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@£&%/~~... 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. .~~/%&£@##
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