&&&&&,,,,, &,,,,&&,&&
,,,,,&,,,, ,&,,,&,&&,
,,,,,&&,,, &&&,,&&&,&
&,,,,&,&,, ,,,&,&,,&&
,&,,,&&&&, ,,,&&&&,&,
,&&,,&,,,& ,,,---††††††††††††††††††††††††††††---,,, &,,&,,,&&&
&&,&,&&,,& ,-† 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..... --, &&,&&,&&,,
&&&,&&&&&& ,,,---††††††††††††††††††††††††††††---,,, &,&&,&&,&,
&,,&&,,,,, &&&,&&,&&&
,&,&,&,,,, &,,&&,&&,,
,&&&&&&,,, &&,&,&&,&,
,&,,,,,&,, &,&&&&,&&&
&&&,,,,&&, ,&&,,,&&,,