QWERTY

QWERTY is a sci-fi fantasy  modern fantasy/sci-fi fiction written by The Nerdy Ninja. The story centers around a mute teen who finds a "magic" keyboard and is thrust into the conspiracy that surrounds it. All the while he is pursued by a mentally unstable co-creator of the keyboard. Once only posted on forums the author visited, but on completion, the second draft was put on Fiction Press at this link

Characters include:
 * Charles Rom: The mute teen who finds the keyboard. And in case you were wondering, yes, his middle name is David.  He's a highly introverted writer wannabe, maybe almost to the point of being Emo.  He tells himself he doesn't care about being mute, but deep down, he still feels very insecure.  Goes primarily by Rom.
 * Cameron "Chip" Cruzer: Rom's best friend, and his only close one. Chip got to know Rom well because his grandma is deaf and, as a result, he knows sign language.  He has a few unusual quirks, partially to make up for his insecurity with himself.
 * Dvorak Moore: One of the five scientists who worked on the keyboard. He's a hardcore nerd. Dvorak loves Star Wars--and as a result, he hates Star Trek.  Despite his nerdiness, he's probably one of the best computer programmers in the world.
 * Binary Java: The daughter of one of the five scientists. Binary is full of attitude, always ready with a witty or sarcastic remark.  She hides behind this aggressiveness to hide the pain she's dealt with in the past.
 * Marshall "Mac" Tosh: One of the keyboard's co-creators. Mac was overcome by lust for the keyboard's power, and it was this dangerous greed that made the others break up the experiment.  He had his memory erased, and as a result, he is mentally unstable.  He still tells himself that he's going to use the keyboard to unite the world and create peace.  And yes, his middle name is Nathan.

Secondary characters include Dvorak's other two co-creators, a street-savvy, non-descript man calling himself "Click" in a Shout-Out to the author's previous work, Tosh's snarky lead Hacker, and the three kids' parents.


 * Author Avatar: Chip.
 * Broken Bird: Binary.
 * Despair Event Horizon: Chip, when he finds out.
 * Easy Come, Easy Go: Rom  after a psychological trigger is pushed.  Then, after he
 * Genre Savvy: Dvorak. If there is anyone who Lampshades or plays with the Fourth Wall, it's him.
 * Homage: Parts of it are similar to The Lord of the Rings; for example, Rom and Chip as Frodo and Sam, and the eventual addiction to the keyboard.
 * Knight Templar: Tosh believes that by obtaining the keyboard and using it to unite all countries under a single rule, there will be peace. Those who get in his way are against peace and must be eliminated.  He hates the irony of killing for peace, though.
 * Missed the Call: Chip, though he
 * Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: Dvorak makes a comment about how it would be cool to write up "Spybot Search and Destroy" on the keyboard that appears as a Ninja Robot...y'know, spybot...?
 * Red Pill, Blue Pill: Dvorak, in a Shout-Out, offers Rom one of these. He even brings actual pills.
 * Shout-Out: Dvorak practically speaks in these, most particularly regarding Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings. Binary shares a personality similar to Asuka's, and at one point asks "What are you, stupid?
 * Theme Naming: From the obvious (Chip, Binary) to the fairly obscure (Dvorak) to the extremely obscure (Melissa, Cruzer), most of the main characters have technology-based names--a problem that sort of takes away from the story, but can't be changed--they've grown into their names too much.