##%%%\~~,¨ ¨,~~\%%%##
##¶#%%\~,¨ ¨,~\%%#¶##
##¶#%%\~,¨ ¨,~\%%#¶##
##¶#%%\~,¨ ¨,~\%%#¶##
###¶%%\~,¨ ¨,~\%%¶###
#%~¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨,,,\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\,,,¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨~%#
##¶#%%\~,¨ ¨,\ 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..... ,~¨ ¨,~\%%#¶##
##¶#%%\~,¨ ¨¨¨,,,\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\,,,¨¨¨ ¨,~\%%#¶##
¶%%%%%\~,¨ ¨,~\%%%%%¶
###¶%%\~,¨ ¨,~\%%¶###
###%\~,¨¨¨ ¨¨¨,~\%###
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