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##¶£*%/~:, ,:/ the spire ~/, ,:~/%*£¶##
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###¶£%/~:, /~: 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. :~, ,:~/%*£¶##
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£**%/:,,,, ,~/ 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. ~:/ ,:~/%*£###
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££££*%/~:, :~/ 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. :/, ,:~/%*£¶##
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£%~,,,,,,, ,:/ 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. /~: ,:~/%*£¶##
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££££*%/~:, /~: 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. ~:/ ,:~/%*£¶##
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£*///~,,,, ~:/ iirc it's currently owned by /~: ,,,,~///*£
##¶£*%/~:, ~/: some energy drink baron who uses /:~ ,:~/%*£¶##
¶*%//~::,, /~: it to hold all his fourty eight :/~ ,,::~//%*¶
¶***%//~:, ,:~ cars..... :~, ,:~//%***¶
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