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= the glass factory. =
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¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,» 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. #£=†»,¨¨¨¨
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