(Tia gives a short description of the keyboards used on Sirius and on the base before comparing them to Earth or Durondedunn keyboards. Normally operated by voice, she explains that sometimes a number of people in a room on their computers resort to keyboards to avoid the computer mixing up commands.) 

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Tia: so how you doing Johnny?

John: I’m doing quite well.

Tia: yeah sorry we didn’t get down to see you last night but we were concerned about Mark’s energy reserves. He was pretty tired as it was anyway.

John: yeah he was tired when he started and he was really whipped when you guys finished up with him.

Tia: uh-huh.

John: and yeah and as far as the computer channeling, I’m just not comfortable with interacting with others.

Tia: yeah because I mean we’re concentrating or both of us were concentrating. You could’ve probably done it easier last night because one of us would have answered whilst the other one carried on working.

John: oh okay, okay. So both of you were all over Mark?

Tia: yeah it was very confusing because I wanted to type and Russ might have noticed that sometimes there would be in brackets Tia or in brackets Kiri.

Russ: right.

Tia: and it was sort of like a little add-on from instead of both of us going, “yeah, this is how we’re going to do it.” Directly from me or directly from Kiri.

Russ: and Kiri saying how your typing is a little bit slow.

Tia: yes, things like that.

Russ: I picked up on that.

Tia: uh-huh.

John: well you don’t use a conventional keyboard like we use do you, is it similar?

Tia: we do use some of them for certain things. When you have got a lot of people that are in the same room working, it’s easier to use a keyboard instead of have everybody going murmur, murmur, murmur and all that murmur, it’s distracting on the computer.

John: oh okay, okay.

Tia: which does happen unfortunately. The fact that keyboards are taught in Sirian schools I believe, yes they are.

John: do you use the same…..

Tia: no.

John: alphabet?

Tia: no, there’s a few extra……well in Durondedunn, we use keyboards and there’s like a dozen extra letters there.

John: okay, but do you use the same alphabet that the...?

Tia: no.

John: I believe our alphabet derives from the Arabians am I correct, the English alphabet?

Tia: no, it originated from the Roman alphabet or the Greek alphabet.

John: okay.

Tia: yeah.

John: okay.

Tia: but no, the Sirians have how many? Six more letters and we have quite a few more in Durondedunn. Okay……

John: oh okay.