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$ The Glass factory. $
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$$^~,¨¨¨¨¨ Several Centuries After It Had Last ¨¨¨¨¨,~^$$
$^~,¨¨¨¨¨¨ Belonged To Us, We Went On An Outing To ¨¨¨¨¨¨,~^$
^~,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ The Glass Factory That Bore Our Family ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,~^
~,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Name. It Had Changed Owners Many Times ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,~
,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Since Our Ancestors Death, And Then ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Stood Abandoned For A Long While. ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Finally, The Natural End Station For ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ The Buildings That Survive: A Museum, ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ And A Gift Shop. ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,
~,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,~
^~,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ There'S A Long Time Since My Family ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,~^
$^~,¨¨¨¨¨¨ Made Anything. By Many, We Would Be ¨¨¨¨¨¨,~^$
$$^~,¨¨¨¨¨ Considered Poor. ¨¨¨¨¨,~^$$
£$$^~,¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨,~^$$£
¶£$$^~,¨¨¨ There Are Two Main Factory Buildings, ¨¨¨,~^$$£¶
#¶£$$^~,¨¨ Domed Things Of Several Floors, Made In ¨¨,~^$$£¶#
##¶£$$^~,¨ Yellow Brick. Large But Narrow Windows, ¨,~^$$£¶##
#¶£$$^~,¨¨ Reminescent Of Some Cathedral. ¨¨,~^$$£¶#
¶£$$^~,¨¨¨ Custom-Made Glass, Of Course, Large And ¨¨¨,~^$$£¶
£$$^~,¨¨¨¨ LeadEd, And Ashen. A Bit Too Dark To Be ¨¨¨¨,~^$$£
$$^~,¨¨¨¨¨ Practical. On The Eastern Building, ¨¨¨¨¨,~^$$
$^~,¨¨¨¨¨¨ Some Are Shattered. ¨¨¨¨¨¨,~^$
^~,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,~^
~,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ The Other One Is Publicly Open. There'S ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,~
,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ A Museum, With Wax Figures Of My Great ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Great Great Grandfather, Or Something. ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Various Tools (Or Replicas) Laid Out On ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Tables, With Explaining Texts. A Lot Of ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Glass Of Varying Thickness. ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,
~,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,~
^~,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ $$ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,~^
$^~,¨¨¨¨¨¨ $$ $$ ¨¨¨¨¨¨,~^$
$$^~,¨¨¨¨¨ ~~~~~~~ $ $ ~~~~~~~ ¨¨¨¨¨,~^$$
£$$^~,¨¨¨¨ $$ $$ ¨¨¨¨,~^$$£
¶£$$^~,¨¨¨ $$ ¨¨¨,~^$$£¶
#¶£$$^~,¨¨ ¨¨,~^$$£¶#
##¶£$$^~,¨ I Quickly Sneak Out, And Climb Into The ¨,~^$$£¶##
#¶£$$^~,¨¨ Other Building. The Contrast Is ¨¨,~^$$£¶#
¶£$$^~,¨¨¨ Overwhelming. It Must Have Stood ¨¨¨,~^$$£¶
£$$^~,¨¨¨¨ Derelict For A Long Time, Windows ¨¨¨¨,~^$$£
$$^~,¨¨¨¨¨ Broken, Metallic Trash And Pools Of ¨¨¨¨¨,~^$$
$^~,¨¨¨¨¨¨ Dark Glass All Over The Floor. No ¨¨¨¨¨¨,~^$
^~,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Electric Lights, But I Can See By The ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,~^
~,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Light That Shines In Wherever The Dark ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,~
,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Windows Are Missing A Pane. ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ However, The Greatest Difference Is The ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Higher Floors: This Building Has None. ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ It Is One Massive Hall, Stretching Away ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,
~,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Infinitely Above Me. Somewhere Up There ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,~
^~,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Is Some Great Iron Latticework, From ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,~^
$^~,¨¨¨¨¨¨ Where Chains Are Suspended, And Parts ¨¨¨¨¨¨,~^$
$$^~,¨¨¨¨¨ Of Machinery Has Been Falling Down. ¨¨¨¨¨,~^$$
£$$^~,¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨,~^$$£
¶£$$^~,¨¨¨ There Is, In The Middle Of The Great ¨¨¨,~^$$£¶
#¶£$$^~,¨¨ Hall, A Thin Spiral Staircase That ¨¨,~^$$£¶#
##¶£$$^~,¨ Leads Up There. I Sneak Over There, And ¨,~^$$£¶##
#¶£$$^~,¨¨ Take A Few Reluctant Steps. After Just ¨¨,~^$$£¶#
¶£$$^~,¨¨¨ A Revolution, I Notice That For Each ¨¨¨,~^$$£¶
£$$^~,¨¨¨¨ Step The Building Starts To Glow, The ¨¨¨¨,~^$$£
$$^~,¨¨¨¨¨ Bricks Turning A Dark Red, And Then ¨¨¨¨¨,~^$$
$^~,¨¨¨¨¨¨ Orange, All The Piled Up Debree Being ¨¨¨¨¨¨,~^$
^~,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Lit From Behind. ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,~^
~,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,~
,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ I Stop Ready To Run Down And Out, But ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ There'S Someone Else On The Staircase ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ With Me Now, Pressed Close. He'S ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Looking Like Me, Short Hair And Thin ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Arms, But With Ears From Some Animal, ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,
~,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ And More Disturbingly, Completely Made ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,~
^~,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Of Dark Liquid glass. ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,~^
$^~,¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨,~^$
$$^~,¨¨¨¨¨ $$ ¨¨¨¨¨,~^$$
£$$^~,¨¨¨¨ $$ $$ ¨¨¨¨,~^$$£
¶£$$^~,¨¨¨ ~~~~~~~ $ $ ~~~~~~~ ¨¨¨,~^$$£¶
#¶£$$^~,¨¨ $$ $$ ¨¨,~^$$£¶#
##¶£$$^~,¨ $$ ¨,~^$$£¶##
#¶£$$^~,¨¨ ¨¨,~^$$£¶#
¶£$$^~,¨¨¨ My Fear Holds Me In Place While He ¨¨¨,~^$$£¶
£$$^~,¨¨¨¨ Starts Operating Levers And Dials Set ¨¨¨¨,~^$$£
$$^~,¨¨¨¨¨ In The Center Of The Staircase. Slowly, ¨¨¨¨¨,~^$$
$^~,¨¨¨¨¨¨ It Starts Spinning, Circling Upwards. ¨¨¨¨¨¨,~^$
^~,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ It'S An Elevator! I Start To Run ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,~^
~,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Downwards, But Now The Liquid Boy ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,~
,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Creature Grabs Hold Of Me. I Try To ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Shake Him Off, But He'S Too Strong, And ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Pulls Me Back Up Beside Him. ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ This Time, I Turn Angry Instead. What ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,
~,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ The Hell? Who Is This Guy, Acting Like ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,~
^~,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ This? I Reach Out My Free Arm And Slam ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,~^
$^~,¨¨¨¨¨¨ A Random Lever. Some Metal Bar Is ¨¨¨¨¨¨,~^$
$$^~,¨¨¨¨¨ Suddenly Released Between Us, Hitting ¨¨¨¨¨,~^$$
£$$^~,¨¨¨¨ Him On The Arm, Forcing My Release. I ¨¨¨¨,~^$$£
¶£$$^~,¨¨¨ Shove Him Off Of Me, And He Falls Into ¨¨¨,~^$$£¶
#¶£$$^~,¨¨ The Levers, Messing Them Up. ¨¨,~^$$£¶#
##¶£$$^~,¨ Immediately, A Thin Rusty Chainmail ¨,~^$$£¶##
#¶£$$^~,¨¨ Curtain Is Dropped Around Me. But The ¨¨,~^$$£¶#
¶£$$^~,¨¨¨ Elevator Also Speeds Up Significantly. ¨¨¨,~^$$£¶
£$$^~,¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨,~^$$£
$$^~,¨¨¨¨¨ The Walls Are Flaring Now, Yellow, ¨¨¨¨¨,~^$$
$^~,¨¨¨¨¨¨ White, Almost Blue. I Close My Eyes And ¨¨¨¨¨¨,~^$
^~,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Curl Into A Ball. But Then, The Glass ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,~^
~,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Boy Screams, A Piercing Sound That ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,~
,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Forces My Eyes Back Open. I Watch As He ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Becomes Too Liquid, His Body Pooling ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Down In His Now Massive Tail, And The ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Tip Of It Suddenly Breaks Of In A Glass ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Drop That Falls Toward The Factory ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,
~,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Floor. ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,~
^~,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,~^
$^~,¨¨¨¨¨¨ He'S Crawling On The Stairs, Unable To ¨¨¨¨¨¨,~^$
$$^~,¨¨¨¨¨ Keep His Body Upright. Can'T Reach The ¨¨¨¨¨,~^$$
£$$^~,¨¨¨¨ Levers, Claws At My Chainmail Cage, ¨¨¨¨,~^$$£
¶£$$^~,¨¨¨ While His Body Is Turning Into Dark ¨¨¨,~^$$£¶
#¶£$$^~,¨¨ Pearls. Finally, He'S Lost Too Much Of ¨¨,~^$$£¶#
##¶£$$^~,¨ Himself And The Scream Is Cut Short. ¨,~^$$£¶##
#¶£$$^~,¨¨ The Last Of Him Rains Down. ¨¨,~^$$£¶#
¶£$$^~,¨¨¨ ¨¨¨,~^$$£¶
£$$^~,¨¨¨¨ I Still Can'T Reach The Levers From ¨¨¨¨,~^$$£
$$^~,¨¨¨¨¨ Within My Cage. Looking Up, I Try To ¨¨¨¨¨,~^$$
$^~,¨¨¨¨¨¨ Make Out The Ceiling, But It'S All A ¨¨¨¨¨¨,~^$
^~,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Whirling Sea Of Colours. Below Me Glows ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,~^
~,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ The Hellfire Of The Factory Walls, But ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,~
,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Very Faint. I Sit Down, Curl Back Up, ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Become Still. ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ $$ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ $$ $$ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,
~,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ~~~~~~~ $ $ ~~~~~~~ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,~
^~,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ $$ $$ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,~^
$^~,¨¨¨¨¨¨ $$ ¨¨¨¨¨¨,~^$
$$^~,¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨,~^$$
£$$^~,¨¨¨¨ A Large Clunk Shakes My Entire Body, ¨¨¨¨,~^$$£
¶£$$^~,¨¨¨ And Snaps Me Back Into Reality. I'M ¨¨¨,~^$$£¶
#¶£$$^~,¨¨ Back At The Factory Floor, But The ¨¨,~^$$£¶#
##¶£$$^~,¨ Stairs Are Still Moving Slightly, ¨,~^$$£¶##
#¶£$$^~,¨¨ Clicking In Place, Carrying Me The Last ¨¨,~^$$£¶#
¶£$$^~,¨¨¨ Few Centimeters. I Came From Below, ¨¨¨,~^$$£¶
£$$^~,¨¨¨¨ Somehow. The Chainmail Is Retracted, ¨¨¨¨,~^$$£
$$^~,¨¨¨¨¨ And I Slowly Dismount The Stairs. ¨¨¨¨¨,~^$$
$^~,¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨,~^$
^~,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Shaking And Crying, I Make My Way Over ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,~^
~,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ The Factory Floor, Wading Through Dark ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,~
,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Glass Marbles. A Quick Glance Down, And ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ I See There'S Something Faint Inside ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Them. Embryos? Are These Eggs? ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ I Shudder, And Climb Back Out. ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,
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