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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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