.,=:§@¤@## ##@¤@§:=,.
..,=:§@¤@# #@¤@§:=,..
.,=:§@¤@## ##@¤@§:=,.
..,=:§@¤@# #@¤@§:=,..
.,=:§@¤@## ##@¤@§:=,.
..,=:§@¤@# ...,,,::::::::::::::::::::::::::::,,,... #@¤@§:=,..
.,=:§@¤@## .,: 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..... ,=. ##@¤@§:=,.
..,=:§@¤@# ...,,,::::::::::::::::::::::::::::,,,... #@¤@§:=,..
.,=:§@¤@## ##@¤@§:=,.
..,=:§@¤@# #@¤@§:=,..
.,=:§@¤@## ##@¤@§:=,.
..,=:§@¤@# #@¤@§:=,..
.,=:§@¤@## ##@¤@§:=,.