##@#$$\«~.                                          .~«\$$#@##
@#$$«.....                                          .....«$$#@
#@#£$$\«~.                                          .~«\$$£#@#
#£$\\~~...                                          ...~~\\$£#
###£$$\«~.                                          .~«\$$£###
##@#£$$«~. ...~~~\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\~~~... .~«$$£#@##
@£$$«..... .~\            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 ~\« .~«\$$£#@#
##@#$$\«~. .~«            cars.....             ~«. .~«\$$#@##
#@#£$$\«~. ...~~~\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\~~~... .~«\$$£#@#
##@#£$\«~.                                          .~«\$£#@##
##@£$$\«~.                                          .~«\$$£@##
###£$$\«~.                                          .~«\$$£###
#£$$\«....                                          ....«\$$£#
£$\~~~....                                          ....~~~\$£