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.