.:~^^£§¶@#                                          #@¶§£^^~:.
.:~^£§¶@##                                          ##@¶§£^~:.
.:~^^^^§¶@                                          @¶§^^^^~:.
.:~^^£§¶@@                                          @@¶§£^^~:.
.:~^^£§¶@#                                          #@¶§£^^~:.
.:~^^£§¶@# ...:::^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^:::... #@¶§£^^~:.
.....:^^£¶ .:^            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.....             :~. #@¶§£^^~:.
.:~^^£§¶## ...:::^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^:::... ##¶§£^^~:.
...:~^££§¶                                          ¶§££^~:...
.:~^^£§¶@#                                          #@¶§£^^~:.
.:~^^£§¶¶¶                                          ¶¶¶§£^^~:.
.:~^^£§§¶@                                          @¶§§£^^~:.
.:~^^£§¶##                                          ##¶§£^^~:.