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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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