###&%$†~:, ,:~†$%&###
#@#&%$†~:, ,:~†$%&#@#
##&&%$†~:, ,:~†$%&&##
#@#&%$†~:, ,:~†$%&#@#
#%†:,,,,,, ,,,,,,:†%#
&&$~~:,,,, ,,,:::††††††††††††††††††††††††††††:::,,, ,,,,:~~$&&
&&&&%$†~:, ,:† THE SPIRE ~†, ,:~†$%&&&&
#%†~,,,,,, ~†:~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~†~: ,,,,,,~†%#
&%†:,,,,,, †~: 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 †:~ ,,,~†$$$&@
&%%††††~:, †~: IT TO HOLD ALL HIS FOURTY EIGHT :†~ ,:~††††%%&
#&$~,,,,,, ,:~ CARS..... :~, ,,,,,,~$&#
@##&%$†~:, ,,,:::††††††††††††††††††††††††††††:::,,, ,:~†$%&##@
#&%$$~~,,, ,,,~~$$%&#
&&&$$~~~:, ,:~~~$$&&&
#@#&%$†~:, ,:~†$%&#@#
#%%%%$†~:, ,:~†$%%%%#
&&&%†:,,,, ,,,,:†%&&&