,:«†%$&@##                                          ##@&$%†«:,
,:«†%$&@##                                          ##@&$%†«:,
,,,,,«%&@#                                          #@&%«,,,,,
,:::†%$$@@                                          @@$$%†:::,
,:«†%$&###                                          ###&$%†«:,
,:««††$&@# ,,,:::††††††††††††††††††††††††††††:::,,, #@&$††««:,
,:«†%$&@## ,:†            THE  SPIRE            «†, ##@&$%†«:,
,:«†%%$&@# «†:««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««†«: #@&$%%†«:,
,:«†%$&### †«: ONCE UPON A TIME, THERE WAS A    †:« ###&$%†«:,
,,,,,«%&&& †:«  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  «†: @&%«:,,,,,
,:«†%$&@## «:† DISAPPEAR  IN THE EVENING  FOG.  †«: ##@&$%†«:,
,:«†%%$$@# «†:  FOR A  WHILE ITS  SOME KIND  OF †:« #@$$%%†«:,
,:«†%$&@## †«: TIMESHARE SCAM. GOONS ARE PLACED :†« ##@&$%†«:,
,:«†%%$$&# †:« OUTSIDE, AND WE  GET BEATEN UP A :«† #&$$%%†«:,
,:«†%$&@## :†«  FEW  TIMES,  AND  STOP  GOING.  «:† ##@&$%†«:,
,:«†%$&@## :«†«««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««†: ##@&$%†«:,
,:«†%$&@## «:†  IIRC IT'S CURRENTLY  OWNED  BY  †«: ##@&$%†«:,
,:«†%$&### «†: SOME ENERGY DRINK BARON WHO USES †:« ###&$%†«:,
,,,,::†$&& †«: IT TO HOLD ALL HIS  FOURTY EIGHT :†« &&$†::,,,,
,:::««%$&@ ,:«             CARS.....            :«, @&$%««:::,
,:«†%$&@## ,,,:::††††††††††††††††††††††††††††:::,,, ##@&$%†«:,
,:«†%$&@##                                          ##@&$%†«:,
,:«†%$&@##                                          ##@&$%†«:,
,,,,:†%$@#                                          #@$%†:,,,,
,:«†%%%$&#                                          #&$%%%†«:,
,:«†$&@###                                          ###@&$†«:,