.~-^†¤#@##                                          ##@#¤†^-~.
.~-^†¤#@##                                          ##@#¤†^-~.
...~~-^†¤#                                          #¤†^-~~...
.~-^†¤#@##                                          ##@#¤†^-~.
.~-^†¤####                                          ####¤†^-~.
.~-^†¤#@## ...~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^~~~... ##@#¤†^-~.
.....~^†## .~^            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.....            ~-. ##@#¤†^-~.
.~-^†#@### ...~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^~~~... ###@#†^-~.
.~--^††#@#                                          #@#††^--~.
...~~^†#@#                                          #@#†^~~...
.~-^†¤#@##                                          ##@#¤†^-~.
..~~^†¤¤##                                          ##¤¤†^~~..
.~-^†¤#@##                                          ##@#¤†^-~.