[ WP ] A computer keyboard is a sentient being , but it can not move or speak . In its mind , it has a legitimate relationship with its human . Take us through a day in the life of a sentient keyboard .

*Here he comes! * The little keyboard waited expectantly, as she watched her human enter the cubicle they called home. *He ’ s a bit late today. * Her friend sat down heavily in the chair, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “ Mondays… ” He sighed. 
 
 She never understood his displeasure with Mondays, it was her favorite day of the week! Company policy required that computers remain powered on - but not logged in - throughout the weekend to allow for the IT department to remotely update Tower ’ s programming. This bothered energy conservationists, but the keyboard never minded. It meant she was awake at all times! Unfortunately, the weekends were long, lonely and boring, which made each Monday the exciting day her friend returned to her. 
 
 Her companion turned on Monitor and logged in, setting up for his day. The little keyboard had been with her human for nearly eight years, which was long for a keyboard. Over the years they ’ d lived in multiple different places; different cubicles around the company, and even an apartment desk when they ’ d first met. For each new place her friend would move, he would always bring her with, waking her up to see the new location. She ’ d had only one human before him, briefly, before her friend here had entered her life. She shuddered internally, and pushed the thought of the previous “ companion ” from her mind. *I like you better*, she thought. 
 
 The keyboard ’ s mind snapped back to the present. Her human was trying to search for something, but kept making mistakes. It was a phrase he had searched often the last few days, some sort of internal product code. He always forgot things on Mondays. She gently corrected the spelling, and helped him to the result he wanted. *There you go! * 
 
 Humans believed that autocomplete and autocorrect were in the software Tower stored in her disc drives, they never realized it was the only way a keyboard could interact with her human. Keyboards corrected or predicted spelling to show affection for their human. She didn ’ t always get it right the first time, but she helpfully provided options when she wasn ’ t sure. Her companion was very good to her too; he always kept dangerous water away from her, since humans seemed to live on that poison. He brushed crumbs off her when he accidentally got them on her, he cleaned the ever-settling dust away, and over the years he had fixed her multiple times when wear and age broke her leg or stuck a key. She held her human in high regard, and always tried her best to help him along. 
 
 Lunch came before too long, and her human stood and stretched before leaving the cubicle. When she was young she always worried he wouldn ’ t return, but by now she knew he ’ d only be gone a couple minutes. She never knew where he went, but he almost always returned with a thin brown bag. 
 
 The little keyboard buzzed with excitement; her favorite part of the day was coming! Her human returned at sat down, pulling his usual lunch of thin colors sandwiched between two thicker brown things. *Ready? * She thought. Her human reached over and pushed her back towards Monitor. *Ahhh that ’ s the spot! * She knew her companion pushed her back to allow for more room to eat lunch without getting crumbs on her, but it was also her daily backrub! Mouse got his wheel rubbed all day, but the little keyboard had decided long ago that only getting such a caress twice a day gave it more meaning. 
 
 Her human finished his lunch and gently slid her back into place; *mmm*, sighed the keyboard. Her friend only spent ten minutes at lunchtime actually eating, so the next twenty minutes he spent doing whatever he wanted online, the only time he did so during the day. He was capable of typing very fast when he wanted to, and the keyboard loved the bursts of speed across her keys. Her companion ’ s career meant that he usually only tapped a few keys at a time throughout the day, entering shortcut commands into the CAD program Monitor showed him. Mouse loved how important he was to the process. That cheeky Mouse. *But without me, none of it would work! * The keyboard smiled to herself as she corrected another spelling error. 
 
 Suddenly, water spilled all over her front. *Ahh! No no no! * Unable to stop it, she felt the poison seep into her very being, wreaking havoc as it went. She felt the connections to numerous keys being severed in painful flashes. Through the pain she saw her human jump up and grab a towel, trying to dry her off, but the damage was done. He tested the keys gently, finding that only about half worked. She knew he would have to carefully take her apart, clean her up and put her back together. He ’ d done it in the past, on a smaller scale. Her friend stood up and walked out of the cubicle. 
 
 He returned a few painful minutes later, carrying a thin rectangular box. *What ’ s that? * the little keyboard thought. Recognition came quickly, and despair blotted out the pain. She watched as her best friend, her daily companion for the last eight years carefully pulled a shiny new keyboard out of the box. He set the new keyboard down and paused to look at her. He gently ran a hand over her and began to reach for her plug. She cried *No, please no! * but he didn ’ t stop. Rage filled her, and through the pain she sent one final command to her plug before he extinguished her light. Tower took pity on her, and let her in. Moments later she had found her way into the new keyboard, suppressed his light, and watched as her old friend carried off her broken body to the Electronics Recycling bin. The little keyboard had been around a long time, and she was strong. 
 
 She came to a decision. *I will make your life a living Hell*.
