#@@¤£%:~~, ,~~:%£¤@@#
#@@¤£%:~~, ,~~:%£¤@@#
#@@¤£%:~~, ,~~:%£¤@@#
##@¤£%:~~, ,~~:%£¤@##
¤%~~~~~,,, ,,,~~~~~%¤
¤%%~~~,,,, ,,,~~~::::::::::::::::::::::::::::~~~,,, ,,,,~~~%%¤
@£::~~~,,, ,~: 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..... ~~, ,~~::%££¤¤
¤%::~~~,,, ,,,~~~::::::::::::::::::::::::::::~~~,,, ,,,~~~::%¤
@@@¤£%:~~, ,~~:%£¤@@@
#@@¤£%:~~, ,~~:%£¤@@#
¤¤£:::~,,, ,,,~:::£¤¤
@¤¤¤£%:~~, ,~~:%£¤¤¤@
#@@¤£%:~~, ,~~:%£¤@@#