##@&*$=~^. .^~=$*&@##
#&&*==^... ...^==*&
#&$~~..... .....~~$
@*$$~^^... ...^^~$$*@
##@&*$=~^. .^~=$*&@##
##@&*$=~^. ...^^^============================^^^... .^~=$*&@##
#@@&*$=~^. .^= The Spire ~=. .^~=$*&@@#
@&&$~~~... ~=^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~=~^ ...~~~$&&@
##@&*$=~^. =~^ Once Upon A Time, There Was A =^~ .^~=$*&@##
##@&*$=~^. =^~ Benevolent Spire, Towering Well ^=~ .^~=$*&@##
@**$$=~~^. ^=~ Above Our Tallest Trees. It Was ^~= .^~~=$$**@
#&**=^^... ^~= 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 =^~ .^^^==***&
#@&**$=~^. =~^ Timeshare Scam. Goons Are Placed ^=~ .^~=$**&@#
##@&*$=~^. =^~ Outside, And We Get Beaten Up A ^~= .^~=$*&@##
##@&*$=~^. ^=~ Few Times, And Stop Going. ~^= .^~=$*&@##
###@*$=~^. ^~=~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~=^ .^~=$*@###
##@&*$=~^. ~^= Iirc It'S Currently Owned By =~^ .^~=$*&@##
##@&*$=~^. ~=^ Some Energy drink Baron Who Uses =^~ .^~=$*&@##
@&$~...... =~^ It To Hold All His Fourty Eight ^=~ ......~$&@
##@&*$=~^. .^~ Cars..... ^~. .^~=$*&@##
@@*====~^. ...^^^============================^^^... .^~====*@@
##@&*$=~^. .^~=$*&@##
##@&*$=~^. .^~=$*&@##
##@&*$=~^. .^~=$*&@##
#&$~^..... .....^~$
&*$$==^... ...^==$$*&