§.§.§..§§.                                          .§§§§....§
§.§.§.§.§.                                          ..§§§...§.
§.§.§.§.§.                                          .§.§§..§§.
§.§.§.§.§.                                          .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§.                                          .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. ......============================...... .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. ..=            the  spire            ~=. .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. ~=.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~=~. .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. =~. once upon a time, there was a    =.~ .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. =.~ benevolent spire, towering  well .=~ .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. .=~ above our  tallest trees. it was .~= .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. .~= clad in white scales, and shaped ~.= .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. ~.=       liked   a  mushroom.       ~=. .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. ~=.      we  loved  it  dearly.      =~. .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. =~.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~=.~ .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. =.~ it  predated  us  by many years, .=~ .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. .=~ and we did not know its original .~= .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. .~=  builders.  they had  used  its  ~.= .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. ~.= hollow  body  for  many strange  ~=. .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. ~=. purposes  - a womblike  place of =~. .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. =~. gestation,  a  storage of strage =.~ .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. =.~ fluids, a temple to some kind of .=~ .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. .=~    arcane   deity.               .~= .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. .~=~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.= .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. ~.=   we  were  grateful  for   its  ~=. .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. ~=.  presence, and  honored it  the  =~. .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. =~.   only  way  we  knew  how:  by  =.~ .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. ..~       breaking        in.        .~. .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. ......============================...... .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§.                                          .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§.                                          .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. ......============================...... .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. .~= this  place we called our  city: .=~ .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. .=~  wavy  and fractured,  with each =.~ .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. =.~ courtyard on a different height, =~. .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. =~. roads  becoming  roofs becoming  ~=. .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. ~=.  drains.  and  some places, like ~.= .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. ~.= the spire,  nobody had  accessed .~= .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. .~= for many years.  once its  walls .=~ .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. .=~  are  just  too  high,  and the  =.~ .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. =.~ internal routes to labyrinthine, =~. .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. =~. a place among  others  is easily ~=. .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. ~=.            overlooked.           .~= .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. .~=~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.=~ .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. .=~  so, basically,  that summer the =.~ .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. =.~ four of us snuck and climbed and ~.= .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. =~. crawled for weeks, searching for ~=. .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. ~=. a secluded place to do drugs and ~.= .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. ~.= play music on  our  handhelds.   .~= .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. .~=  instead  we  found vast  lungs  .=~ .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. .=~  drained   of  their  catalyst   =.~ .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. =.~ sludge, and a birds-eye  view to =~. .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. =~.  make sense of our roamings  for ~=. .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. ~=.         years  to   come.        ~.= .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. ~.=~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.~= .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. .~= a  central  spine,  a  staircase .=~ .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. .=~ around  it, the seven  toroidal  =.~ .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. =.~ lungs  stacked  outside, and the =~. .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. =~. control room on top. the sockets ~=. .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. ~=. for its eyes. the smaller spires ~.= .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. ~.=   for  radiating  consciousness  .~= .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. .~=           invitations.           .=. .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. ......============================...... .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§.                                          .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. ......============================...... .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. ..= in twenty fourteen, the tower is =~. .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. ~=. toppled  and eaten  by machines. =.~ .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. =~. after  a while, something new is .=~ .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. =.~  conjured in its  place.  it's a .~= .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. .=~ tiny maw at first,  shorter than ~.= .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. .~=  us,  and we  let  it  be.  our  ~=. .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. ~.= journeys still end at its  feet. =~. .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. ~=.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~=.~ .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. =~.  but then we are betrayed.  the  .=~ .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. =.~ new  tower eats us. others  are  .~= .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. .=~ sucked inside. new buildings are ~.= .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. .~=  manifested  overnight,  only to ~=. .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. ~.=  disappear  in the  evening fog. =~. .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. ~=. for a  while its  some  kind  of =.~ .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. =~. timeshare scam. goons are placed .=~ .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. =.~ outside, and we  get beaten up a .~= .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. .=~  few  times,  and  stop  going.  ~.= .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. .~=~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~=. .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. ~.=  iirc  it's currently  owned by  =~. .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. ~=. some energy drink baron who uses =.~ .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. =~. it to hold all his  fourty eight .=~ .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. ..~             cars.....            .~. .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§. ......============================...... .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§.                                          .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§.                                          .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§.                                          .§.§§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§.                                          .§..§.§.§.
§.§.§.§.§.                                          .§.§§.§.§.