I've resisted posting this story for several years now, since it seemed that where I was and what I was doing on September 11, 2001 is really immaterial in light of the terror and tragedy of that day. There was also a bit of reluctance as it necessarily involves others who might not want to be associated with my blog. But it's been five years, and the story has a point, so here it is anyway:
In 2001 I was a partner in a small engineering firm developing a unique radio chip and broadcast communications network for Microsoft Corp. It was easily the largest and most difficult project our company had undertaken. Needless to say, the company's fortunes were closely tied to the project's success.
Now, Microsoft has an interesting procedure for project reporting. Every 3 months or so, the project status has to be reported to Bill Gates personally, along with a demonstration of any in-process hardware or software. As Der Tag approaches, the most amazing pressure is generated to have the best possible report.
Our report date was the afternoon of September 11, and as of the morning of September 10th we weren't ready. Our hardware didn't work, and it really had to. We were up in Redmond at Microsoft Research, working with equally motivated Microsoft people all day and late into the night. It wasn't until about 4AM PST (about the time that Mohammad Atta was getting aboard UA175) that we knew how to fix it. But 4AM isn't the time to start cutting up circuit boards, so we all went off for a few hours sleep, figuring we could get the job done in the morning.
At 7:30 AM (PST) my hotel phone rings and my partner tells me that "Tom Clancy was right." I say "mumble, huh?" And he tells me to turn on the TV. I ask "What channel?" and he says "Whatever." Shit. The second tower had just come down, the world seemed about to blow up, and it was 50/50 that someone was going to get nuked before the sun set.
And we still had to get our board fixed, as the meeting was still on. Apparently Bill Gates' schedule is not easily changed. So me, my partner (who is the guy who actually has to present to Gates) and our lead technician trundle off to MS and try to get it finished. Needless to say, there was a lot of distraction. If there is one thing you can get at MS Research, it's a good Internet connection, so we were constantly interrupted by the latest bits of news and every last wrong rumor.
Somehow, though, we managed to focus on what was in front of us, got it done, and my partner went off with a MS VP to do the presentation to Gates, and it all went just fine. They left our air turned on, and about a year later we delivered the product, which Microsoft is still using in several hardware devices.
It would have been so easy to throw up our hands that day and give up and try to put it over to another day. We might have even got away with it, given the enormity of the events, and the fact that our project was championed by Gates himself. But I'm glad we didn't and Gates didn't. I'm glad a lot of people didn't, with whatever they had to do that day.
And maybe that's the real story of 9/11.
(other remembrances linked here and here)
Posted by Kevin Murphy at September 11, 2006 02:13 PM | TrackBack