.....~/*## ##*/~.....
.....,/%#@ @#%/,.....
...,,/%%#@ @#%%/,,...
.....~~%## ##%~~.....
.,,,//%##@ @##%//,,,.
.,~/%***## ...,,,////////////////////////////,,,... ##***%/~,.
..,,,/*##@ .,/ 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..... ,~. #@##*%/~,.
.,~/%*#### ...,,,////////////////////////////,,,... ####*%/~,.
.....,/%%# #%%/,.....
.,~/%*##@# #@##*%/~,.
.,~/%*#### ####*%/~,.
.,~/%*#### ####*%/~,.
....,~~%## ##%~~,....