,:~^§*¤@@# #@@¤*§^~:,
,,:~^§*¤@@ @@¤*§^~:,,
,:~^§*¤@@# #@@¤*§^~:,
,,:~^§*¤@@ @@¤*§^~:,,
,:~^§*¤@@# #@@¤*§^~:,
,,:~^§*¤@@ ,,,:::^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^:::,,, @@¤*§^~:,,
,:~^§*¤@@# ,:^ 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..... :~, #@@¤*§^~:,
,,:~^§*¤@@ ,,,:::^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^:::,,, @@¤*§^~:,,
,:~^§*¤@@# #@@¤*§^~:,
,,:~^§*¤@@ @@¤*§^~:,,
,:~^§*¤@@# #@@¤*§^~:,
,,:~^§*¤@@ @@¤*§^~:,,
,:~^§*¤@@# #@@¤*§^~:,