@#&%/~.... ....~/%@
#%~....... .......~%#
##@#&%/~-. .-~/%@##
###&/~~-.. ..-~~/##
##@#&%/~-. .-~/%@##
##@#&%/~-. ...---////////////////////////////---... .-~/%@##
##@#&%/~-. .-/ 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..... -~. .-~/%@##
#@@#&%/~-. ...---////////////////////////////---... .-~/%@@#
##@#&%/~-. .-~/%@##
##@#&%/~-. .-~/%@##
@@##&%/~-. .-~/%#@@
##@#&%/~-. .-~/%@##
##@#&%/~-. .-~/%@##