††††††††                           
                       ††††        ††††                       
                     ††                ††                     
                     †                  †                     
                    †                    †                    
                    † The Glass factory. †                    
                    †                    †                    
                     †                  †                     
                     ††                ††                     
                       ††††        ††††                       
                           ††††††††                           
                                                              
...,~^†@§# Several  Centuries  After  It  Had  Last #§@†^~,...
....,~^†@§ Belonged To Us, We Went  On An Outing To §@†^~,....
.....,~^†@ The  Glass Factory That  Bore Our Family @†^~,.....
......,~^† Name. It Had  Changed Owners  Many Times †^~,......
.......,~^ Since  Our  Ancestors  Death,  And  Then ^~,.......
........,~ Stood  Abandoned  For   A  Long   While. ~,........
........., Finally, The  Natural  End  Station  For ,.........
........,~ The Buildings  That Survive:  A  Museum, ~,........
.......,~^ And A Gift Shop.                         ^~,.......
......,~^†                                          †^~,......
.....,~^†@ There'S  A Long  Time  Since  My  Family @†^~,.....
....,~^†@§ Made  Anything.  By Many,  We  Would  Be §@†^~,....
...,~^†@§# Considered Poor.                         #§@†^~,...
..,~^†@§##                                          ##§@†^~,..
.,~^†@§### There  Are  Two Main  Factory Buildings, ###§@†^~,.
..,~^†@§## Domed Things Of Several Floors,  Made In ##§@†^~,..
...,~^†@§# Yellow Brick. Large  But Narrow Windows, #§@†^~,...
....,~^†@§ Reminescent     Of    Some    Cathedral. §@†^~,....
.....,~^†@ Custom-Made  Glass, Of Course, Large And @†^~,.....
......,~^† LeadEd, And Ashen. A Bit Too  Dark To Be †^~,......
.......,~^ Practical.  On  The  Eastern   Building, ^~,.......
........,~ Some Are Shattered.                      ~,........
.........,                                          ,.........
........,~ The Other One Is Publicly  Open. There'S ~,........
.......,~^ A  Museum, With Wax Figures  Of My Great ^~,.......
......,~^† Great Great Grandfather,  Or  Something. †^~,......
.....,~^†@ Various Tools (Or Replicas) Laid  Out On @†^~,.....
....,~^†@§ Tables, With Explaining  Texts. A Lot Of §@†^~,....
...,~^†@§# Glass      Of     Varying     Thickness. #§@†^~,...
..,~^†@§##                                          ##§@†^~,..
.,~^†@§###                    ††                    ###§@†^~,.
..,~^†@§##                  ††  ††                  ##§@†^~,..
...,~^†@§#         ~~~~~~~ †      † ~~~~~~~         #§@†^~,...
....,~^†@§                  ††  ††                  §@†^~,....
.....,~^†@                    ††                    @†^~,.....
......,~^†                                          †^~,......
.......,~^ I  Quickly Sneak Out, And Climb Into The ^~,.......
........,~ Other   Building.    The   Contrast   Is ~,........
........., Overwhelming.   It   Must   Have   Stood ,.........
........,~ Derelict  For   A  Long   Time,  Windows ~,........
.......,~^ Broken,  Metallic  Trash  And  Pools  Of ^~,.......
......,~^† Dark   Glass  All  Over  The  Floor.  No †^~,......
.....,~^†@ Electric  Lights, But  I Can See By  The @†^~,.....
....,~^†@§ Light  That  Shines In Wherever The Dark §@†^~,....
...,~^†@§# Windows     Are    Missing    A    Pane. #§@†^~,...
..,~^†@§##                                          ##§@†^~,..
.,~^†@§### However, The Greatest  Difference Is The ###§@†^~,.
..,~^†@§## Higher Floors:  This  Building Has None. ##§@†^~,..
...,~^†@§# It Is One Massive Hall,  Stretching Away #§@†^~,...
....,~^†@§ Infinitely Above Me. Somewhere  Up There §@†^~,....
.....,~^†@ Is  Some  Great Iron  Latticework,  From @†^~,.....
......,~^† Where  Chains Are  Suspended, And  Parts †^~,......
.......,~^ Of  Machinery  Has  Been  Falling  Down. ^~,.......
........,~                                          ~,........
........., There Is,  In  The  Middle Of  The Great ,.........
........,~ Hall,   A  Thin  Spiral  Staircase  That ~,........
.......,~^ Leads Up There. I  Sneak Over There, And ^~,.......
......,~^† Take  A Few  Reluctant Steps. After Just †^~,......
.....,~^†@ A  Revolution,  I Notice That  For  Each @†^~,.....
....,~^†@§ Step  The Building  Starts To  Glow, The §@†^~,....
...,~^†@§# Bricks  Turning  A  Dark  Red, And  Then #§@†^~,...
..,~^†@§## Orange,  All  The Piled  Up Debree Being ##§@†^~,..
.,~^†@§### Lit From Behind.                         ###§@†^~,.
..,~^†@§##                                          ##§@†^~,..
...,~^†@§# I Stop Ready To  Run  Down  And Out, But #§@†^~,...
....,~^†@§ There'S Someone Else  On  The  Staircase §@†^~,....
.....,~^†@ With   Me   Now,  Pressed   Close.  He'S @†^~,.....
......,~^† Looking Like Me,  Short  Hair  And  Thin †^~,......
.......,~^ Arms,  But  With Ears  From Some Animal, ^~,.......
........,~ And  More  Disturbingly, Completely Made ~,........
........., Of Dark Liquid glass.                    ,.........
........,~                                          ~,........
.......,~^                    ††                    ^~,.......
......,~^†                  ††  ††                  †^~,......
.....,~^†@         ~~~~~~~ †      † ~~~~~~~         @†^~,.....
....,~^†@§                  ††  ††                  §@†^~,....
...,~^†@§#                    ††                    #§@†^~,...
..,~^†@§##                                          ##§@†^~,..
.,~^†@§### My  Fear  Holds  Me In  Place  While  He ###§@†^~,.
..,~^†@§## Starts  Operating Levers  And  Dials Set ##§@†^~,..
...,~^†@§# In The Center Of The  Staircase. Slowly, #§@†^~,...
....,~^†@§ It  Starts  Spinning, Circling  Upwards. §@†^~,....
.....,~^†@ It'S  An  Elevator!  I   Start   To  Run @†^~,.....
......,~^† Downwards,  But  Now   The   Liquid  Boy †^~,......
.......,~^ Creature  Grabs  Hold Of Me.  I  Try  To ^~,.......
........,~ Shake Him  Off, But He'S Too Strong, And ~,........
........., Pulls    Me   Back   Up   Beside    Him. ,.........
........,~                                          ~,........
.......,~^ This  Time, I Turn  Angry Instead.  What ^~,.......
......,~^† The  Hell?  Who Is This Guy, Acting Like †^~,......
.....,~^†@ This? I Reach  Out  My Free Arm And Slam @†^~,.....
....,~^†@§ A  Random  Lever.  Some   Metal  Bar  Is §@†^~,....
...,~^†@§# Suddenly  Released  Between  Us, Hitting #§@†^~,...
..,~^†@§## Him  On The Arm, Forcing My  Release.  I ##§@†^~,..
.,~^†@§### Shove Him  Off  Of Me, And He Falls Into ###§@†^~,.
..,~^†@§## The    Levers,    Messing    Them    Up. ##§@†^~,..
...,~^†@§# Immediately,  A  Thin   Rusty  Chainmail #§@†^~,...
....,~^†@§ Curtain  Is Dropped Around  Me. But  The §@†^~,....
.....,~^†@ Elevator  Also Speeds Up  Significantly. @†^~,.....
......,~^†                                          †^~,......
.......,~^ The  Walls  Are  Flaring  Now,   Yellow, ^~,.......
........,~ White, Almost  Blue. I Close My Eyes And ~,........
........., Curl Into A Ball.  But  Then, The  Glass ,.........
........,~ Boy  Screams,  A  Piercing  Sound   That ~,........
.......,~^ Forces My Eyes Back Open.  I Watch As He ^~,.......
......,~^† Becomes  Too  Liquid,  His  Body Pooling †^~,......
.....,~^†@ Down In His Now  Massive  Tail, And  The @†^~,.....
....,~^†@§ Tip Of  It Suddenly Breaks Of In A Glass §@†^~,....
...,~^†@§# Drop  That  Falls  Toward  The   Factory #§@†^~,...
..,~^†@§## Floor.                                   ##§@†^~,..
.,~^†@§###                                          ###§@†^~,.
..,~^†@§## He'S Crawling  On  The Stairs, Unable To ##§@†^~,..
...,~^†@§# Keep His  Body Upright.  Can'T Reach The #§@†^~,...
....,~^†@§ Levers,  Claws  At  My  Chainmail  Cage, §@†^~,....
.....,~^†@ While  His Body  Is  Turning  Into  Dark @†^~,.....
......,~^† Pearls. Finally, He'S  Lost Too  Much Of †^~,......
.......,~^ Himself  And  The Scream  Is  Cut Short. ^~,.......
........,~ The   Last   Of    Him    Rains    Down. ~,........
.........,                                          ,.........
........,~ I  Still  Can'T  Reach  The Levers  From ~,........
.......,~^ Within My  Cage.  Looking Up,  I  Try To ^~,.......
......,~^† Make  Out The  Ceiling,  But It'S All  A †^~,......
.....,~^†@ Whirling Sea Of Colours.  Below Me Glows @†^~,.....
....,~^†@§ The Hellfire Of  The Factory Walls,  But §@†^~,....
...,~^†@§# Very Faint.  I Sit  Down,  Curl Back Up, #§@†^~,...
..,~^†@§## Become Still.                            ##§@†^~,..
.,~^†@§###                                          ###§@†^~,.
..,~^†@§##                    ††                    ##§@†^~,..
...,~^†@§#                  ††  ††                  #§@†^~,...
....,~^†@§         ~~~~~~~ †      † ~~~~~~~         §@†^~,....
.....,~^†@                  ††  ††                  @†^~,.....
......,~^†                    ††                    †^~,......
.......,~^                                          ^~,.......
........,~ A Large  Clunk  Shakes  My  Entire Body, ~,........
........., And  Snaps  Me  Back Into  Reality.  I'M ,.........
........,~ Back  At  The  Factory  Floor,  But  The ~,........
.......,~^ Stairs  Are   Still   Moving   Slightly, ^~,.......
......,~^† Clicking In Place,  Carrying Me The Last †^~,......
.....,~^†@ Few  Centimeters.  I  Came  From  Below, @†^~,.....
....,~^†@§ Somehow.  The  Chainmail  Is  Retracted, §@†^~,....
...,~^†@§# And  I   Slowly  Dismount   The  Stairs. #§@†^~,...
..,~^†@§##                                          ##§@†^~,..
.,~^†@§### Shaking And  Crying, I Make  My Way Over ###§@†^~,.
..,~^†@§## The Factory Floor, Wading  Through  Dark ##§@†^~,..
...,~^†@§# Glass Marbles.  A Quick Glance Down, And #§@†^~,...
....,~^†@§ I  See There'S  Something  Faint  Inside §@†^~,....
.....,~^†@ Them.    Embryos?    Are   These   Eggs? @†^~,.....
......,~^†                                          †^~,......
.......,~^ I   Shudder,   And   Climb   Back   Out. ^~,.......
                                                              
                              ††                              
                            ††  ††                            
                           †      †                           
                            ††  ††                            
                              ††