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¨¨,»\$%££@ 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. $\»,¨¨¨¨¨¨
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