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¨:«†*£&### several centuries after it had last ###&£*†«:¨
¨¨:«†*£&## belonged to us, we went on an outing to ##&£*†«:¨¨
¨¨¨:«†*£&# the glass factory that bore our family #&£*†«:¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨:«†*£& name. it had changed owners many times &£*†«:¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨:«†*£ since our ancestors death, and then £*†«:¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨:«†* stood abandoned for a long while. *†«:¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨:«† finally, the natural end station for †«:¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨:« the buildings that survive: a museum, «:¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨: and a gift shop. :¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ there's a long time since my family ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ made anything. by many, we would be ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ considered poor. ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ there are two main factory buildings, ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ domed things of several floors, made in ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨: yellow brick. large but narrow windows, :¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨:« reminescent of some cathedral. «:¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨:«† custom-made glass, of course, large and †«:¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨:«†* leaded, and ashen. a bit too dark to be *†«:¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨:«†*£ practical. on the eastern building, £*†«:¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨:«†*£& some are shattered. &£*†«:¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨:«†*£&# #&£*†«:¨¨¨
¨¨:«†*£&## the other one is publicly open. there's ##&£*†«:¨¨
¨:«†*£&### a museum, with wax figures of my great ###&£*†«:¨
¨¨:«†*£&## great great grandfather, or something. ##&£*†«:¨¨
¨¨¨:«†*£&# various tools (or replicas) laid out on #&£*†«:¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨:«†*£& tables, with explaining texts. a lot of &£*†«:¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨:«†*£ glass of varying thickness. £*†«:¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨:«†* *†«:¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨:«† ** †«:¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨:« ** ** «:¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨: ««««««« * * ««««««« :¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ** ** ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ** ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ i quickly sneak out, and climb into the ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ other building. the contrast is ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ overwhelming. it must have stood ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ derelict for a long time, windows ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨: broken, metallic trash and pools of :¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨:« dark glass all over the floor. no «:¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨:«† electric lights, but i can see by the †«:¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨:«†* light that shines in wherever the dark *†«:¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨:«†*£ windows are missing a pane. £*†«:¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨:«†*£& &£*†«:¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨:«†*£&# however, the greatest difference is the #&£*†«:¨¨¨
¨¨:«†*£&## higher floors: this building has none. ##&£*†«:¨¨
¨:«†*£&### it is one massive hall, stretching away ###&£*†«:¨
¨¨:«†*£&## infinitely above me. somewhere up there ##&£*†«:¨¨
¨¨¨:«†*£&# is some great iron latticework, from #&£*†«:¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨:«†*£& where chains are suspended, and parts &£*†«:¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨:«†*£ of machinery has been falling down. £*†«:¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨:«†* *†«:¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨:«† there is, in the middle of the great †«:¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨:« hall, a thin spiral staircase that «:¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨: leads up there. i sneak over there, and :¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ take a few reluctant steps. after just ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ a revolution, i notice that for each ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ step the building starts to glow, the ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ bricks turning a dark red, and then ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ orange, all the piled up debree being ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ lit from behind. ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨: i stop ready to run down and out, but :¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨:« there's someone else on the staircase «:¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨:«† with me now, pressed close. he's †«:¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨:«†* looking like me, short hair and thin *†«:¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨:«†*£ arms, but with ears from some animal, £*†«:¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨:«†*£& and more disturbingly, completely made &£*†«:¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨:«†*£&# of dark liquid glass. #&£*†«:¨¨¨
¨¨:«†*£&## ##&£*†«:¨¨
¨:«†*£&### ** ###&£*†«:¨
¨¨:«†*£&## ** ** ##&£*†«:¨¨
¨¨¨:«†*£&# ««««««« * * ««««««« #&£*†«:¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨:«†*£& ** ** &£*†«:¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨:«†*£ ** £*†«:¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨:«†* *†«:¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨:«† my fear holds me in place while he †«:¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨:« starts operating levers and dials set «:¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨: in the center of the staircase. slowly, :¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ it starts spinning, circling upwards. ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ it's an elevator! i start to run ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ downwards, but now the liquid boy ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ creature grabs hold of me. i try to ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ shake him off, but he's too strong, and ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ pulls me back up beside him. ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨: this time, i turn angry instead. what :¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨:« the hell? who is this guy, acting like «:¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨:«† this? i reach out my free arm and slam †«:¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨:«†* a random lever. some metal bar is *†«:¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨:«†*£ suddenly released between us, hitting £*†«:¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨:«†*£& him on the arm, forcing my release. i &£*†«:¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨:«†*£&# shove him off of me, and he falls into #&£*†«:¨¨¨
¨¨:«†*£&## the levers, messing them up. ##&£*†«:¨¨
¨:«†*£&### immediately, a thin rusty chainmail ###&£*†«:¨
¨¨:«†*£&## curtain is dropped around me. but the ##&£*†«:¨¨
¨¨¨:«†*£&# elevator also speeds up significantly. #&£*†«:¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨:«†*£& &£*†«:¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨:«†*£ the walls are flaring now, yellow, £*†«:¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨:«†* white, almost blue. i close my eyes and *†«:¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨:«† curl into a ball. but then, the glass †«:¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨:« boy screams, a piercing sound that «:¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨: forces my eyes back open. i watch as he :¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ becomes too liquid, his body pooling ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ down in his now massive tail, and the ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ tip of it suddenly breaks of in a glass ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ drop that falls toward the factory ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ floor. ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ he's crawling on the stairs, unable to ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨: keep his body upright. can't reach the :¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨:« levers, claws at my chainmail cage, «:¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨:«† while his body is turning into dark †«:¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨:«†* pearls. finally, he's lost too much of *†«:¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨:«†*£ himself and the scream is cut short. £*†«:¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨:«†*£& the last of him rains down. &£*†«:¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨:«†*£&# #&£*†«:¨¨¨
¨¨:«†*£&## i still can't reach the levers from ##&£*†«:¨¨
¨:«†*£&### within my cage. looking up, i try to ###&£*†«:¨
¨¨:«†*£&## make out the ceiling, but it's all a ##&£*†«:¨¨
¨¨¨:«†*£&# whirling sea of colours. below me glows #&£*†«:¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨:«†*£& the hellfire of the factory walls, but &£*†«:¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨:«†*£ very faint. i sit down, curl back up, £*†«:¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨:«†* become still. *†«:¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨:«† †«:¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨:« ** «:¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨: ** ** :¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ««««««« * * ««««««« ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ** ** ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ** ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ a large clunk shakes my entire body, ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ and snaps me back into reality. i'm ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ back at the factory floor, but the ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨: stairs are still moving slightly, :¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨:« clicking in place, carrying me the last «:¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨:«† few centimeters. i came from below, †«:¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨:«†* somehow. the chainmail is retracted, *†«:¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨:«†*£ and i slowly dismount the stairs. £*†«:¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨:«†*£& &£*†«:¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨:«†*£&# shaking and crying, i make my way over #&£*†«:¨¨¨
¨¨:«†*£&## the factory floor, wading through dark ##&£*†«:¨¨
¨:«†*£&### glass marbles. a quick glance down, and ###&£*†«:¨
¨¨:«†*£&## i see there's something faint inside ##&£*†«:¨¨
¨¨¨:«†*£&# them. embryos? are these eggs? #&£*†«:¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨:«†*£& &£*†«:¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨:«†*£ i shudder, and climb back out. £*†«:¨¨¨¨¨
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