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