.--^*$&###                                          ###&$*^--.
..--^*$&##                                          ##&$*^--..
...--^*$&#                                          #&$*^--...
....--^*$&                                          &$*^--....
.....--^*$                                          $*^--.....
......--^* ...---^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^---... *^--......
.....--^*$ .-^            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.....             --. $*^--.....
....--^*$& ...---^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^---... &$*^--....
...--^*$&#                                          #&$*^--...
..--^*$&##                                          ##&$*^--..
.--^*$&###                                          ###&$*^--.
..--^*$&##                                          ##&$*^--..
...--^*$&#                                          #&$*^--...