diff --git a/src/rve.cpp b/src/rve.cpp
index a9f3b02..e7e7786 100644
--- a/src/rve.cpp
+++ b/src/rve.cpp
@@ -8,33 +8,9 @@
 #include <fstream>
 #include <iostream>
 
-void load_program(const std::string& filename, uint8_t* memory, size_t memory_size) {
-  std::ifstream file(filename, std::ios::binary|std::ios::ate);
-
-    if (!file.is_open()) {
-        throw std::runtime_error("Failed to open file: " + filename);
-    }
-
-    size_t file_size = file.tellg();
-
-    if (file_size > memory_size) {
-        throw std::runtime_error("File is too big");
-    }
-
-    file.seekg(0, std::ios::beg);
-
-    file.read(reinterpret_cast<char*>(memory), file_size);
-
-    if (!file) {
-        throw std::runtime_error("Failed to read the complete program into memory.");
-    }
-
-    file.close();
-}
 
 int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
   const size_t MEMORY_SIZE = 128*1024;
-  uint8_t memory[MEMORY_SIZE] = {0};
 
   bool debug = false;
   std::string program_filename = "";
@@ -50,27 +26,28 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
     return 1;
   }
 
+  std::vector<uint8_t> memory;
   try {
-    load_program(program_filename, memory, MEMORY_SIZE);
+    memory = load_program(program_filename, MEMORY_SIZE);
   } catch (const std::exception &e) {
     std::cerr << e.what() << std::endl;
     return 1;
   }
 
-  uint32_t *res1 = (uint32_t *)&memory[0x1000];
+  VM vm(memory);
 
-  try {
-    eval(memory, MEMORY_SIZE);
-  } catch (const std::exception& e) {
-    std::cerr << "Emulator error: " << e.what() << std::endl;
-    return 1;
-  }
+  if (!debug) {
+    try {
+      vm.eval();
+    } catch (const std::exception& e) {
+      std::cerr << "Emulator error: " << e.what() << std::endl;
+      return 1;
+    }
+    std::vector res_mem = vm.read_memory(0x1000, 4);
+    uint32_t *res = (uint32_t *)&res_mem[0];
 
-  uint32_t *res = (uint32_t *)&memory[0x1000];
-
-  std::cout << "result: " << *res << std::endl;
-
-  if (debug) {
+    std::cout << "result: " << *res << std::endl;
+  } else {
     // to debug, do: "set debug remote 1" in gdb
     // and then "target remote :1234"
     GDBStub stub(1234);
diff --git a/src/vm.cpp b/src/vm.cpp
index 4ed8489..b04a73b 100644
--- a/src/vm.cpp
+++ b/src/vm.cpp
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 #include <iostream>
 #include <stdexcept>
 #include <vector>
+#include <fstream>
 
 const int NUM_REGISTERS = 32; // Standard RISC-V has 32 registers
 
@@ -13,7 +14,49 @@ inline int32_t sign_extend(int32_t value, int bits) {
   return (value ^ mask) - mask;
 }
 
-void eval(uint8_t* memory, size_t memory_size) {
+std::vector<uint8_t>  load_program(const std::string&  filename, size_t memory_size)
+{
+  std::vector<uint8_t> memory(memory_size, 0);
+
+  std::ifstream file(filename, std::ios::binary|std::ios::ate);
+
+  if (!file.is_open()) {
+    throw std::runtime_error("Failed to open file: " + filename);
+  }
+
+  size_t file_size = file.tellg();
+
+  if (file_size > memory_size) {
+    throw std::runtime_error("File is too big");
+  }
+
+  file.seekg(0, std::ios::beg);
+
+  file.read(reinterpret_cast<char*>(&memory[0]), file_size);
+
+  if (!file) {
+    throw std::runtime_error("Failed to read the complete program into memory.");
+  }
+
+  file.close();
+
+  return memory;
+}
+
+VM::VM(std::vector<uint8_t> memory)
+  : memory_(memory) {
+
+}
+
+std::vector<uint8_t> VM::read_memory(size_t start, size_t size) {
+  return std::vector<uint8_t>(memory_.begin() + start,
+                              memory_.begin() + start + size);
+}
+
+void VM::eval() {
+  size_t memory_size = memory_.size();
+  uint8_t *memory = &memory_[0];
+
   uint32_t registers[NUM_REGISTERS] = {0};
   uint32_t pc = 0;
 
diff --git a/src/vm.hpp b/src/vm.hpp
index 3fec57a..7bfbc2b 100644
--- a/src/vm.hpp
+++ b/src/vm.hpp
@@ -2,5 +2,19 @@
 
 #include <cstdint>
 #include <cstddef>
+#include <string>
+#include <vector>
 
-void eval(uint8_t* memory, size_t memory_size);
+std::vector<uint8_t>  load_program(const std::string&  filename, size_t memory_size);
+
+class VM {
+public:
+  VM(std::vector<uint8_t> memory);
+
+  void eval();
+
+  std::vector<uint8_t> read_memory(size_t start, size_t size);
+
+private:
+  std::vector<uint8_t> memory_;
+};