,,,:\%%¤@@ @@¤%%\:,,,
,:~\%¤@### ###@¤%\~:,
,,,,,:\%¤@ @¤%\:,,,,,
,,,,~%%¤@@ @@¤%%~,,,,
,,,::~\%¤# #¤%\~::,,,
,:~\%¤@### ,,,:::\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\:::,,, ###@¤%\~:,
,,,,~~%@@# ,:\ 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..... :~, @@@@¤%\~:,
,:~\%¤@### ,,,:::\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\:::,,, ###@¤%\~:,
,:~\%¤@### ###@¤%\~:,
,:~\¤@#### ####@¤\~:,
,:~\%¤@### ###@¤%\~:,
,:~\%¤@### ###@¤%\~:,
,,,,,:\%¤@ @¤%\:,,,,,