QWERTY 2

Yesterday, Rome was ready to access the Essessoni computer and desired keyboard input. Rei accommodated her by activating the laser-driven keyboard. It used dual lasers to sculpt out a virtual keyboard and used infra-red sensors to detect the positions of the fingers and therefore deduce what keys are being pressed. This seems like science fiction but you can actually purchase these devices on Amazon today.

     “Let me look,” Rome said. Rei stood up and Rome sat down in his place. She scratched her head. “The keyboard must have gotten damaged from disuse,” she said in a dead serious tone.
     “Why do you say that?” Rei asked.
     “Look at the layout of the letters,” Rome said, pointing at the glowing red virtual keys. “Q W E R T Y,” Rome read out loud. “A nonsensical arrangement.”
     Rei laughed. “Everybody says that before they learn to touch type,” he said.
     “What do you mean?”
     “They are arranged in the order of convenience.”
     Rome shook her head.
     “In my language, E is the most commonly used letter followed by T and the rest of the vowels. The people who designed the keyboard made it so that you did the least amount of work during the course of the day reaching the keys you use the most.”
     Rome started to speak then breathed a loud sigh. She knew better than to continue even asking. She faced the screen and gently touched it with her fingers. Very quickly, she absorbed the basic principles behind the operating system and was able to navigate her way through the folder structure. It was very similar to that found on the original 19 data slabs she had been given which had caused the whole Darwin mess.
     The computer itself was sparsely populated and contained nothing like the crew manifest they were looking for. It consisted mostly of engineering diagrams, inventory lists and so on. Finally, Rome gave up.

To figure out information from the Essessoni, you have to think like an Essessoni. Where would Rome get her hands on one of these? Why, he is standing right next to her!