§§.§.§.§§.                                          .....§§...
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.§.§.§..§. ...---****************************---... §.§.§.§..§
.§.§.§.§§. .-*            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.....            --. §.§.§.§.§§
.§.§.§..§. ...---****************************---... §.§.§.§..§
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