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§.§.§...§§               §    .§                    .§§§...§.§
§....§..§§               §§  . §§                   .§.§§....§
§§....§.§.               §§§   §§§                  ...§§§...§
.§§.......               §§§§  §§§§                 §..§.§§..§
.§§§......               §§§§§ §§§§§                .§...§§§..
.§.§§.....               §§§§§§§§§§§§               ..§..§.§§.
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§..§.§§... ######################################## ....§..§.§
§§...§§§.. #########  ##  ##  ##   #####   ######## §....§...§
.§§..§.§§. ########   #   ##  ##  #  ###  #  ###### §§....§..§
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.§.§§..§.§ ######  #   #  ##  ##  #  ###  #  ###### §.§§....§.
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§..§.§§..§ ######################################## ..§.§§....
.§...§§§..                                          ....§§§...
..§..§.§§. there  is  another  company.  a climbing ....§.§§..
...§...§§§ and penetrating  vine. it's in the rocky ......§§§.
....§..§.§ plains,  it's  inside  the  hills,  it's ......§.§§
§....§...§ deep  below.  glistening silver burrows, ........§§
§§....§..§ red-pink   logo,  unclear   nationality, §.......§.
§§§....§.. veiled motives.                          §§........
                                                              
           a  cave  company,  a  magician  company.           
           sharpest     knife,    cutest     knife.           
   ^                                                          
           we  will   grow   humans   in   pea-pods           
         .                                                  . 
         . shimmering     sound-card     emergence,      .    
           something   there  on   the   shore   of           
           turtle beach.  the  primordial  soup  of           
         ^ the  digital,  waves   in  dithering  of           
           third-rate dac's,  caressing  the  sand,           
    ~      bringing  things up  from the depths  of           
           the circuit.  and there,  deposited: the    ~      
           first   seed   crystal   of   artificial           
           intelligence.                              ^       
       .                                                      
           this  changes   everything,  of  course.           
                                                             .
           ########################################           
                                                              
           the  company  is named  for  it's  first       ^   
           product,  the  orbital  mirror,  both  a           
           passive  sentinel  and  an active torch:   .       
           set  to  it's  widest  configuration  it           
           will light up a  whole  city  at  night,           
           and at its narrowest  it becomes a laser           
           to  cut  through  mountain   and  metal.           
                                                           .  
           still  unsold  prototypes  by  the  time      .    
           when  that  something  was found on that           
        .  beach,  now the mirrors are all used  to           
           beam    energy    at   different    mirr    .      
           implements,  as   a  rather  static  and           
       ^   boring  power source. (and subtle threat           
           of violence.)                                      
                                                              
           ########################################           
                                                              
         . the   ai  is  a  coral.   they  grow  it        ^  
           (crystal oil,  lead glass,  gentle laser           
.          curtains)  only  to carve  it apart  and           
           section  it.   to  become   conditioned,           
 .         refractured,  grown  again.  deliciously       ~   
           honed.  mirr  sinks  further  below  the           
         ^ surface.                                           
                                                              
           whispers now,  about  featherbite...  is           
           she a  real person?  or is this the mirr           
           ai, being unleashed upon the  youth? and           
           another  conspiracy theory  about  there           
     ^     not  actually being any human  employees           
   .       left.                                              
                                                              
           in  the  meantime,   dubious  creations.        ^  
           cerberus bodies are born.                     .    
                                                        .     
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         .                                            ^