##£¤%†*«~¨                                          ¨~«*†%¤£##
##£¤%†*«~¨                                          ¨~«*†%¤£##
##£¤%†*«~¨                                          ¨~«*†%¤£##
##£¤%†*«~¨                                          ¨~«*†%¤£##
##£¤%†*«~¨                                          ¨~«*†%¤£##
##£¤%†*«~¨  Orange-Clad Train-Climber Crew, Moving  ¨~«*†%¤£##
££¤¤%†*«~¨ Along The  Rusty Cargo  Cars  Like  Some ¨~«*†%¤¤££
##£¤%†*«~¨ Species Of  Ferrophage  Insect.  Up  And ¨~«*†%¤£##
¤¤†††«««~¨ Down The  Train, Checking Bolts,  Oiling ¨~«««†††¤¤
££%†††*«~¨     Joints, Drinking Coffee, Smoking     ¨~«*†††%££
£¤¤†«~~~¨¨                Cigarettes.               ¨¨~~~«†¤¤£
##£¤%†*«~¨                                          ¨~«*†%¤£##
¤¤%*~¨¨¨¨¨      ££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££      ¨¨¨¨¨~*%¤¤
##£¤%†*«~¨                                          ¨~«*†%¤£##
£%%%*«~~~¨ We  Were Going South Through  Finland At ¨~~~«*%%%£
£%†*~¨¨¨¨¨ The   Time,  Sleeping   Close   To   The ¨¨¨¨¨~*†%£
¤†*~¨¨¨¨¨¨  Furnace, Watching The Aurora borealis.  ¨¨¨¨¨¨~*†¤
££¤¤%†*«~¨  Twenty-Something Members Of The Crew,   ¨~«*†%¤¤££
£%††††*«~¨ Most   Of   Which  Were  Mechanics,   Or ¨~«*††††%£
¤%%%**~¨¨¨ Loaders,  With  Large  And  Hairy  Hands ¨¨¨~**%%%¤
¤††«~¨¨¨¨¨ That  Could Swallow  My Entire Body. And ¨¨¨¨¨~«††¤
¤¤†*«««~¨¨ Me  Featuring  As  The  Cute And Asocial ¨¨~«««*†¤¤
##£¤%†*«~¨ Radio  Operator, Stationed  In The  Back ¨~«*†%¤£##
###¤%†*«~¨    Of The Kilometer-Long Train, Which    ¨~«*†%¤###
£%†*«««¨¨¨         Served Me Good And Well.         ¨¨¨«««*†%£
##£¤%†*«~¨                                          ¨~«*†%¤£##
¤¤%††«~~¨¨ And Then  One Night,  There'S A Missile. ¨¨~~«††%¤¤
¤¤%†««¨¨¨¨ We Would  Routinely Pick  Up New Cars At ¨¨¨¨««†%¤¤
£%%%*~¨¨¨¨ The  Tail, And  Drop Some Off, As A  Way ¨¨¨¨~*%%%£
##£¤%†*«~¨ Of  Earning  Some  Extra  Money.  But  A ¨~«*†%¤£##
##£¤%†*«~¨ Missile, And  Appearing Silently In  The ¨~«*†%¤£##
¤%%%%†*«~¨ Middle  Of  The  Night   At   That?  Not ¨~«*†%%%%¤
¤†«¨¨¨¨¨¨¨         Entirely... Comfortable.         ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨«†¤
#£%†«~~~¨¨                                          ¨¨~~~«†%£#
¤%*««~¨¨¨¨ I Call It  In  On The Walkie-Talkie. Not ¨¨¨¨~««*%¤
£¤%**««~~¨ Many  Others  Awake, They  Know  Nothing ¨~~««**%¤£
###£¤%†«~¨ About It,  And Appear Concerned As Well. ¨~«†%¤£###
¤¤†«¨¨¨¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨¨¨¨«†¤¤
¤†****~~¨¨      ££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££      ¨¨~~****†¤
££¤¤%†*«~¨                                          ¨~«*†%¤¤££
##£¤%†*«~¨ When  I Fall  Awake  In  The  Afternoon, ¨~«*†%¤£##
££%%%†*«~¨ Karl  Is  There,  Smiling  At  Me.  "Hey ¨~«*†%%%££
##£¤%†*«~¨ Boy," He  Says,  "Wanna Help  Me Make  A ¨~«*†%¤£##
¤¤†«¨¨¨¨¨¨                  Call?"                  ¨¨¨¨¨¨«†¤¤
##£¤%†*«~¨                                          ¨~«*†%¤£##
££¤†***«~¨ After He'S  Brought  Me  Coffee,  I Dial ¨~«***†¤££
##£¤%†*«~¨ The  Frequency From  His  Notebook,  And ¨~«*†%¤£##
##£¤%†*«~¨ After  A   While  There'S   A  Reply  In ¨~«*†%¤£##
£%%%*~~~¨¨ Pan-Slavic.  Karl  Laughs  And  Makes  A ¨¨~~~*%%%£
###¤%†*«~¨ Reply In The Same Language. Even  Though ¨~«*†%¤###
##£¤%†*«~¨ We  Both  Have Headphones I Can'T Follow ¨~«*†%¤£##
#¤†*«¨¨¨¨¨ At All, But I Hear  The Word "Missile" A ¨¨¨¨¨«*†¤#
##£¤%†*«~¨                Few Times.                ¨~«*†%¤£##
#¤¤¤%†*«~¨                                          ¨~«*†%¤¤¤#
¤¤%%%†*«~¨ I'M  Almost  Snoozing Again At  The Time ¨~«*†%%%¤¤
£££¤%†*«~¨ Karl Puts Down The Headphones  And Slaps ¨~«*†%¤£££
##£¤%†*«~¨ Me On  My Back.  "Allright Boy.  I  Just ¨~«*†%¤£##
##£¤%†*«~¨ Sold  A Missile." He  Practically  Beams ¨~«*†%¤£##
£¤%%%†*«~¨ At Me, Teeth Filed  Sharp. "Wanna Make A ¨~«*†%%%¤£
##£¤%†*«~¨                 Detour?"                 ¨~«*†%¤£##
##£¤%†*«~¨                                          ¨~«*†%¤£##
###£%†*«~¨                                          ¨~«*†%£###
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##£¤%†*«~¨                                          ¨~«*†%¤£##
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