the glass factory.           
                                        
                                        
                                      
                                  
                                  
                                          
 several  centuries  after  it  had  last 
 belonged to  us, we went on an outing to 
 the glass  factory that bore our  family 
 name.  it had changed  owners many times 
 since  our  ancestors  death,  and  then 
 stood  abandoned  for   a  long   while. 
 finally,  the natural  end  station  for 
 the  buildings  that survive:  a museum, 
 and a gift shop.                         
                                          
 there's  a long  time  since  my  family 
 made  anything.  by many,  we  would  be 
 considered poor.                         
                                          
 there  are two main  factory  buildings, 
 domed things of several floors, made  in 
 yellow brick.  large but narrow windows, 
 reminescent    of    some     cathedral. 
 custom-made  glass, of course, large and 
 leaded, and ashen. a bit too  dark to be 
 practical.  on   the  eastern  building, 
 some are shattered.                      
                                          
 the other one is publicly open.  there's 
 a museum,  with wax  figures of my great 
 great great  grandfather,  or something. 
 various  tools (or replicas) laid out on 
 tables, with explaining texts.  a lot of 
 glass      of     varying     thickness. 
                                          
                                        
                                      
                          
                                      
                                        
                                          
 i quickly  sneak out, and climb into the 
 other   building.    the   contrast   is 
 overwhelming.   it   must   have   stood 
 derelict  for  a   long  time,   windows 
 broken,  metallic  trash  and  pools  of 
 dark  glass  all  over  the  floor.   no 
 electric lights, but i can  see  by  the 
 light that shines  in wherever the  dark 
 windows    are    missing    a     pane. 
                                          
 however,  the greatest difference is the 
 higher floors:  this building  has none. 
 it is one massive hall, stretching  away 
 infinitely above me. somewhere up  there 
 is  some great  iron  latticework,  from 
 where  chains  are suspended,  and parts 
 of  machinery  has  been  falling  down. 
                                          
 there is,  in the middle  of  the  great 
 hall,  a  thin  spiral   staircase  that 
 leads up there.  i sneak over there, and 
 take  a few reluctant steps.  after just 
 a  revolution,  i notice  that for  each 
 step  the  building starts to  glow, the 
 bricks turning  a  dark  red,  and  then 
 orange,  all the  piled  up debree being 
 lit from behind.                         
                                          
 i stop ready to run  down and  out,  but 
 there's someone  else  on the  staircase 
 with  me   now,   pressed   close.  he's 
 looking  like  me,  short hair and  thin 
 arms,  but  with ears  from some animal, 
 and  more  disturbingly, completely made 
 of dark liquid glass.                    
                                          
                                        
                                      
                          
                                      
                                        
                                          
 my  fear  holds  me  in  place while  he 
 starts  operating  levers and dials  set 
 in the center of the staircase.  slowly, 
 it starts  spinning,  circling  upwards. 
 it's  an   elevator!  i  start   to  run 
 downwards,  but  now  the   liquid   boy 
 creature grabs hold  of  me.  i  try  to 
 shake him off, but he's too  strong, and 
 pulls    me   back   up    beside   him. 
                                          
 this  time, i  turn angry instead.  what 
 the hell? who is  this  guy, acting like 
 this?  i reach out my free arm and  slam 
 a  random  lever.  some  metal  bar   is 
 suddenly  released  between us,  hitting 
 him on the  arm, forcing my  release.  i 
 shove him off of me, and  he  falls into 
 the    levers,    messing    them    up. 
 immediately,  a  thin   rusty  chainmail 
 curtain  is dropped around  me.  but the 
 elevator  also  speeds up significantly. 
                                          
 the  walls   are  flaring  now,  yellow, 
 white,  almost blue. i close my eyes and 
 curl  into a  ball.  but then, the glass 
 boy  screams,   a  piercing  sound  that 
 forces my  eyes back open. i watch as he 
 becomes  too  liquid, his  body  pooling 
 down in his  now  massive  tail, and the 
 tip of it suddenly breaks  of in a glass 
 drop  that  falls   toward  the  factory 
 floor.                                   
                                          
 he's crawling on the  stairs,  unable to 
 keep his body  upright.  can't reach the 
 levers,  claws  at  my  chainmail  cage, 
 while  his  body is  turning  into  dark 
 pearls.  finally, he's  lost too much of 
 himself  and  the  scream is cut  short. 
 the    last   of    him   rains    down. 
                                          
 i  still  can't  reach  the levers  from 
 within my  cage.  looking  up,  i try to 
 make  out  the  ceiling, but it's  all a 
 whirling sea of  colours. below me glows 
 the  hellfire of the factory  walls, but 
 very  faint. i sit  down, curl  back up, 
 become still.                            
                                          
                                        
                                      
                          
                                      
                                        
                                          
 a  large  clunk shakes  my entire  body, 
 and  snaps  me  back  into reality.  i'm 
 back  at  the  factory  floor,  but  the 
 stairs  are   still   moving   slightly, 
 clicking in place,  carrying me the last 
 few  centimeters.  i  came  from  below, 
 somehow.  the  chainmail  is  retracted, 
 and  i  slowly   dismount  the   stairs. 
                                          
 shaking and crying, i make  my  way over 
 the factory  floor,  wading through dark 
 glass  marbles. a quick glance down, and 
 i  see  there's something  faint  inside 
 them.   embryos?   are    these    eggs? 
                                          
 i   shudder,   and   climb   back   out.