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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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