......:-^†                                          †^-:......
.....:-^†¤                                          ¤†^-:.....
....:-^†¤#                                          #¤†^-:....
...:-^†¤##                                          ##¤†^-:...
..:-^†¤###                                          ###¤†^-:..
.:-^†¤#### ...:::^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^:::... ####¤†^-:.
..:-^†¤### .:^            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.....             :-. #¤†^-:....
...:-^†¤## ...:::^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^:::... ##¤†^-:...
..:-^†¤###                                          ###¤†^-:..
.:-^†¤####                                          ####¤†^-:.
..:-^†¤###                                          ###¤†^-:..
...:-^†¤##                                          ##¤†^-:...
....:-^†¤#                                          #¤†^-:....