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§ The Glass factory. §
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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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