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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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