@§**††;«,¨ ¨,«;††**§@
##@#§†;«,¨ ¨,«;†§#@##
@§§†;,¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨,;†§§@
###§*†;«,¨ ¨,«;†*§###
###§*†;«,¨ ¨,«;†*§###
#§††«¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨,,,;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;,,,¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨«††§#
§*††«¨¨¨¨¨ ¨,; the spire «;¨ ¨¨¨¨¨«††*§
#@#§*†;«,¨ «;,««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««;«, ¨,«;†*§#@#
§§†;,¨¨¨¨¨ ;«, once upon a time, there was a ;,« ¨¨¨¨¨,;†§§
#§§††«,,¨¨ ;,« benevolent spire, towering well ,;« ¨¨,,«††§§#
@@#§*†;«,¨ ,;« above our tallest trees. it was ,«; ¨,«;†*§#@@
§*††††;«,¨ ,«; clad in white scales, and shaped «,; ¨,«;††††*§
#§§†««,,¨¨ «,; liked a mushroom. «;, ¨¨,,««†§§#
#*;;;;;«,¨ «;, we loved it dearly. ;«, ¨,«;;;;;*#
§§§†««¨¨¨¨ ;«,««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««;,« ¨¨¨¨««†§§§
#@#§*†;«,¨ ;,« it predated us by many years, ,;« ¨,«;†*§#@#
§†«,¨¨¨¨¨¨ ,;« and we did not know its original ,«; ¨¨¨¨¨¨,«†§
@@#§*†;«,¨ ,«; builders. they had used its «,; ¨,«;†*§#@@
#*;,¨¨¨¨¨¨ «,; hollow body for many strange «;, ¨¨¨¨¨¨,;*#
#@#§*†;«,¨ «;, purposes - a womblike place of ;«, ¨,«;†*§#@#
##@#§†;«,¨ ;«, gestation, a storage of strage ;,« ¨,«;†§#@##
#@#§*†;«,¨ ;,« fluids, a temple to some kind of ,;« ¨,«;†*§#@#
#@#§*†;«,¨ ,;« arcane deity. ,«; ¨,«;†*§#@#
#@#§*†;«,¨ ,«;«««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««,; ¨,«;†*§#@#
@##§*†;«,¨ «,; we were grateful for its «;, ¨,«;†*§##@
@§†††;;«,¨ «;, presence, and honored it the ;«, ¨,«;;†††§@
##§§*†;«,¨ ;«, only way we knew how: by ;,« ¨,«;†*§§##
#*†«,¨¨¨¨¨ ¨,« breaking in. ,«¨ ¨¨¨¨¨,«†*#
##*;««««,¨ ¨¨¨,,,;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;,,,¨¨¨ ¨,««««;*##
§**†«¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨«†**§
§§***†;«,¨ ¨,«;†***§§
#*;,¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨,,,;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;,,,¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨,;*#
@##§*†;«,¨ ¨«; this place we called our city: ,;« ¨,«;†*§##@
#@#§*†;«,¨ ,;« wavy and fractured, with each ;,« ¨,«;†*§#@#
@§††«,,¨¨¨ ;,« courtyard on a different height, ;«, ¨¨¨,,«††§@
##@§*†;«,¨ ;«, roads becoming roofs becoming «;, ¨,«;†*§@##
§§†«,¨¨¨¨¨ «;, drains. and some places, like «,; ¨¨¨¨¨,«†§§
###§*†;«,¨ «,; the spire, nobody had accessed ,«; ¨,«;†*§###
#@#§*†;«,¨ ,«; for many years. once its walls ,;« ¨,«;†*§#@#
#§§*;,,,,¨ ,;« are just too high, and the ;,« ¨,,,,;*§§#
§*†;«««¨¨¨ ;,« internal routes to labyrinthine, ;«, ¨¨¨«««;†*§
#@#§*†;«,¨ ;«, a place among others is easily «;, ¨,«;†*§#@#
##§†;«¨¨¨¨ «;, overlooked. ,«; ¨¨¨¨«;†§##
#§*†«¨¨¨¨¨ ,«;««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««,;« ¨¨¨¨¨«†*§#
###§*†;«,¨ ,;« so, basically, that summer the ;,« ¨,«;†*§###
§†«,¨¨¨¨¨¨ ;,« four of us snuck and climbed and «,; ¨¨¨¨¨¨,«†§
#@#§*†;«,¨ ;«, crawled for weeks, searching for «;, ¨,«;†*§#@#
@#*†;«,,,¨ «;, a secluded place to do drugs and «,; ¨,,,«;†*#@
###§*†;«,¨ «,; play music on our handhelds. ,«; ¨,«;†*§###
§†††††;«,¨ ,«; instead we found vast lungs ,;« ¨,«;†††††§
@#*††«¨¨¨¨ ,;« drained of their catalyst ;,« ¨¨¨¨«††*#@
##§§*†;«,¨ ;,« sludge, and a birds-eye view to ;«, ¨,«;†*§§##
§§†;,¨¨¨¨¨ ;«, make sense of our roamings for «;, ¨¨¨¨¨,;†§§
§§§§*†;«,¨ «;, years to come. «,; ¨,«;†*§§§§
#@#§*†;«,¨ «,;««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««,«; ¨,«;†*§#@#
#@#§*†;«,¨ ,«; a central spine, a staircase ,;« ¨,«;†*§#@#
§*††;«,¨¨¨ ,;« around it, the seven toroidal ;,« ¨¨¨,«;††*§
##@#§†;«,¨ ;,« lungs stacked outside, and the ;«, ¨,«;†§#@##
#@#§*†;«,¨ ;«, control room on top. the sockets «;, ¨,«;†*§#@#
##@§*†;«,¨ «;, for its eyes. the smaller spires «,; ¨,«;†*§@##
#@#§*†;«,¨ «,; for radiating consciousness ,«; ¨,«;†*§#@#
#@#§*†;«,¨ ¨«; invitations. ,;¨ ¨,«;†*§#@#
#@#§*†;«,¨ ¨¨¨,,,;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;,,,¨¨¨ ¨,«;†*§#@#
§§§§*†;«,¨ ¨,«;†*§§§§
#@#§*†;«,¨ ¨¨¨,,,;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;,,,¨¨¨ ¨,«;†*§#@#
§***;;;«,¨ ¨,; in twenty fourteen, the tower is ;«, ¨,«;;;***§
@@#§*†;«,¨ «;, toppled and eaten by machines. ;,« ¨,«;†*§#@@
#*;«¨¨¨¨¨¨ ;«, after a while, something new is ,;« ¨¨¨¨¨¨«;*#
#@#§*†;«,¨ ;,« conjured in its place. it's a ,«; ¨,«;†*§#@#
#§§*;,¨¨¨¨ ,;« tiny maw at first, shorter than «,; ¨¨¨¨,;*§§#
#*††;,¨¨¨¨ ,«; us, and we let it be. our «;, ¨¨¨¨,;††*#
§§§§*†;«,¨ «,; journeys still end at its feet. ;«, ¨,«;†*§§§§
§*;««,,¨¨¨ «;,««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««;,« ¨¨¨,,««;*§
@@#§*†;«,¨ ;«, but then we are betrayed. the ,;« ¨,«;†*§#@@
@§*;;,¨¨¨¨ ;,« new tower eats us. others are ,«; ¨¨¨¨,;;*§@
#@#§*†;«,¨ ,;« sucked inside. new buildings are «,; ¨,«;†*§#@#
#@#§*†;«,¨ ,«; manifested overnight, only to «;, ¨,«;†*§#@#
@#*;;,¨¨¨¨ «,; disappear in the evening fog. ;«, ¨¨¨¨,;;*#@
#§§*;,¨¨¨¨ «;, for a while its some kind of ;,« ¨¨¨¨,;*§§#
@@#§*†;«,¨ ;«, timeshare scam. goons are placed ,;« ¨,«;†*§#@@
##§††;«,¨¨ ;,« outside, and we get beaten up a ,«; ¨¨,«;††§##
##@#§†;«,¨ ,;« few times, and stop going. «,; ¨,«;†§#@##
§§**;;;«,¨ ,«;«««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««;, ¨,«;;;**§§
@#*†;;«,¨¨ «,; iirc it's currently owned by ;«, ¨¨,«;;†*#@
###§*†;«,¨ «;, some energy drink baron who uses ;,« ¨,«;†*§###
§§†«,¨¨¨¨¨ ;«, it to hold all his fourty eight ,;« ¨¨¨¨¨,«†§§
#@#§*†;«,¨ ¨,« cars..... ,«¨ ¨,«;†*§#@#
#@#§*†;«,¨ ¨¨¨,,,;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;,,,¨¨¨ ¨,«;†*§#@#
#@#§*†;«,¨ ¨,«;†*§#@#
#@#§*†;«,¨ ¨,«;†*§#@#
§§††;;,¨¨¨ ¨¨¨,;;††§§
#@#§*†;«,¨ ¨,«;†*§#@#
#@#§*†;«,¨ ¨,«;†*§#@#