Program 2: Language of the Machines ~ int main() Function

Sora removed his ribbon and unbuttoned his shirt. Throwing it down onto his bed, he thought about what to say to his sister while he took his socks and skirt off. After changing into an orange shirt with a simple pair of blue jean shorts, he headed back into the living room to see his sister looking over his desktop computer.

Sitting down and turning on his computer, Sora did not speak while he waited for everything to boot up. There was a lot that he wanted to say; yet, he was unsure how to say it. The two continued to remain silent until the computer loaded to reveal an anime wallpaper that showed six cute girls.

“Cute desktop wallpaper,” Hime said in gentle tone.

“I know. I’m sure you know the game.”

“I do. I also can see they are not wearing shoes,” Hime said with a giggle.

Clicking on one of the icons quickly, Sora did not meet his sister’s gaze. Before he could say anything, a notification popped up.

“Who is WolfGirl6, friend of yours?” Hime asked.

“Was. She was someone I played online games with until she started getting… clingy. I tried to tell her to leave me alone but she continues to message me.”

“And you didn’t block her?”

“No, I didn’t block her because it just felt… rude, you know?”

Sora watched as his sister looked over the name on the screen and then pulled out a smartphone. It was small in size and simple in its design. There was nothing grand about it and appeared lacklustre as if it was a phone that his sister did not use for daily activities. His sister giggled as she typed and messed with the phone.

“What are you doing?”

“Don’t worry about it, little bro. The wolf will not be blowing your house down. Now then, do you want to play a video game I bought from America?”

Grabbing the gaming mouse from Sora’s hand, Hime navigated the application and clicked on the logout function. Upon logging into her own account, Sora was shocked by what he was seeing in front of his eyes for a moment. As his sister scrolled down the list, he could see she had a ton of digital video games – of which over 69% were RPGs. Upon closer inspection he noticed that there were two copies for most titles with an American and Japanese version. Some even had a European version. Glancing at the ‘hours played’ area, Sora could not help but be stunned by just how many hours his sister had put into playing various video games.

“That’s a sixteen with three zeros…”

“Yup. I’ve spent sixteen thousand hours playing these games or 666.667 days. That makes me the devil’s girl,” Hime giggled.

“I thought you didn’t believe in fictional non-sense.”

Sora watched as his sister continued to scroll through the nearly infinite list of games.

“Oh I don’t, I just find it funny that it adds up to that.”

After another minute of scrolling, Hime stopped and hovered over the game.

“Ah, here we go. You will love this game. It isn’t released in Japan so I hope you’re cool with English voices.”

The game was entitled ‘Realm Breakers’ which had been the first western RPG to strictly be created in America. Sora had gotten used to Japanese RPGs – which was often abbreviated as JRPG for short – but welcomed the thought of other countries creating versions of RPGs that could speak to different cultures and showcase life around the world.

“I can still speak and understand English, you know? I did not forget everything from when we were little.”

Hime started up the game while Sora watched the opening credits.

“Feel free to use my account to play any of the games on there. Just watch out for one game. It’s not for children under eighteen years of age.”

“Dare I ask why you have a porn game in your list of RPGs?” Sora asked as he continued to stare at the computer screen.

“Sometimes, sisters need alone time, little brother,” Hime giggled as she wrapped her arms gently around Sora.

“I’m scared to ask where your hands have been now,” Sora joked in a deadpan tone.

“In all seriousness, I did miss you and I am glad we finally get to see each other again. I wanted to reach out, Sora. I really did. I just… things…”

Sora could tell that his sister was struggling to find the words to what she wanted to say. As he struggled to understand the English the characters were speaking, he quickly realised that his English was not as good as he thought it was.

“How about we worry about that later. More importantly, you should be translating this cut-scene for me because I cannot understand any of the English they are speaking.”

Hime smiled and tried to strike a pose similar to the character on the screen. Sora was slightly impressed by how his sister was able to change her voice to sound masculine and instantly switch to a more feminine tone between each of the different characters. Once the cut-scene was done playing, he turned to his sister.

“You should head into voice acting.”

Hime giggled at the compliment.

“I knew a voice actor in one of my classes. She was from one of those Latin American countries and hoping to get a doctorate in Film and Visual Studies. Sweet girl,” Hime said as she leaned her head against Sora’s shoulder.

“Did you two make out?” Sora joked as he continued on with his game.

“You know me, little brother. I just gave her some money to help her buy a character illustration for a book she was working on. She had planned to surprise her older brother with it.”

“Sounds like your time overseas was worth it.”

“I wish I could say it was completely worth it but we both know that all the degrees in the world will never amount to much. Truthfully, if I could take it all back, I’d stay with you and I mean that, Sora,” Hime said as she gripped Sora’s shoulder tightly.

“I’m sorry…”

Sora paused the game and took a moment to process what to say. He could tell by the tone in his sister’s voice and her grip on his shoulder that she was hurt by the fact she had not reached out to him. She regretted it from what he could tell. After gathering his thoughts, he turned to his sister.

“We can’t go back or change the past but we can look towards the future, right?”

Standing to his feet, Sora embraced his older sister gently in his arms. As he felt her rest her head against his chest, he could hear the happiness in her voice.

“Thank you, little bro.”

Sora sat back down and started up the game again.

“So, are you okay if I stay with you for a bit, little bro?”

“Sure, I don’t— Wait… what?” Sora asked as he looked back to his sister surprise.

“Yeah, I kind of don’t have a place… so… would you be okay with your big sister staying with you?”

“I suppose I’m not against it but there is only one bedroom in these dorms.”

“We can sleep together like when we were little,” Hime said in a joking manner.

“Or… you can sleep on the couch.”

“Fair. I’m okay with that. I’ll need to buy some new clothes but I can do that later. You cool if I borrow some of yours?”

“Sure. Consider it thanks for the video games.”

“Thanks, little bro.”

Sora watched as his sister headed into his bedroom. Turning back around, he continued to play the game while struggling to read the text on the screen. Why is English so hard? Oh well, I shouldn’t complain, Japanese is a nightmare for some English-speakers, he thought as he heard his sister call out to him from his bedroom.

“You hiding any porn magazines under your bed?”

“Only if you’re into girls,” Sora replied in a serious manner.

“I can go both ways.”

“Thank you so much for that information, Miss Tokisaki.”

“I’m your big sister first, teacher second. Anyway, you plan to do your homework?” Hime asked as she exited the bedroom and headed for the restroom.

“I thought you were my sister first, teacher second.”

“As your sister, I know you can do it. That does not worry me.”

“Then you have nothing to worry about. I’ll do it when I do it.”

Sora could hear his sister head to the bathroom and after a few minutes the sound of running water echoed out. He had become engrossed in the game to the point he had forgotten how much time had passed. Before long, he could hear the water shutting off. Realising that he had not had anything to eat or drink for a few hours, he headed to the refrigerator to grab the carton of milk. Drinking from the cartoon like a barbarian, the sounds of the door opening made his head turn. Standing in the doorway was his sister dressed in a pair of his causal clothes: a simple large white tee-shirt and a pair of black shorts.

He watched as his sister made his way over to him and hold out her hand. Handing over the carton of milk, she downed half of the white liquid into her throat. Once she was finished, she grabbed one of the beef jerky strips on the kitchen counter – the perfect gamer food.

“You can take a bath now.”

“I’ll do it later. I want to play more of that game. I just realised I needed to eat something.”

“At least take a proper bath. I can log you out of my account, you know? Or worse, I could stop and take away the Internet,” Hime said in a playful tone.

“Fine. You better not use that as an excuse though. Remember, this is my dorm.”

“I know, I know. Don’t worry. I just want you to relax and enjoy yourself for a bit. Besides, this will give me a chance to go through your browser history!”

Sora watched as his sister headed over to his computer. He was not worried about her deleting his save data or checking his browser history.

“I already deleted it,” Sora said as he made his way to the bathroom.

Removing his clothes and turning on the water, Sora tried to enjoy the moment alone that he had. With every drop of the warm water trickling down his skin, his body relaxed and his muscles loosened. Grabbing the soap from a small hanging shelf, he washed under his armpits and slowly worked his way down his body all the way to his feet. Taking the time to shampoo and condition his hair, he could not help but feel a sense of happiness. It had been at least a month or two since he had last washed his hair properly.

Once he was clean and dried off, Sora put his clothes back on and headed back out into the living room to see his sister still at his computer. Making his way over to her, he noticed that she was looking over his social media accounts.

“Funny how you have a Feetbook account.”

“Funny how you’re begging to be thrown out.”

Sora watched as his sister clicked on another tab.

“Oh, you got a Thighbook account too! Little bro, I never knew you were into such things,” Hime giggled as she turned to Sora with a smirk on her face.

“You wouldn’t want me looking into your kinks, would you?”

“I’m into femboys. Also I love boobs, thighs and feet. Also into bondage—”

“Sis! Please… That is too much information that no one needed to know about.”

Hime giggled loudly in a cute child-like voice as she grabbed her sides. Sora could tell she was enjoying herself.

“Bro, I’m kidding. I am ACE. Not that I judge others kinks but yeah,” Hime said with a smile.

“ACE?”

“Asexual.”

“So… you’re into plants?” Sora asked in a joking manner.

“I know you actually know and are joking but I’m still going to explain it just to torture you. Asexuality is the lack of sexual attraction to others; a low or absent sexual desire in sexual activity.”

“Hard to believe we are brother and sister sometimes.”

“Yeah, we are pretty opposite when it comes to how sexual you are. Frankly, I am surprised that thermometric rod under that skirt isn’t visible every day.”

“I’m surprised you went to Harvard University.”

“Believe it. I have my dissertation online,” Hime said as she turned to the computer screen.

Sora watched as she opened up a new tab on his computer. He watched as his sister typed the Harvard website into the address bar and clicked on the login button. After entering her account information, he noticed her clicking on a few links before he greeted with a news article.

“Yup. They have an article featuring my paper,” Hime said as she clicked on the link.

Sora struggled to read the title of the paper his sister had written.

“What does that say?”

“My paper is titled: Automatic Computation Environments: Learning Goal-orientated Data Through Quantum Intelligent Algorithms. Of course, I originally wanted to name it: Automatic Computation Environments: Learning Good Biophilia Theoretical Quantum Iteration Adaptations. My professor did not care for it too much.”

I am actually amazed by how she can say all that without tripping over all those big words, Sora thought as he tried to understand.

“So… what is your paper even about?”

“Basically, my paper discusses and analyses quantum computers to create artificial intelligence to enhance environments and compile data into an algorithm with a set of goals.”

“Meaning…”

“Meaning, creating algorithms or patterns automatically to help in public structures like hospitals and schools. Does that make sense?”

“That sounds incredibility technical.”

“Well, it is a computer science class. We had to study a lot of data. Needless to say, it was the biggest hurdle all throughout my time in school.”

“And now you have a piece of paper.”

“I do indeed. Along with a massive debt that I just barely managed to pay off in full. Hence, why I am teaching here and why I am staying with my little brother,” Hime said as she leaned back in the chair.

“Great sob story. Is that how you got a job here?” Sora asked in a sarcastic tone.

“You know it!”

“Anyway, you plan on actually playing a game or just bragging about how you got into Harvard?”

Hime giggled and stood to her feet. She made her way over to the couch and pulled out her smartphone. This one was different than the other one she had used. It was orange with the Orange logo on it.

“I mean, I could tell you some stories or you could get your darling sister a pillow and blanket.”

“Or you could use that Harvard education to do it yourself,” Sora joked as headed for his bedroom.

Grabbing an extra pillow and blanket, Sora headed back into the living room and headed them to his sister. She smiled and patted the empty space beside her. Taking a seat beside his sister, he waited for her to begin the conversation.

“There was a reason I didn’t reach out.”

“Probably because you were busy playing video games and sacrificing your soul to satan,” Sora joked in a deadpan voice.

Hime giggled as she embraced Sora gently in her arms, wrapping them around his waist. He could tell that she was serious about wanting to reach out but was unsure as to how to explain her feelings. This was one thing the two of them shared, their lack of being able to express their inner thoughts to others. It was a problem he had all throughout his life alongside being overly hypercritical of other people – as well as himself. His sister was often absent-minded of things around her or at least that is what she seemed to be. He could tell that she had changed since her time overseas. Before she headed off to America with their mother, she was fairly cold and analytical, the a priori mindset of someone who could solve a complex quantum mechanic equation and then belittle herself for being off by a fraction of a millimetre. She was hypercritical of herself to the point that anything less than perfection was not good enough. He often wondered just how his sister saw the world through her eyes and if it was better than how he viewed it.

“I just noticed it but why do you have a tattoo on your wrist of a semi-colon? Did you forget your English grammar rules?” Sora joked as he pointed to the tattoo on her left wrist.

Hime allowed Sora to look over her small but simple tattoo. There was nothing special to note of the black ink other than it was in some sort of monospace looking typeface. While he noticed a long set of stitches that lead upwards and stopped at the end of her wrist, he did not speak on the matter and instead pretended not to see it.

“It’s to remind me not to miss a semi-colon when I’m programming. I had that happen in one of my code samples and my professor called me out on it.”

“Just for missing a semi-colon? Seems a bit extreme just for a simple missing punctuation mark.”

Hime giggled and opened the browser on her smartphone. After a few seconds of searching she found a video on programming that showcased what happened if the code was not in the correct syntax.

“See, if you miss a single semi-colon the whole program won’t run. Machines languages are often strict in their syntax. It’s a bit like learning a new spoken language, you need to understand the grammar and syntax otherwise your sentence will miscommunicate what you intended.”

“Sounds like a lot of work.”

“What isn’t work? Anyway, didn’t you still have your homework to do? I know I did not give out any but I’m sure you have some in other classes. Want me to help you with it?”

“That doesn’t seem fair to have my Harvard trained older sister doing my homework for me,” Sora joked as he stood to his feet and headed for his room.

“Who said I was doing it for you? I said I would help you.”

Sora grabbed the sheet of paper one of the teacher’s had handed out during their classes. Sitting back down on the couch beside his sister, he showed her the paper with ten questions on it. As he watched his sister read through the questions, he could tell her mind was busy thinking about how to answer them.

“Did you have a lot of homework at Harvard?”

Hime could only laugh at the question.

“More than you will ever know. Tina and I would often study together in the library for hours.”

“Tina?”

“The Latin American voice actor I told you about. Hold on, I have a picture,” Hime said as she pulled out her phone.

After swiping through a few photos, Hime handed Sora her phone. He could see a picture of his sister and the girl named Tina posing like two schoolgirls. They were both smiling and happy as they held up the iconic peace sign or victory symbol. Looking through the other pictures, he noticed one of his sister, Tina and some other classmates together for a group photo. Among all of them, both his sister and Tina were incredibly short in comparison to the other students.

“Tina is short.”

“Yup. She is fun sized. Some of the students there jokingly called her Tiny Tina.”

“Surprised they didn’t go with Lolitina.”

“I was actually stuck with the Lolihime name.”

Sora handed the phone back to his sister and looked back over the homework.

“Do I have to do this?”

“Tell you what, if you do your homework, I’ll let you see an illustration I had Tina do for you in exchange for something I helped her with,” Hime said with a smirk.

“Really? What was the illustration?”

“I think it is something you will enjoy.”

Sitting the paper down on the table, Sora grabbed a pen from his desk and quickly started to focus on his homework.

“Wow, I’m surprised that actually worked. Guess I need to commission Tina to do some more art.”

“Aren’t you friends? Can’t she just do it for free?”

Hime giggled as she stretched her legs out on the couch.

“That’s not how professionals work, little bro. All artists and designers should be compensated for their work regardless of how small or large the project is. It does not matter if it takes them only five minutes to do something, if they went to school to do a job then they should be paid.”

“And what if they offer to do it for free?”

“Well, they probably shouldn’t but sometimes exceptions are made. Like one time when I did a poster layout for one of Tina’s film projects. Figured it was a good test of my visual design and typography skills. She edited a video I made for one of my class projects.”

Sora continued to work on his homework until he was finished.

“Finished. Now, what is this illustration you had commissioned?”

Sora watched as his sister navigated through the various photos on her phone before stopping at the illustration that Tina had drawn. The illustration was of a young tan-skinned girl with a cheerful expression on her face. Her long brown hair was tied off on the left side with a hair tie that styled with various rainbow coloured beads. She was dressed in a simple olive-drab coloured top that revealed her shoulders and a pair of denim shorts were unbuttoned exposing a portion of her lower stomach and teased a bit of her pink panties. The way she was sitting revealed a bit of her thighs in such a way that drew the eye while her petite feet were exposed with one showcasing the sole of her foot and the other her manicured pink toenails. Beside her was the sandals she had taken off positioned perfectly to add to the aesthetic.

There was no words that could describe how Sora felt as he gazed upon the illustration. He loved every aspect of the character from her tantalising thighs to the enticing feet and toes that made his hips shift slightly. The longer he stared at it, the more engrossed he became in the details. It was apparent that Tina had focused on ensuring the position of the character was just right and that extra care had been taken to accentuate the character’s feet and toes.

“Should I send that to your phone?” Hime asked as she giggled with a smirk.

“Yes! I mean, yes. Please and thank you.”

Hime sent the illustration to Sora’s phone. He looked to his sister and wrapped his arms around her tightly. While he was bad at expressing himself, he knew he could at least give his sister a hug.

“Thank you so much, sis.”

“Consider it your birthday present for all the times I missed them. Also, your kind of poking me with your sailing mast there, bro.”

Sora quickly let go of his sister realised that something was showing clear signs of engagement into combat.

“Pretty sure that would cause a critical hit,” Hime teased.

“J-Just… pretend that didn’t happen,” Sora said as he rushed to his bedroom.

“Hey, try not to use all the tissues,” Hime joked as she heard Sora close and lock the door behind him.

Sora started to feel extremely hot as he made his way over to his bed. This was not his first time but for some reason the room felt as if he needed to set the temperature to zero degrees Celsius. Staring at the illustration again only worsen the warm feeling between his thighs. I’m going to need to buy more tissues when this is over, he thought as he laid back on his bed.