,,,,,~=†^%                                          %^†=~,,,,,
,,,,,,~=†^                                          ^†=~,,,,,,
,,,,,~=†^%                                          %^†=~,,,,,
,,,,~=†^%#                                          #%^†=~,,,,
,,,~=†^%#£                                          £#%^†=~,,,
,,~=†^%#£# ,,,~~~††††††††††††††††††††††††††††~~~,,, #£#%^†=~,,
,~=†^%#£## ,~†            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.....             ~=, ##£#%^†=~,
,,~=†^%#£# ,,,~~~††††††††††††††††††††††††††††~~~,,, #£#%^†=~,,
,,,~=†^%#£                                          £#%^†=~,,,
,,,,~=†^%#                                          #%^†=~,,,,
,,,,,~=†^%                                          %^†=~,,,,,
,,,,,,~=†^                                          ^†=~,,,,,,
,,,,,~=†^%                                          %^†=~,,,,,