@§¤†,¨¨¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨¨¨,†¤§@
§%«¨¨¨¨¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨«%§
#@@§¤%†«,¨                                          ¨,«†%¤§@@#
@¤¤%%««,,¨                                          ¨,,««%%¤¤@
§¤¤%†,,¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨,,†%¤¤§
@@@§¤%†«,¨  Orange-Clad Train-Climber Crew, Moving  ¨,«†%¤§@@@
@¤†«,,¨¨¨¨ Along The  Rusty  Cargo  Cars  Like Some ¨¨¨¨,,«†¤@
§¤†††,¨¨¨¨ Species  Of  Ferrophage  Insect.  Up And ¨¨¨¨,†††¤§
##@§¤%†«,¨ Down The Train,  Checking  Bolts, Oiling ¨,«†%¤§@##
##@@¤%†«,¨     Joints, Drinking Coffee, Smoking     ¨,«†%¤@@##
@§§%««¨¨¨¨               Cigarettes.                ¨¨¨¨««%§§@
§%†«««¨¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨¨«««†%§
§§%††«¨¨¨¨      @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@      ¨¨¨¨«††%§§
§¤††««¨¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨¨««††¤§
@@¤†«¨¨¨¨¨ We  Were Going South Through  Finland At ¨¨¨¨¨«†¤@@
#@@§¤%†«,¨ The   Time,   Sleeping   Close  To   The ¨,«†%¤§@@#
@§%«¨¨¨¨¨¨  Furnace, Watching The Aurora borealis.  ¨¨¨¨¨¨«%§@
§¤%††««,¨¨   Twenty-Something Members Of The Crew,  ¨¨,««††%¤§
§¤%††††«,¨ Most   Of  Which   Were   Mechanics,  Or ¨,«††††%¤§
§%††,¨¨¨¨¨ Loaders,  With  Large  And  Hairy  Hands ¨¨¨¨¨,††%§
@@@§¤%†«,¨ That  Could Swallow  My Entire Body. And ¨,«†%¤§@@@
@¤¤¤¤%†«,¨ Me  Featuring As  The  Cute And  Asocial ¨,«†%¤¤¤¤@
##@@¤%†«,¨ Radio Operator,  Stationed  In  The Back ¨,«†%¤@@##
@@§%«,,¨¨¨    Of The Kilometer-Long Train, Which    ¨¨¨,,«%§@@
#@@§¤%†«,¨         Served Me Good And Well.         ¨,«†%¤§@@#
#@@§¤%†«,¨                                          ¨,«†%¤§@@#
§%«,¨¨¨¨¨¨ And  Then One  Night, There'S A Missile. ¨¨¨¨¨¨,«%§
§§§%†,¨¨¨¨ We Would Routinely Pick  Up  New Cars At ¨¨¨¨,†%§§§
#@@§¤%†«,¨ The Tail, And Drop Some Off,  As  A  Way ¨,«†%¤§@@#
@@@§¤%†«,¨ Of  Earning  Some  Extra  Money.  But  A ¨,«†%¤§@@@
##@§¤%†«,¨ Missile,  And Appearing Silently  In The ¨,«†%¤§@##
#@@§¤%†«,¨ Middle   Of  The   Night  At  That?  Not ¨,«†%¤§@@#
@@@§¤%†«,¨         Entirely... Comfortable.         ¨,«†%¤§@@@
#@@§¤%†«,¨                                          ¨,«†%¤§@@#
§¤¤¤†††«,¨ I Call  It In On The Walkie-Talkie.  Not ¨,«†††¤¤¤§
@@@§¤%†«,¨ Many  Others  Awake,  They  Know Nothing ¨,«†%¤§@@@
@@¤†,¨¨¨¨¨ About It, And  Appear Concerned As Well. ¨¨¨¨¨,†¤@@
@¤¤†,¨¨¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨¨¨,†¤¤@
@§%%%%†«,¨      @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@      ¨,«†%%%%§@
§%†,¨¨¨¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨¨¨¨,†%§
##@§¤%†«,¨ When  I  Fall  Awake  In The  Afternoon, ¨,«†%¤§@##
#@@§¤%†«,¨ Karl  Is  There,  Smiling  At  Me.  "Hey ¨,«†%¤§@@#
§%«¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Boy,"  He  Says, "Wanna  Help  Me Make A ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨«%§
@@§¤†,,¨¨¨                  Call?"                  ¨¨¨,,†¤§@@
@@¤¤%%†«,¨                                          ¨,«†%%¤¤@@
@§%%«,¨¨¨¨ After  He'S  Brought  Me Coffee, I  Dial ¨¨¨¨,«%%§@
§%«,,¨¨¨¨¨ The  Frequency From  His  Notebook,  And ¨¨¨¨¨,,«%§
#@@§¤%†«,¨ After  A  While  There'S   A  Reply   In ¨,«†%¤§@@#
§%«,¨¨¨¨¨¨ Pan-Slavic.  Karl  Laughs  And  Makes  A ¨¨¨¨¨¨,«%§
##@§¤%†«,¨ Reply In The Same Language.  Even Though ¨,«†%¤§@##
@@§¤%«¨¨¨¨ We  Both Have Headphones I  Can'T Follow ¨¨¨¨«%¤§@@
@@@§¤%†«,¨ At  All, But I Hear The Word "Missile" A ¨,«†%¤§@@@
##@§¤%†«,¨                Few Times.                ¨,«†%¤§@##
##@@¤%†«,¨                                          ¨,«†%¤@@##
#@@§¤%†«,¨ I'M  Almost Snoozing  Again  At The Time ¨,«†%¤§@@#
##@§¤%†«,¨ Karl Puts Down The Headphones  And Slaps ¨,«†%¤§@##
##@@§¤%†«, Me On  My Back.  "Allright  Boy.  I Just ,«†%¤§@@##
§¤%«¨¨¨¨¨¨ Sold  A  Missile." He  Practically Beams ¨¨¨¨¨¨«%¤§
@§¤¤††,¨¨¨ At Me, Teeth Filed Sharp.  "Wanna Make A ¨¨¨,††¤¤§@
#@@§¤%†«,¨                 Detour?"                 ¨,«†%¤§@@#
§¤¤%%«¨¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨¨«%%¤¤§
@@¤¤¤%†«,¨                                          ¨,«†%¤¤¤@@
@@§%%««¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨««%%§@@
§%††,,,¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨,,,††%§
@§§§¤%†«,¨                                          ¨,«†%¤§§§@