¨-=†=%&@@# #@@&%=†=-¨
¨¨-=†=%&@@ @@&%=†=-¨¨
¨¨¨-=†=%&@ @&%=†=-¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨-=†=%& &%=†=-¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨-=†=% %=†=-¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨-=†= ¨¨¨---††††††††††††††††††††††††††††---¨¨¨ =†=-¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨-=† ¨-† 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..... -=¨ †=-¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨-= ¨¨¨---††††††††††††††††††††††††††††---¨¨¨ =-¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨- -¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨- -¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨