,:~†§$§@##                                          ##@§$§†~:,
,:~†§$§§@@                                          @@§§$§†~:,
,:~†§$§@##                                          ##@§$§†~:,
,,,,,:†§§§                                          §§§†:,,,,,
,,,,,~§$$@                                          @$$§~,,,,,
:~†§$§@### ,,,:::††††††††††††††††††††††††††††:::,,, ###@§$§†~:
,:~†§$§@## ,:†            THE  SPIRE            ~†, ##@§$§†~:,
,,,,,:~§§@ ~†:~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~†~: @§§~:,,,,,
,:~†§$§@## †~: ONCE UPON A TIME, THERE WAS A    †:~ ##@§$§†~:,
,:~†§§@### †:~ 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.....            :~, @$$†~:,,,,
,:~†§$§§§@ ,,,:::††††††††††††††††††††††††††††:::,,, @§§§$§†~:,
,:~†§$§@##                                          ##@§$§†~:,
,:~~†§§§@#                                          #@§§§†~~:,
,,,,,~§§@@                                          @@§§~,,,,,
,:~†§$§@##                                          ##@§$§†~:,
,,,,,:~§$@                                          @$§~:,,,,,