.,-^*%@@## ##@@%*^-,.
..,-^*%@@# #@@%*^-,..
...,-^*%@@ @@%*^-,...
....,-^*%@ @%*^-,....
.....,-^*% %*^-,.....
......,-^* ...,,,^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^,,,... *^-,......
.......,-^ .,^ 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..... ,-. ^-,.......
........,- ...,,,^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^,,,... -,........
........., ,.........
.......... ..........
.......... ..........
.......... ..........
........., ,.........