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% The Glass factory. %
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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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