##@##&†~~¨ ¨~~†#@##
@###&†^~~¨ ¨~~^†##@
##&^^~~¨¨¨ ¨¨¨~~^^#
#@##&†^~~¨ ¨~~^†#@#
#†^~¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨~^†#
###†^^^~~¨ ¨¨¨~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^~~~¨¨¨ ¨~~^^^†###
@@##&†^~~¨ ¨~^ 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..... ~~¨ ¨~~^†#@#
#@##&†^~~¨ ¨¨¨~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^~~~¨¨¨ ¨~~^†#@#
#@##&†^~~¨ ¨~~^†#@#
@###&†^~~¨ ¨~~^†##@
###†^~¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨~^†###
#@##&†^~~¨ ¨~~^†#@#
#@##&†^~~¨ ¨~~^†#@#