##@$:~^,,, ,,,^~:$@##
#@$:~^,,,, ,,,,^~:$@#
@$:~^,,,,, ,,,,,^~:$@
$:~^,,,,,, ,,,,,,^~:$
:~^,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,^~:
$:~^,,,,,, ,,,^^^::::::::::::::::::::::::::::^^^,,, ,,,,,,^~:$
@$:~^,,,,, ,^: the spire ~:, ,,,,,^~:$@
#@$:~^,,,, ~:^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~:~^ ,,,,^~:$@#
##@$:~^,,, :~^ once upon a time, there was a :^~ ,,,^~:$@##
###@$:~^,, :^~ benevolent spire, towering well ^:~ ,,^~:$@###
####@$:~^, ^:~ above our tallest trees. it was ^~: ,^~:$@####
###@$:~^,, ^~: clad in white scales, and shaped ~^: ,,^~:$@###
##@$:~^,,, ~^: liked a mushroom. ~:^ ,,,^~:$@##
#@$:~^,,,, ~:^ we loved it dearly. :~^ ,,,,^~:$@#
@$:~^,,,,, :~^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~:^~ ,,,,,^~:$@
$:~^,,,,,, :^~ it predated us by many years, ^:~ ,,,,,,^~:$
:~^,,,,,,, ^:~ 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 ~:^ ,,,,,,,^~:
$:~^,,,,,, ~^: disappear in the evening fog. :~^ ,,,,,,^~:$
@$:~^,,,,, ~:^ for a while its some kind of :^~ ,,,,,^~:$@
#@$:~^,,,, :~^ timeshare scam. goons are placed ^:~ ,,,,^~:$@#
##@$:~^,,, :^~ outside, and we get beaten up a ^~: ,,,^~:$@##
###@$:~^,, ^:~ few times, and stop going. ~^: ,,^~:$@###
####@$:~^, ^~:~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~:^ ,^~:$@####
###@$:~^,, ~^: iirc it's currently owned by :~^ ,,^~:$@###
##@$:~^,,, ~:^ some energy drink baron who uses :^~ ,,,^~:$@##
#@$:~^,,,, :~^ it to hold all his fourty eight ^:~ ,,,,^~:$@#
@$:~^,,,,, ,^~ cars..... ^~, ,,,,,^~:$@
$:~^,,,,,, ,,,^^^::::::::::::::::::::::::::::^^^,,, ,,,,,,^~:$
:~^,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,^~:
$:~^,,,,,, ,,,,,,^~:$
@$:~^,,,,, ,,,,,^~:$@
#@$:~^,,,, ,,,,^~:$@#
##@$:~^,,, ,,,^~:$@##