††††††††
†††† ††††
†† ††
† †
† †
† 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. .^«;†¤¶@##
††
†† ††
† †
†† ††
††