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#££$$$:«:. :«: once upon a time, there was a ::« .:«:$$$££#
##@£$$:«:. ::« benevolent spire, towering well ::« .:«:$$£@##
#£$$:««... ::« above our tallest trees. it was :«: ...««:$$£#
##@£$$:«:. :«: clad in white scales, and shaped «:: .:«:$$£@##
##@£$$:«:. «:: liked a mushroom. «:: .:«:$$£@##
@@@£$$:«:. «:: we loved it dearly. :«: .:«:$$£@@@
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@£$::..... ::« it predated us by many years, ::« .....::$£@
##@£$$:«:. ::« and we did not know its original :«: .:«:$$£@##
#£$::..... :«: builders. they had used its «:: .....::$£#
##@£$$:«:. «:: hollow body for many strange «:: .:«:$$£@##
##@£$$:«:. «:: purposes - a womblike place of :«: .:«:$$£@##
##@£$$:«:. :«: gestation, a storage of strage ::« .:«:$$£@##
##@£$$:«:. ::« fluids, a temple to some kind of ::« .:«:$$£@##
##@£$$:«:. ::« arcane deity. :«: .:«:$$£@##
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##@£$$:«:. «:: presence, and honored it the :«: .:«:$$£@##
##@£$$:«:. :«: only way we knew how: by ::« .:«:$$£@##
##@£$$:«:. .:« breaking in. :«. .:«:$$£@##
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@@$$«:.... .«: this place we called our city: ::« ....:«$$@@
@££$:::... ::« wavy and fractured, with each ::« ...:::$££@
##@£$$:«:. ::« courtyard on a different height, :«: .:«:$$£@##
##@£$$:«:. :«: roads becoming roofs becoming «:: .:«:$$£@##
@@$$««««:. «:: drains. and some places, like «:: .:««««$$@@
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@$$$«««:.. :«: for many years. once its walls ::« ..:«««$$$@
###@£$$::. ::« are just too high, and the ::« .::$$£@###
#@££$$:«:. ::« internal routes to labyrinthine, :«: .:«:$$££@#
£$««...... :«: a place among others is easily «:: ......««$£
@$$:««.... «:: overlooked. :«: ....««:$$@
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###@$$:«:. ::« so, basically, that summer the ::« .:«:$$@###
@@$$:««:.. ::« four of us snuck and climbed and «:: ..:««:$$@@
##@£$$:«:. :«: crawled for weeks, searching for «:: .:«:$$£@##
##@£$$:«:. «:: a secluded place to do drugs and «:: .:«:$$£@##
##@£$$:«:. «:: play music on our handhelds. :«: .:«:$$£@##
£$«....... :«: instead we found vast lungs ::« .......«$£
#£$$:«:::. ::« drained of their catalyst ::« .:::«:$$£#
#@£$$:«... ::« sludge, and a birds-eye view to :«: ...«:$$£@#
#£$$$$:«:. :«: make sense of our roamings for «:: .:«:$$$$£#
££££$$:«:. «:: 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 ::« .:«:$$£###
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