In the past days I was thinking about PieR's talk on the universal binary language of computers. And i thought about the possibility of our characters being able to read binary.
I remember seeing barcode-like images on magazines. I asked what it's for and was given the answer that it's for easier web surfing for cellphones.
Creatures reading binary isn't a new idea. it has been used in at least one Japanese animation I know of.
Why futuristic characters would prefer to use it is because it's more efficient tool for exchanging information. A more realistic approach would be to use binary in radiowaves because even in darkness communication is possible.
In my story I'd like to use it in a different way. It plays as a language that alienates my characters from their own natural language. It's being "forced" to them in exchange for connecting with the world...and the only situations where they "remember" their original words are in times of rebellion, extreme emotions...
It's easy to see similarities with real life English language.
This shoots a meta-issue whether to use English in my story or not. What local language should my characters speak? Filipino? English? Maybe this part is over-thinking.
I have to see what happens next.