in reply to Possible Next Steps

Comparable? Some might say Python or Ruby... but is "comparable" what you really want, or would the depth of your knowledge be better served by something that is "distinctly different" instead?

FWIW, I might suggest that with C++ and Perl "in the bag," you might wish to study something truly different, such as ASM, or a declarative language like SQL (yes, it is a language!).