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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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