.......~*&                                          &*~.......
.,~^*£&###                                          ###&£*^~,.
.....,^£&&                                          &&£^,.....
.,~^*£&@##                                          ##@&£*^~,.
.,~^*£&@##                                          ##@&£*^~,.
....,^*&#@ ...,,,^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^,,,... @#&*^,....
.,~^*£&#@# .,^            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.....            ,~. @##&£*^~,.
.,~^*£&#@# ...,,,^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^,,,... #@#&£*^~,.
.,~^*£&#@#                                          #@#&£*^~,.
.,~^*£&&&@                                          @&&&£*^~,.
.,~^*£&#@#                                          #@#&£*^~,.
....,^£&&&                                          &&&£^,....
.,~^*&#@##                                          ##@#&*^~,.