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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 $%;~-.....
......-~;% Tables, With Explaining Texts. A Lot Of %;~-......
.......-~; Glass Of Varying Thickness. ;~-.......
........-~ ~-........
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.........- I Quickly Sneak Out, And Climb Into The -.........
........-~ Other Building. The Contrast Is ~-........
.......-~; Overwhelming. It Must Have Stood ;~-.......
......-~;% Derelict For A Long Time, Windows %;~-......
.....-~;%$ 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. $%;~-.....
......-~;% %;~-......
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.......... My Fear Holds Me In Place While He ..........
.......... Starts Operating Levers And Dials Set ..........
.........- In The Center Of The Staircase. Slowly, -.........
........-~ It Starts Spinning, Circling Upwards. ~-........
.......-~; It'S An Elevator! I Start To Run ;~-.......
......-~;% Downwards, But Now The Liquid Boy %;~-......
.....-~;%$ 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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