##@£#^=~^. .^~=^#£@##
#@£#^=~^.. ..^~=^#£@#
##@£#^=~^. .^~=^#£@##
#@£#^=~^.. ..^~=^#£@#
##@£#^=~^. .^~=^#£@##
#@£#^=~^.. ...^^^============================^^^... ..^~=^#£@#
##@£#^=~^. .^= 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..... ^~. .^~=^#£@##
#@£#^=~^.. ...^^^============================^^^... ..^~=^#£@#
##@£#^=~^. .^~=^#£@##
#@£#^=~^.. ..^~=^#£@#
##@£#^=~^. .^~=^#£@##
#@£#^=~^.. ..^~=^#£@#
##@£#^=~^. .^~=^#£@##