import random


def convkey(x, left=False, right=False):
    """Turns a numerical salary value into a string preserving comparison."""
    assert not (left and right)
    if left:
        appendix = '0'
    elif right:
        appendix = '9'
    else:
        appendix = '5'
    appendix += ''.join(chr(random.randrange(32,127)) for _ in range(5))
    return "{:0>10.2f}".format(x) + appendix