the glass factory.           
                                        
                                        
                                      
                                  
                                  
                                          
 several  centuries  after  it  had  last 
 belonged to us, we went  on an outing to 
 the  glass factory that  bore our family 
 name. it had  changed owners  many times 
 since  our  ancestors  death,  and  then 
 stood   abandoned  for   a  long  while. 
 finally,  the  natural  end station  for 
 the  buildings that  survive:  a museum, 
 and a gift shop.                         
                                          
 there's  a long  time  since  my  family 
 made  anything.  by  many,  we would  be 
 considered poor.                         
                                          
 there are  two  main factory  buildings, 
 domed  things of several floors, made in 
 yellow  brick. large but narrow windows, 
 reminescent    of    some     cathedral. 
 custom-made  glass, of course, large and 
 leaded, and ashen. a bit too dark  to be 
 practical.  on  the   eastern  building, 
 some are shattered.                      
                                          
 the other one is publicly open.  there's 
 a museum,  with wax figures of  my great 
 great  great  grandfather, or something. 
 various tools (or  replicas) laid out on 
 tables, with explaining texts.  a lot of 
 glass     of     varying      thickness. 
                                          
                                        
                                      
                          
                                      
                                        
                                          
 i quickly sneak out, and climb into  the 
 other   building.    the   contrast   is 
 overwhelming.   it   must   have   stood 
 derelict  for   a   long  time,  windows 
 broken,  metallic  trash  and  pools  of 
 dark  glass  all  over   the  floor.  no 
 electric lights, but  i can  see by  the 
 light  that shines in wherever  the dark 
 windows     are    missing    a    pane. 
                                          
 however, the greatest difference  is the 
 higher  floors: this  building has none. 
 it is one massive hall, stretching  away 
 infinitely  above me. somewhere up there 
 is some  great  iron  latticework,  from 
 where  chains  are suspended, and  parts 
 of  machinery  has  been  falling  down. 
                                          
 there  is, in  the  middle of  the great 
 hall,  a  thin  spiral  staircase   that 
 leads up there. i sneak over  there, and 
 take a  few reluctant  steps. after just 
 a revolution, i  notice  that  for  each 
 step the building  starts  to glow,  the 
 bricks  turning  a  dark  red, and  then 
 orange,  all the piled  up  debree being 
 lit from behind.                         
                                          
 i  stop ready to  run down and  out, but 
 there's someone else  on  the  staircase 
 with   me   now,   pressed  close.  he's 
 looking like  me,  short  hair and  thin 
 arms,  but  with ears from  some animal, 
 and more disturbingly,  completely  made 
 of dark liquid glass.                    
                                          
                                        
                                      
                          
                                      
                                        
                                          
 my  fear holds  me  in  place  while  he 
 starts  operating levers  and dials  set 
 in  the center of the staircase. slowly, 
 it starts  spinning,  circling  upwards. 
 it's   an  elevator!  i  start  to   run 
 downwards,   but  now  the   liquid  boy 
 creature  grabs  hold  of  me. i  try to 
 shake him off,  but he's too strong, and 
 pulls   me   back    up    beside   him. 
                                          
 this  time, i  turn  angry instead. what 
 the hell?  who  is this guy, acting like 
 this? i reach out my free  arm and  slam 
 a  random  lever.   some  metal  bar  is 
 suddenly  released  between us,  hitting 
 him on  the arm,  forcing my  release. i 
 shove  him off of  me, and he falls into 
 the    levers,    messing    them    up. 
 immediately,   a  thin  rusty  chainmail 
 curtain is  dropped  around  me. but the 
 elevator also speeds  up  significantly. 
                                          
 the  walls  are   flaring  now,  yellow, 
 white, almost blue. i close my  eyes and 
 curl into a  ball. but  then,  the glass 
 boy  screams,  a  piercing  sound   that 
 forces my eyes back open. i watch as  he 
 becomes  too  liquid,  his body  pooling 
 down in his  now  massive  tail, and the 
 tip of it suddenly  breaks of in a glass 
 drop  that  falls   toward  the  factory 
 floor.                                   
                                          
 he's crawling  on  the stairs, unable to 
 keep his body  upright.  can't reach the 
 levers,  claws  at  my  chainmail  cage, 
 while  his  body is  turning  into  dark 
 pearls. finally, he's lost too  much  of 
 himself  and the scream  is  cut  short. 
 the    last   of    him   rains    down. 
                                          
 i  still  can't  reach  the  levers from 
 within my  cage.  looking  up, i  try to 
 make  out the  ceiling, but it's  all  a 
 whirling sea of  colours. below me glows 
 the hellfire of  the factory walls,  but 
 very  faint. i sit down, curl  back  up, 
 become still.                            
                                          
                                        
                                      
                          
                                      
                                        
                                          
 a large clunk  shakes  my  entire  body, 
 and snaps  me  back  into  reality.  i'm 
 back  at  the  factory  floor,  but  the 
 stairs   are   still   moving  slightly, 
 clicking in place, carrying me the  last 
 few  centimeters.  i  came  from  below, 
 somehow.  the  chainmail  is  retracted, 
 and  i   slowly  dismount   the  stairs. 
                                          
 shaking and  crying, i make my  way over 
 the factory  floor,  wading through dark 
 glass marbles. a quick  glance down, and 
 i  see  there's  something  faint inside 
 them.   embryos?   are    these    eggs? 
                                          
 i   shudder,   and   climb   back   out.