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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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