.~-†*&@###                                          ###@&*†-~.
...~~†††&@                                          @&†††~~...
.~-†*&@###                                          ###@&*†-~.
...~-*&&##                                          ##&&*-~...
.......-*@                                          @*-.......
.~-†*&@### ...~~~††††††††††††††††††††††††††††~~~... ###@&*†-~.
..~~--*&&@ .~†            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.....             ~-. ###@&*†-~.
.....~††&@ ...~~~††††††††††††††††††††††††††††~~~... @&††~.....
....-*&&##                                          ##&&*-....
.~~---*@##                                          ##@*---~~.
.~-†*&####                                          ####&*†-~.
.....~-*@#                                          #@*-~.....
.~-†*&@###                                          ###@&*†-~.