirty-story, ultra modern corporate office, affording its occupants a commanding view of Scottsdale, Arizona's McDowell Mountains. At dusk on this late spring evening, the sunset cast a fiery hue of red, orange and pink across the cloudless western sky.

Known to Phoenicians as the Valley of the Sun, visitors were invariably struck by the stark beauty of the Arizona desert landscape, and enjoyed the many outdoor activities afforded by the year-round warm climate. However, for the ten powerful people seated in the plush leather executive chairs, the upscale vibe of downtown Scottsdale, with its affluent suburban enclaves and championship golf courses, wonderful climate and obvious prosperity simply didn't register.

As highly successful CEOs of some of the largest public and private firms on Earth, all sat on various corporate boards and each commanded great respect as de facto leaders in their respective fields. As is the case with most powerful executives, they all regarded money and time as their most precious resources. At this moment, some were reviewing business proposals, while others checked e-mail or looked over meeting notes on their satellite infrared communicator-organizers, known as SICOs. In reality, it was nervous energy and palpable anticipation of what lay ahead For these men and women were about to experience something truly mind boggling - a demonstration of technology so sublime it promised to change not only the way people work and interact, but literally the world itself.

Chapter One

Synapse Technology Group, Inc. was the overnight software success story of the decade and the toast of Wall Street. Developers of a suite of revolutionary new software applications, the initial product launch and financial analyst's briefing held just two months prior in New York City had been wildly successful.

Now, as he fielded several early morning calls from distribution partners, a host of industry executives and several leading online publications, thirty-four year old Kendall Jamieson felt the sweet rush of success coursing through his veins. As Executive Vice-President of Marketing and General Manager for STGI, as the company was now being called, Jamieson's responsibilities encompassed worldwide marketing, software development, operations and online distribution.

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