diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 00c0b86..e0db9b7 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -3,3 +3,6 @@
 coverage
 rdoc
 pkg
+ext/bert/c/Makefile
+ext/bert/c/*.bundle
+ext/bert/c/*.o
diff --git a/History.txt b/History.txt
index 33771dc..fab8756 100644
--- a/History.txt
+++ b/History.txt
@@ -1,3 +1,7 @@
+=
+  * Major Changes
+    * Remove reliance on Erlectricity.
+
 = 1.0.0 / 2009-10-19
   * No changes. Production ready!
 
diff --git a/Rakefile b/Rakefile
index aff2f65..357d505 100644
--- a/Rakefile
+++ b/Rakefile
@@ -12,6 +12,9 @@ begin
     gem.authors = ["Tom Preston-Werner"]
     gem.add_dependency('erlectricity', '>= 1.1.0')
     gem.add_development_dependency("thoughtbot-shoulda")
+    gem.require_paths = ["lib", "ext"]
+    gem.files.include("ext")
+    gem.extensions << 'ext/bert/c/extconf.rb'
     # gem is a Gem::Specification... see http://www.rubygems.org/read/chapter/20 for additional settings
   end
 rescue LoadError
@@ -19,12 +22,32 @@ rescue LoadError
 end
 
 require 'rake/testtask'
-Rake::TestTask.new(:test) do |test|
+Rake::TestTask.new(:runtests) do |test|
   test.libs << 'lib' << 'test'
   test.pattern = 'test/**/*_test.rb'
   test.verbose = true
 end
 
+task :test => :check_dependencies do
+  require 'fileutils'
+
+  puts "\nCleaning extension build files and running all specs in native ruby mode..."
+  ['rm -f ext/bert/c/*.bundle', 'rm -f ext/bert/c/*.o'].each do |cmd|
+    `#{cmd}` && puts(cmd)
+  end
+  pid = fork do
+    exec 'rake runtests'
+  end
+  Process.waitpid(pid)
+
+  puts "\nRunning `make` to build extensions and rerunning decoder specs..."
+  Dir.chdir('ext/bert/c') { `make` }
+  pid = fork do
+    exec 'rake runtests'
+  end
+  Process.waitpid(pid)
+end
+
 begin
   require 'rcov/rcovtask'
   Rcov::RcovTask.new do |test|
@@ -38,8 +61,6 @@ rescue LoadError
   end
 end
 
-task :test => :check_dependencies
-
 task :default => :test
 
 require 'rake/rdoctask'
diff --git a/ext/bert/c/decode.c b/ext/bert/c/decode.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a09e15d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ext/bert/c/decode.c
@@ -0,0 +1,352 @@
+#include "ruby.h"
+#include <string.h>
+
+#define ERL_VERSION       131
+#define ERL_SMALL_INT     97
+#define ERL_INT           98
+#define ERL_SMALL_BIGNUM  110
+#define ERL_LARGE_BIGNUM  111
+#define ERL_FLOAT         99
+#define ERL_ATOM          100
+#define ERL_SMALL_TUPLE   104
+#define ERL_LARGE_TUPLE   105
+#define ERL_NIL           106
+#define ERL_STRING        107
+#define ERL_LIST          108
+#define ERL_BIN           109
+
+static VALUE mBERT;
+static VALUE cDecode;
+void Init_decode();
+
+VALUE method_decode(VALUE klass, VALUE rString);
+
+VALUE read_any_raw(unsigned char **pData);
+
+// checkers
+
+void check_int(int num) {
+  char buf[17];
+  sprintf(buf, "%u", num);
+  rb_raise(rb_eStandardError, buf);
+}
+
+void check_str(char *str) {
+  rb_raise(rb_eStandardError, str);
+}
+
+// string peekers/readers
+
+unsigned int peek_1(unsigned char **pData) {
+  return (unsigned int) **pData;
+}
+
+unsigned int peek_2(unsigned char **pData) {
+  return (unsigned int) ((**pData << 8) + *(*pData + 1));
+}
+
+unsigned int peek_4(unsigned char **pData) {
+  return (unsigned int) ((**pData << 24) + (*(*pData + 1) << 16) + (*(*pData + 2) << 8) + *(*pData + 3));
+}
+
+unsigned int read_1(unsigned char **pData) {
+  unsigned int val = peek_1(pData);
+  *pData += 1;
+  return val;
+}
+
+unsigned int read_2(unsigned char **pData) {
+  unsigned int val = peek_2(pData);
+  *pData += 2;
+  return val;
+}
+
+unsigned int read_4(unsigned char **pData) {
+  unsigned int val = peek_4(pData);
+  *pData += 4;
+  return val;
+}
+
+// tuples, lists
+
+VALUE read_small_tuple(unsigned char **pData) {
+  if(read_1(pData) != ERL_SMALL_TUPLE) {
+    rb_raise(rb_eStandardError, "Invalid Type, not a small tuple");
+  }
+
+  int arity = read_1(pData);
+
+  VALUE array = rb_ary_new2(arity);
+
+  int i;
+  for(i = 0; i < arity; ++i) {
+    rb_ary_store(array, i, read_any_raw(pData));
+  }
+
+  return array;
+}
+
+VALUE read_large_tuple(unsigned char **pData) {
+  if(read_1(pData) != ERL_LARGE_TUPLE) {
+    rb_raise(rb_eStandardError, "Invalid Type, not a large tuple");
+  }
+
+  int arity = read_4(pData);
+
+  VALUE array = rb_ary_new2(arity);
+
+  int i;
+  for(i = 0; i < arity; ++i) {
+    rb_ary_store(array, i, read_any_raw(pData));
+  }
+
+  return array;
+}
+
+VALUE read_list(unsigned char **pData) {
+  if(read_1(pData) != ERL_LIST) {
+    rb_raise(rb_eStandardError, "Invalid Type, not an erlang list");
+  }
+
+  int size = read_4(pData);
+
+  VALUE list_class = rb_const_get(mBERT, rb_intern("List"));
+  VALUE array = rb_funcall(list_class, rb_intern("new"), 1, INT2NUM(size));
+
+  int i;
+  for(i = 0; i < size; ++i) {
+    rb_ary_store(array, i, read_any_raw(pData));
+  }
+
+  read_1(pData);
+
+  return array;
+}
+
+// primitives
+
+void read_string_raw(unsigned char *dest, unsigned char **pData, int length) {
+  memcpy((char *) dest, (char *) *pData, length);
+  *(dest + length) = (unsigned char) 0;
+  *pData += length;
+}
+
+VALUE read_bin(unsigned char **pData) {
+  if(read_1(pData) != ERL_BIN) {
+    rb_raise(rb_eStandardError, "Invalid Type, not an erlang binary");
+  }
+
+  int length = read_4(pData);
+
+  unsigned char buf[length + 1];
+  read_string_raw(buf, pData, length);
+
+  return rb_str_new((char *) buf, length);
+}
+
+VALUE read_string(unsigned char **pData) {
+  if(read_1(pData) != ERL_STRING) {
+    rb_raise(rb_eStandardError, "Invalid Type, not an erlang string");
+  }
+
+  int length = read_2(pData);
+
+  unsigned char buf[length + 1];
+  read_string_raw(buf, pData, length);
+
+  VALUE list_class = rb_const_get(mBERT, rb_intern("List"));
+  VALUE array = rb_funcall(list_class, rb_intern("new"), 1, INT2NUM(length));
+
+  int i = 0;
+  for(i; i < length; ++i) {
+    rb_ary_store(array, i, INT2NUM(*(buf + i)));
+  }
+
+  return array;
+}
+
+VALUE read_atom(unsigned char **pData) {
+  if(read_1(pData) != ERL_ATOM) {
+    rb_raise(rb_eStandardError, "Invalid Type, not an atom");
+  }
+
+  int length = read_2(pData);
+
+  unsigned char buf[length + 1];
+  read_string_raw(buf, pData, length);
+
+  return ID2SYM(rb_intern((char *) buf));
+}
+
+VALUE read_small_int(unsigned char **pData) {
+  if(read_1(pData) != ERL_SMALL_INT) {
+    rb_raise(rb_eStandardError, "Invalid Type, not a small int");
+  }
+
+  int value = read_1(pData);
+
+  return INT2FIX(value);
+}
+
+VALUE read_int(unsigned char **pData) {
+  if(read_1(pData) != ERL_INT) {
+    rb_raise(rb_eStandardError, "Invalid Type, not an int");
+  }
+
+  long long value = read_4(pData);
+
+  long long negative = ((value >> 31) & 0x1 == 1);
+
+  if(negative) {
+    value = (value - ((long long) 1 << 32));
+  }
+
+  return INT2FIX(value);
+}
+
+VALUE read_small_bignum(unsigned char **pData) {
+  if(read_1(pData) != ERL_SMALL_BIGNUM) {
+    rb_raise(rb_eStandardError, "Invalid Type, not a small bignum");
+  }
+
+  unsigned int size = read_1(pData);
+  unsigned int sign = read_1(pData);
+
+  VALUE num = INT2NUM(0);
+  VALUE tmp;
+
+  unsigned char buf[size + 1];
+  read_string_raw(buf, pData, size);
+
+  int i;
+  for(i = 0; i < size; ++i) {
+    tmp = INT2FIX(*(buf + i));
+    tmp = rb_funcall(tmp, rb_intern("<<"), 1, INT2NUM(i * 8));
+    num = rb_funcall(num, rb_intern("+"), 1, tmp);
+  }
+
+  if(sign) {
+    num = rb_funcall(num, rb_intern("*"), 1, INT2NUM(-1));
+  }
+
+  return num;
+}
+
+VALUE read_large_bignum(unsigned char **pData) {
+  if(read_1(pData) != ERL_LARGE_BIGNUM) {
+    rb_raise(rb_eStandardError, "Invalid Type, not a small bignum");
+  }
+
+  unsigned int size = read_4(pData);
+  unsigned int sign = read_1(pData);
+
+  VALUE num = INT2NUM(0);
+  VALUE tmp;
+
+  unsigned char buf[size + 1];
+  read_string_raw(buf, pData, size);
+
+  int i;
+  for(i = 0; i < size; ++i) {
+    tmp = INT2FIX(*(buf + i));
+    tmp = rb_funcall(tmp, rb_intern("<<"), 1, INT2NUM(i * 8));
+
+    num = rb_funcall(num, rb_intern("+"), 1, tmp);
+  }
+
+  if(sign) {
+    num = rb_funcall(num, rb_intern("*"), 1, INT2NUM(-1));
+  }
+
+  return num;
+}
+
+VALUE read_float(unsigned char **pData) {
+  if(read_1(pData) != ERL_FLOAT) {
+    rb_raise(rb_eStandardError, "Invalid Type, not a float");
+  }
+
+  unsigned char buf[32];
+  read_string_raw(buf, pData, 31);
+
+  VALUE rString = rb_str_new2((char *) buf);
+
+  return rb_funcall(rString, rb_intern("to_f"), 0);
+}
+
+VALUE read_nil(unsigned char **pData) {
+  if(read_1(pData) != ERL_NIL) {
+    rb_raise(rb_eStandardError, "Invalid Type, not a nil list");
+  }
+
+  VALUE list_class = rb_const_get(mBERT, rb_intern("List"));
+  return rb_funcall(list_class, rb_intern("new"), 0);
+}
+
+// read_any_raw
+
+VALUE read_any_raw(unsigned char **pData) {
+  switch(peek_1(pData)) {
+    case ERL_SMALL_INT:
+      return read_small_int(pData);
+      break;
+    case ERL_INT:
+      return read_int(pData);
+      break;
+    case ERL_FLOAT:
+      return read_float(pData);
+      break;
+    case ERL_ATOM:
+      return read_atom(pData);
+      break;
+    case ERL_SMALL_TUPLE:
+      return read_small_tuple(pData);
+      break;
+    case ERL_LARGE_TUPLE:
+      return read_large_tuple(pData);
+      break;
+    case ERL_NIL:
+      return read_nil(pData);
+      break;
+    case ERL_STRING:
+      return read_string(pData);
+      break;
+    case ERL_LIST:
+      return read_list(pData);
+      break;
+    case ERL_BIN:
+      return read_bin(pData);
+      break;
+    case ERL_SMALL_BIGNUM:
+      return read_small_bignum(pData);
+      break;
+    case ERL_LARGE_BIGNUM:
+      return read_large_bignum(pData);
+      break;
+  }
+  return Qnil;
+}
+
+VALUE method_decode(VALUE klass, VALUE rString) {
+  unsigned char *data = (unsigned char *) StringValuePtr(rString);
+
+  unsigned char **pData = &data;
+
+  // check protocol version
+  if(read_1(pData) != ERL_VERSION) {
+    rb_raise(rb_eStandardError, "Bad Magic");
+  }
+
+  return read_any_raw(pData);
+}
+
+VALUE method_impl(VALUE klass) {
+  return rb_str_new("C", 2);
+}
+
+void Init_decode() {
+  mBERT = rb_const_get(rb_cObject, rb_intern("BERT"));
+  cDecode = rb_define_class_under(mBERT, "Decode", rb_cObject);
+  rb_define_singleton_method(cDecode, "decode", method_decode, 1);
+  rb_define_singleton_method(cDecode, "impl", method_impl, 0);
+}
diff --git a/ext/bert/c/extconf.rb b/ext/bert/c/extconf.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fbaed15
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ext/bert/c/extconf.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+# Loads mkmf which is used to make makefiles for Ruby extensions
+require 'mkmf'
+
+# Give it a name
+extension_name = 'decode'
+
+# The destination
+dir_config(extension_name)
+
+# Do the work
+create_makefile(extension_name)
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/lib/bert.rb b/lib/bert.rb
index 7a172f4..4be2cd2 100644
--- a/lib/bert.rb
+++ b/lib/bert.rb
@@ -1,33 +1,24 @@
 require 'rubygems'
-require 'erlectricity'
+
+$:.unshift File.join(File.dirname(__FILE__), *%w[.. ext])
+
+require 'bert/bert'
+require 'bert/types'
+
+begin
+  # try to load the C extension
+  require 'bert/c/decode'
+rescue LoadError
+  # fall back on the pure ruby version
+  require 'bert/decode'
+end
+
+require 'bert/encode'
 
 require 'bert/encoder'
 require 'bert/decoder'
 
-module BERT
-  def self.encode(ruby)
-    Encoder.encode(ruby)
-  end
-
-  def self.decode(bert)
-    Decoder.decode(bert)
-  end
-
-  def self.ebin(str)
-    bytes = []
-    str.each_byte { |b| bytes << b.to_s }
-    "<<" + bytes.join(',') + ">>"
-  end
-end
-
-module BERT
-  class Tuple < Array
-    def inspect
-      "t#{super}"
-    end
-  end
-end
-
+# Global method for specifying that an array should be encoded as a tuple.
 def t
   BERT::Tuple
 end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/lib/bert/bert.rb b/lib/bert/bert.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6c52b0e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/bert/bert.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+module BERT
+  def self.encode(ruby)
+    Encoder.encode(ruby)
+  end
+
+  def self.decode(bert)
+    Decoder.decode(bert)
+  end
+
+  def self.ebin(str)
+    bytes = []
+    str.each_byte { |b| bytes << b.to_s }
+    "<<" + bytes.join(',') + ">>"
+  end
+
+  class List < Array
+    def inspect
+      "l#{super}"
+    end
+  end
+
+  class Tuple < Array
+    def inspect
+      "t#{super}"
+    end
+  end
+end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/lib/bert/decode.rb b/lib/bert/decode.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f8cf62c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/bert/decode.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,192 @@
+module BERT
+  class Decode
+    attr_accessor :in
+    include Types
+
+    def self.impl
+      'Ruby'
+    end
+
+    def self.decode(string)
+      new(StringIO.new(string)).read_any
+    end
+
+    def initialize(ins)
+      @in = ins
+      @peeked = ""
+    end
+
+    def read_any
+      fail("Bad Magic") unless read_1 == MAGIC
+      read_any_raw
+    end
+
+    def read_any_raw
+      case peek_1
+        when ATOM then read_atom
+        when SMALL_INT then read_small_int
+        when INT then read_int
+        when SMALL_BIGNUM then read_small_bignum
+        when LARGE_BIGNUM then read_large_bignum
+        when FLOAT then read_float
+        when SMALL_TUPLE then read_small_tuple
+        when LARGE_TUPLE then read_large_tuple
+        when NIL then read_nil
+        when STRING then read_erl_string
+        when LIST then read_list
+        when BIN then read_bin
+        else
+          fail("Unknown term tag: #{peek_1}")
+      end
+    end
+
+    def read(length)
+      if length < @peeked.length
+        result = @peeked[0...length]
+        @peeked = @peeked[length..-1]
+        length = 0
+      else
+        result = @peeked
+        @peeked = ''
+        length -= result.length
+      end
+
+      if length > 0
+        result << @in.read(length)
+      end
+      result
+    end
+
+    def peek(length)
+      if length <= @peeked.length
+        @peeked[0...length]
+      else
+        read_bytes = @in.read(length - @peeked.length)
+        @peeked << read_bytes if read_bytes
+        @peeked
+      end
+    end
+
+    def peek_1
+      peek(1).unpack("C").first
+    end
+
+    def peek_2
+      peek(2).unpack("n").first
+    end
+
+    def read_1
+      read(1).unpack("C").first
+    end
+
+    def read_2
+      read(2).unpack("n").first
+    end
+
+    def read_4
+      read(4).unpack("N").first
+    end
+
+    def read_string(length)
+      read(length)
+    end
+
+    def read_atom
+      fail("Invalid Type, not an atom") unless read_1 == ATOM
+      length = read_2
+      a = read_string(length)
+      case a
+        when ""
+          Marshal.load("\004\b:\005") # Workaround for inability to do ''.to_sym
+        else
+          a.to_sym
+      end
+    end
+
+    def read_small_int
+      fail("Invalid Type, not a small int") unless read_1 == SMALL_INT
+      read_1
+    end
+
+    def read_int
+      fail("Invalid Type, not an int") unless read_1 == INT
+      value = read_4
+      negative = (value >> 31)[0] == 1
+      value = (value - (1 << 32)) if negative
+      value = Fixnum.induced_from(value)
+    end
+
+    def read_small_bignum
+      fail("Invalid Type, not a small bignum") unless read_1 == SMALL_BIGNUM
+      size = read_1
+      sign = read_1
+      bytes = read_string(size).unpack("C" * size)
+      added = bytes.zip((0..bytes.length).to_a).inject(0) do |result, byte_index|
+        byte, index = *byte_index
+        value = (byte * (256 ** index))
+        sign != 0 ? (result - value) : (result + value)
+      end
+      Bignum.induced_from(added)
+    end
+
+    def read_large_bignum
+      fail("Invalid Type, not a large bignum") unless read_1 == LARGE_BIGNUM
+      size = read_4
+      sign = read_1
+      bytes = read_string(size).unpack("C" * size)
+      added = bytes.zip((0..bytes.length).to_a).inject(0) do |result, byte_index|
+        byte, index = *byte_index
+        value = (byte * (256 ** index))
+        sign != 0 ? (result - value) : (result + value)
+      end
+      Bignum.induced_from(added)
+    end
+
+    def read_float
+      fail("Invalid Type, not a float") unless read_1 == FLOAT
+      string_value = read_string(31)
+      result = string_value.to_f
+    end
+
+    def read_small_tuple
+      fail("Invalid Type, not a small tuple") unless read_1 == SMALL_TUPLE
+      arity = read_1
+      (0...arity).map { |i| read_any_raw }
+    end
+
+    def read_large_tuple
+      fail("Invalid Type, not a small tuple") unless read_1 == LARGE_TUPLE
+      arity = read_4
+      (0...arity).map { |i| read_any_raw }
+    end
+
+    def read_nil
+      fail("Invalid Type, not a nil list") unless read_1 == NIL
+      List.new([])
+    end
+
+    def read_erl_string
+      fail("Invalid Type, not an erlang string") unless read_1 == STRING
+      length = read_2
+      List.new(read_string(length).unpack('C' * length))
+    end
+
+    def read_list
+      fail("Invalid Type, not an erlang list") unless read_1 == LIST
+      length = read_4
+      list = (0...length).map { |i| read_any_raw }
+      read_1
+      List.new(list)
+    end
+
+    def read_bin
+      fail("Invalid Type, not an erlang binary") unless read_1 == BIN
+      length = read_4
+      read_string(length)
+    end
+
+    def fail(str)
+      raise str
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/lib/bert/decoder.rb b/lib/bert/decoder.rb
index a7d3da7..0e4d7a6 100644
--- a/lib/bert/decoder.rb
+++ b/lib/bert/decoder.rb
@@ -5,20 +5,17 @@ module BERT
     #
     # Returns a Ruby object
     def self.decode(bert)
-      simple_ruby = Erlectricity::Decoder.decode(bert)
+      simple_ruby = Decode.decode(bert)
       convert(simple_ruby)
     end
 
-    # Convert Erlectricity representation of BERT complex types into
-    # corresponding Ruby types.
+    # Convert simple Ruby form into complex Ruby form.
     #   +item+ is the Ruby object to convert
     #
     # Returns the converted Ruby object
     def self.convert(item)
       case item
-        when TrueClass, FalseClass
-          item.to_s.to_sym
-        when Erl::List
+        when List
           item.map { |x| convert(x) }
         when Array
           if item[0] == :bert
@@ -43,9 +40,9 @@ module BERT
           item[2].inject({}) do |acc, x|
             acc[convert(x[0])] = convert(x[1]); acc
           end
-        when TrueClass
+        when :true
           true
-        when FalseClass
+        when :false
           false
         when :time
           Time.at(item[2] * 1_000_000 + item[3], item[4])
diff --git a/lib/bert/encode.rb b/lib/bert/encode.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7ff7866
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/bert/encode.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,142 @@
+module BERT
+  class Encode
+    include Types
+
+    attr_accessor :out
+
+    def initialize(out)
+      self.out = out
+    end
+
+    def self.encode(data)
+      io = StringIO.new
+      self.new(io).write_any(data)
+      io.string
+    end
+
+    def write_any obj
+      write_1 MAGIC
+      write_any_raw obj
+    end
+
+    def write_any_raw obj
+      case obj
+        when Symbol then write_symbol(obj)
+        when Fixnum, Bignum then write_fixnum(obj)
+        when Float then write_float(obj)
+        when BERT::List then write_list(obj)
+        when Array then write_tuple(obj)
+        when String then write_binary(obj)
+        else
+          fail(obj)
+      end
+    end
+
+    def write_1(byte)
+      out.write([byte].pack("C"))
+    end
+
+    def write_2(short)
+      out.write([short].pack("n"))
+    end
+
+    def write_4(long)
+      out.write([long].pack("N"))
+    end
+
+    def write_string(string)
+      out.write(string)
+    end
+
+    def write_boolean(bool)
+      write_symbol(bool.to_s.to_sym)
+    end
+
+    def write_symbol(sym)
+      fail(sym) unless sym.is_a?(Symbol)
+      data = sym.to_s
+      write_1 ATOM
+      write_2 data.length
+      write_string data
+    end
+
+    def write_fixnum(num)
+      if num >= 0 && num < 256
+        write_1 SMALL_INT
+        write_1 num
+      elsif num <= MAX_INT && num >= MIN_INT
+        write_1 INT
+        write_4 num
+      else
+        write_bignum num
+      end
+    end
+
+    def write_float(float)
+      write_1 FLOAT
+      write_string format("%15.15e", float).ljust(31, "\000")
+    end
+
+    def write_bignum(num)
+      if num.is_a?(Bignum)
+        n = num.size
+      else
+        n = (num.to_s(2).size / 8.0).ceil
+      end
+      if n <= 256
+        write_1 SMALL_BIGNUM
+        write_1 n
+        write_bignum_guts(num)
+      else
+        write_1 LARGE_BIGNUM
+        write_4 n
+        write_bignum_guts(num)
+      end
+    end
+
+    def write_bignum_guts(num)
+      write_1 (num >= 0 ? 0 : 1)
+      num = num.abs
+      i = 0
+      while (rem = (num >> i * 8) % (256)) != 0
+        write_1 rem
+        i += 1
+      end
+    end
+
+    def write_tuple(data)
+      fail(data) unless data.is_a? Array
+
+      if data.length < 256
+        write_1 SMALL_TUPLE
+        write_1 data.length
+      else
+        write_1 LARGE_TUPLE
+        write_4 data.length
+      end
+
+      data.each { |e| write_any_raw e }
+    end
+
+    def write_list(data)
+      fail(data) unless data.is_a? Array
+      write_1 NIL and return if data.empty?
+      write_1 LIST
+      write_4 data.length
+      data.each{|e| write_any_raw e }
+      write_1 NIL
+    end
+
+    def write_binary(data)
+      write_1 BIN
+      write_4 data.length
+      write_string data
+    end
+
+    private
+
+    def fail(obj)
+      raise "Cannot encode to erlang external format: #{obj.inspect}"
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/lib/bert/encoder.rb b/lib/bert/encoder.rb
index 8bc8ecc..25c4700 100644
--- a/lib/bert/encoder.rb
+++ b/lib/bert/encoder.rb
@@ -6,24 +6,23 @@ module BERT
     # Returns a BERT
     def self.encode(ruby)
       complex_ruby = convert(ruby)
-      Erlectricity::Encoder.encode(complex_ruby)
+      Encode.encode(complex_ruby)
     end
 
-    # Convert Ruby types into corresponding Erlectricity representation
-    # of BERT complex types.
+    # Convert complex Ruby form in simple Ruby form.
     #   +item+ is the Ruby object to convert
     #
     # Returns the converted Ruby object
     def self.convert(item)
       case item
         when Hash
-          pairs = Erl::List[]
+          pairs = List[]
           item.each_pair { |k, v| pairs << [convert(k), convert(v)] }
           [:bert, :dict, pairs]
         when Tuple
           item.map { |x| convert(x) }
         when Array
-          Erl::List.new(item.map { |x| convert(x) })
+          List.new(item.map { |x| convert(x) })
         when nil
           [:bert, :nil]
         when TrueClass
@@ -33,7 +32,7 @@ module BERT
         when Time
           [:bert, :time, item.to_i / 1_000_000, item.to_i % 1_000_000, item.usec]
         when Regexp
-          options = Erl::List[]
+          options = List[]
           options << :caseless if item.options & Regexp::IGNORECASE > 0
           options << :extended if item.options & Regexp::EXTENDED > 0
           options << :multiline if item.options & Regexp::MULTILINE > 0
diff --git a/lib/bert/types.rb b/lib/bert/types.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..09bcd00
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/bert/types.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+module BERT
+  module Types
+    SMALL_INT = 97
+    INT = 98
+    SMALL_BIGNUM = 110
+    LARGE_BIGNUM = 111
+    FLOAT = 99
+    ATOM = 100
+    SMALL_TUPLE = 104
+    LARGE_TUPLE = 105
+    NIL = 106
+    STRING = 107
+    LIST = 108
+    BIN = 109
+    FUN = 117
+    NEW_FUN = 112
+    MAGIC = 131
+    MAX_INT = (1 << 27) -1
+    MIN_INT = -(1 << 27)
+  end
+end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/decoder_test.rb b/test/decoder_test.rb
index ddcff0f..aa3372d 100644
--- a/test/decoder_test.rb
+++ b/test/decoder_test.rb
@@ -33,13 +33,13 @@ class DecoderTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
     end
 
     should "convert true" do
-      before = [:bert, true]
+      before = [:bert, :true]
       after = true
       assert_equal after, BERT::Decoder.convert(before)
     end
 
     should "convert false" do
-      before = [:bert, false]
+      before = [:bert, :false]
       after = false
       assert_equal after, BERT::Decoder.convert(before)
     end
diff --git a/test/encoder_test.rb b/test/encoder_test.rb
index 4228bb3..39c9c87 100644
--- a/test/encoder_test.rb
+++ b/test/encoder_test.rb
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ class EncoderTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
     should "convert hash to tuple with array of tuples" do
       arr = BERT::Encoder.convert({:foo => 'bar'})
       assert arr.is_a?(Array)
-      assert arr[2].is_a?(Erl::List)
+      assert arr[2].is_a?(BERT::List)
       assert arr[2][0].is_a?(Array)
     end
 
@@ -38,13 +38,13 @@ class EncoderTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
 
     should "convert array to erl list" do
       list = BERT::Encoder.convert([1, 2])
-      assert list.is_a?(Erl::List)
+      assert list.is_a?(BERT::List)
     end
 
     should "convert an array in a tuple" do
       arrtup = BERT::Encoder.convert(t[:foo, [1, 2]])
       assert arrtup.is_a?(Array)
-      assert arrtup[1].is_a?(Erl::List)
+      assert arrtup[1].is_a?(BERT::List)
     end
 
     should "convert true" do
diff --git a/test/test_helper.rb b/test/test_helper.rb
index 596f3f1..70651c7 100644
--- a/test/test_helper.rb
+++ b/test/test_helper.rb
@@ -5,15 +5,4 @@ require 'shoulda'
 $LOAD_PATH.unshift(File.join(File.dirname(__FILE__), '..', 'lib'))
 $LOAD_PATH.unshift(File.dirname(__FILE__))
 require 'bert'
-
-class Test::Unit::TestCase
-end
-
-# So I can easily see which arrays are Erl::List
-module Erl
-  class List
-    def inspect
-      "l#{super}"
-    end
-  end
-end
\ No newline at end of file
+puts "Using #{BERT::Decode.impl} implementation."
\ No newline at end of file