@£%†=¨¨¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨¨¨=†%£@
##%%†=,¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨,=†%%##
@@#£%%†=,¨                                          ¨,=†%%£#@@
#££%†==,,¨                                          ¨,,==†%££#
#@#£%%†=,¨                                          ¨,=†%%£#@#
##@#£%†=,¨  Orange-Clad Train-Climber Crew, Moving  ¨,=†%£#@##
#@#£%%†=,¨ Along  The  Rusty Cargo  Cars Like  Some ¨,=†%%£#@#
##@£%%†=,¨ Species  Of Ferrophage  Insect.  Up  And ¨,=†%%£@##
@£%==,¨¨¨¨ Down The Train,  Checking Bolts,  Oiling ¨¨¨¨,==%£@
£%%†=¨¨¨¨¨     Joints, Drinking Coffee, Smoking     ¨¨¨¨¨=†%%£
#@#£%%†=,¨                Cigarettes.               ¨,=†%%£#@#
#%†=¨¨¨¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨¨¨¨=†%#
#@#£%%†=,¨      ##############################      ¨,=†%%£#@#
@@#£%%†=,¨                                          ¨,=†%%£#@@
#@#£%%†=,¨ We Were Going  South  Through Finland At ¨,=†%%£#@#
###£%%†=,¨ The   Time,  Sleeping   Close   To   The ¨,=†%%£###
###£%%†=,¨  Furnace, Watching The Aurora borealis.  ¨,=†%%£###
###£%%†=,¨  Twenty-Something Members Of The Crew,   ¨,=†%%£###
@£%%%†,¨¨¨ Most   Of  Which   Were  Mechanics,   Or ¨¨¨,†%%%£@
##@#£%†=,¨ Loaders,  With  Large  And  Hairy  Hands ¨,=†%£#@##
#@#£%%†=,¨ That  Could Swallow My Entire Body.  And ¨,=†%%£#@#
£%††,¨¨¨¨¨ Me  Featuring  As The  Cute  And Asocial ¨¨¨¨¨,††%£
#@#£%%†=,¨ Radio  Operator, Stationed In  The  Back ¨,=†%%£#@#
£%††==¨¨¨¨    Of The Kilometer-Long Train, Which    ¨¨¨¨==††%£
##@£%%†=,¨         Served Me Good And Well.         ¨,=†%%£@##
@£%=,¨¨¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨¨¨,=%£@
@££%%†=¨¨¨ And  Then One Night,  There'S A Missile. ¨¨¨=†%%££@
££££%%†=,¨ We  Would  Routinely Pick Up New Cars At ¨,=†%%££££
@£%%%%†=,¨ The Tail,  And Drop Some Off, As  A  Way ¨,=†%%%%£@
#@#£%%†=,¨ Of  Earning  Some  Extra  Money.  But  A ¨,=†%%£#@#
@£%%†,,¨¨¨ Missile, And  Appearing Silently In  The ¨¨¨,,†%%£@
#@#£%%†=,¨ Middle  Of  The   Night  At  That?   Not ¨,=†%%£#@#
££%%†===,¨         Entirely... Comfortable.         ¨,===†%%££
@#%%%%†=,¨                                          ¨,=†%%%%#@
###£%%†=,¨ I Call  It In On  The Walkie-Talkie. Not ¨,=†%%£###
££££%%†=,¨ Many  Others  Awake,  They Know  Nothing ¨,=†%%££££
£%==¨¨¨¨¨¨ About It,  And Appear Concerned As Well. ¨¨¨¨¨¨==%£
@@#£%%†=,¨                                          ¨,=†%%£#@@
###£%%†=,¨      ##############################      ¨,=†%%£###
£%††=¨¨¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨¨¨=††%£
@@#£%%†=,¨ When I  Fall  Awake  In  The  Afternoon, ¨,=†%%£#@@
#@#£%%†=,¨ Karl  Is  There,  Smiling  At  Me.  "Hey ¨,=†%%£#@#
#%%%%=¨¨¨¨ Boy," He Says, "Wanna  Help  Me  Make  A ¨¨¨¨=%%%%#
#@#£%%†=,¨                  Call?"                  ¨,=†%%£#@#
#@#£%%†=,¨                                          ¨,=†%%£#@#
£££%%%†=,¨ After He'S  Brought  Me  Coffee,  I Dial ¨,=†%%%£££
##£%††,,¨¨ The Frequency  From  His  Notebook,  And ¨¨,,††%£##
##%%%==,¨¨ After  A  While  There'S   A   Reply  In ¨¨,==%%%##
#@#£%%†=,¨ Pan-Slavic.  Karl  Laughs  And  Makes  A ¨,=†%%£#@#
#@#£%%†=,¨ Reply In  The Same Language. Even Though ¨,=†%%£#@#
#@#£%%†=,¨ We  Both Have Headphones I Can'T  Follow ¨,=†%%£#@#
#@#£%%†=,¨ At All,  But I Hear The Word "Missile" A ¨,=†%%£#@#
@@#£%%†=,¨                Few Times.                ¨,=†%%£#@@
£££%†††=,¨                                          ¨,=†††%£££
#@#£%%†=,¨ I'M Almost  Snoozing  Again At  The Time ¨,=†%%£#@#
##%%%%†=,¨ Karl Puts Down The  Headphones And Slaps ¨,=†%%%%##
###£%%†=,¨ Me On My  Back. "Allright  Boy.  I  Just ¨,=†%%£###
@£%==¨¨¨¨¨ Sold  A  Missile." He Practically  Beams ¨¨¨¨¨==%£@
#@#£%%†=,¨ At Me, Teeth Filed Sharp. "Wanna Make  A ¨,=†%%£#@#
££%%%%†=,¨                 Detour?"                 ¨,=†%%%%££
£%%††,¨¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨¨,††%%£
#%%%%==¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨==%%%%#
££%%%†,¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨,†%%%££
##%†=,¨¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨¨,=†%##
@£%††,¨¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨¨,††%£@