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$ the glass factory. $
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£$$\=,,,,, several centuries after it had last ,,,,,=\$$£
#£$$\=,,,, belonged to us, we went on an outing to ,,,,=\$$£#
##£$$\=,,, the glass factory that bore our family ,,,=\$$£##
###£$$\=,, name. it had changed owners many times ,,=\$$£###
##£$$\=,,, since our ancestors death, and then ,,,=\$$£##
#£$$\=,,,, stood abandoned for a long while. ,,,,=\$$£#
£$$\=,,,,, finally, the natural end station for ,,,,,=\$$£
$$\=,,,,,, the buildings that survive: a museum, ,,,,,,=\$$
$\=,,,,,,, and a gift shop. ,,,,,,,=\$
\=,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,=\
=,,,,,,,,, there's a long time since my family ,,,,,,,,,=
,,,,,,,,,, made anything. by many, we would be ,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,, considered poor. ,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,
=,,,,,,,,, there are two main factory buildings, ,,,,,,,,,=
\=,,,,,,,, domed things of several floors, made in ,,,,,,,,=\
$\=,,,,,,, yellow brick. large but narrow windows, ,,,,,,,=\$
$$\=,,,,,, reminescent of some cathedral. ,,,,,,=\$$
£$$\=,,,,, custom-made glass, of course, large and ,,,,,=\$$£
#£$$\=,,,, leaded, and ashen. a bit too dark to be ,,,,=\$$£#
##£$$\=,,, practical. on the eastern building, ,,,=\$$£##
###£$$\=,, some are shattered. ,,=\$$£###
##£$$\=,,, ,,,=\$$£##
#£$$\=,,,, the other one is publicly open. there's ,,,,=\$$£#
£$$\=,,,,, a museum, with wax figures of my great ,,,,,=\$$£
$$\=,,,,,, great great grandfather, or something. ,,,,,,=\$$
$\=,,,,,,, various tools (or replicas) laid out on ,,,,,,,=\$
\=,,,,,,,, tables, with explaining texts. a lot of ,,,,,,,,=\
=,,,,,,,,, glass of varying thickness. ,,,,,,,,,=
,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,, $$ ,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,, $$ $$ ,,,,,,,,,,
=,,,,,,,,, ======= $ $ ======= ,,,,,,,,,=
\=,,,,,,,, $$ $$ ,,,,,,,,=\
$\=,,,,,,, $$ ,,,,,,,=\$
$$\=,,,,,, ,,,,,,=\$$
£$$\=,,,,, i quickly sneak out, and climb into the ,,,,,=\$$£
#£$$\=,,,, other building. the contrast is ,,,,=\$$£#
##£$$\=,,, overwhelming. it must have stood ,,,=\$$£##
###£$$\=,, derelict for a long time, windows ,,=\$$£###
##£$$\=,,, broken, metallic trash and pools of ,,,=\$$£##
#£$$\=,,,, dark glass all over the floor. no ,,,,=\$$£#
£$$\=,,,,, electric lights, but i can see by the ,,,,,=\$$£
$$\=,,,,,, light that shines in wherever the dark ,,,,,,=\$$
$\=,,,,,,, windows are missing a pane. ,,,,,,,=\$
\=,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,=\
=,,,,,,,,, however, the greatest difference is the ,,,,,,,,,=
,,,,,,,,,, higher floors: this building has none. ,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,, it is one massive hall, stretching away ,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,, infinitely above me. somewhere up there ,,,,,,,,,,
=,,,,,,,,, is some great iron latticework, from ,,,,,,,,,=
\=,,,,,,,, where chains are suspended, and parts ,,,,,,,,=\
$\=,,,,,,, of machinery has been falling down. ,,,,,,,=\$
$$\=,,,,,, ,,,,,,=\$$
£$$\=,,,,, there is, in the middle of the great ,,,,,=\$$£
#£$$\=,,,, hall, a thin spiral staircase that ,,,,=\$$£#
##£$$\=,,, leads up there. i sneak over there, and ,,,=\$$£##
###£$$\=,, take a few reluctant steps. after just ,,=\$$£###
##£$$\=,,, a revolution, i notice that for each ,,,=\$$£##
#£$$\=,,,, step the building starts to glow, the ,,,,=\$$£#
£$$\=,,,,, bricks turning a dark red, and then ,,,,,=\$$£
$$\=,,,,,, orange, all the piled up debree being ,,,,,,=\$$
$\=,,,,,,, lit from behind. ,,,,,,,=\$
\=,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,=\
=,,,,,,,,, i stop ready to run down and out, but ,,,,,,,,,=
,,,,,,,,,, there's someone else on the staircase ,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,, with me now, pressed close. he's ,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,, looking like me, short hair and thin ,,,,,,,,,,
=,,,,,,,,, arms, but with ears from some animal, ,,,,,,,,,=
\=,,,,,,,, and more disturbingly, completely made ,,,,,,,,=\
$\=,,,,,,, of dark liquid glass. ,,,,,,,=\$
$$\=,,,,,, ,,,,,,=\$$
£$$\=,,,,, $$ ,,,,,=\$$£
#£$$\=,,,, $$ $$ ,,,,=\$$£#
##£$$\=,,, ======= $ $ ======= ,,,=\$$£##
###£$$\=,, $$ $$ ,,=\$$£###
##£$$\=,,, $$ ,,,=\$$£##
#£$$\=,,,, ,,,,=\$$£#
£$$\=,,,,, my fear holds me in place while he ,,,,,=\$$£
$$\=,,,,,, starts operating levers and dials set ,,,,,,=\$$
$\=,,,,,,, in the center of the staircase. slowly, ,,,,,,,=\$
\=,,,,,,,, it starts spinning, circling upwards. ,,,,,,,,=\
=,,,,,,,,, it's an elevator! i start to run ,,,,,,,,,=
,,,,,,,,,, downwards, but now the liquid boy ,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,, creature grabs hold of me. i try to ,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,, shake him off, but he's too strong, and ,,,,,,,,,,
=,,,,,,,,, pulls me back up beside him. ,,,,,,,,,=
\=,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,=\
$\=,,,,,,, this time, i turn angry instead. what ,,,,,,,=\$
$$\=,,,,,, the hell? who is this guy, acting like ,,,,,,=\$$
£$$\=,,,,, this? i reach out my free arm and slam ,,,,,=\$$£
#£$$\=,,,, a random lever. some metal bar is ,,,,=\$$£#
##£$$\=,,, suddenly released between us, hitting ,,,=\$$£##
###£$$\=,, him on the arm, forcing my release. i ,,=\$$£###
##£$$\=,,, shove him off of me, and he falls into ,,,=\$$£##
#£$$\=,,,, the levers, messing them up. ,,,,=\$$£#
£$$\=,,,,, immediately, a thin rusty chainmail ,,,,,=\$$£
$$\=,,,,,, curtain is dropped around me. but the ,,,,,,=\$$
$\=,,,,,,, elevator also speeds up significantly. ,,,,,,,=\$
\=,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,=\
=,,,,,,,,, the walls are flaring now, yellow, ,,,,,,,,,=
,,,,,,,,,, white, almost blue. i close my eyes and ,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,, curl into a ball. but then, the glass ,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,, boy screams, a piercing sound that ,,,,,,,,,,
=,,,,,,,,, forces my eyes back open. i watch as he ,,,,,,,,,=
\=,,,,,,,, becomes too liquid, his body pooling ,,,,,,,,=\
$\=,,,,,,, down in his now massive tail, and the ,,,,,,,=\$
$$\=,,,,,, tip of it suddenly breaks of in a glass ,,,,,,=\$$
£$$\=,,,,, drop that falls toward the factory ,,,,,=\$$£
#£$$\=,,,, floor. ,,,,=\$$£#
##£$$\=,,, ,,,=\$$£##
###£$$\=,, he's crawling on the stairs, unable to ,,=\$$£###
##£$$\=,,, keep his body upright. can't reach the ,,,=\$$£##
#£$$\=,,,, levers, claws at my chainmail cage, ,,,,=\$$£#
£$$\=,,,,, while his body is turning into dark ,,,,,=\$$£
$$\=,,,,,, pearls. finally, he's lost too much of ,,,,,,=\$$
$\=,,,,,,, himself and the scream is cut short. ,,,,,,,=\$
\=,,,,,,,, the last of him rains down. ,,,,,,,,=\
=,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,=
,,,,,,,,,, i still can't reach the levers from ,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,, within my cage. looking up, i try to ,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,, make out the ceiling, but it's all a ,,,,,,,,,,
=,,,,,,,,, whirling sea of colours. below me glows ,,,,,,,,,=
\=,,,,,,,, the hellfire of the factory walls, but ,,,,,,,,=\
$\=,,,,,,, very faint. i sit down, curl back up, ,,,,,,,=\$
$$\=,,,,,, become still. ,,,,,,=\$$
£$$\=,,,,, ,,,,,=\$$£
#£$$\=,,,, $$ ,,,,=\$$£#
##£$$\=,,, $$ $$ ,,,=\$$£##
###£$$\=,, ======= $ $ ======= ,,=\$$£###
##£$$\=,,, $$ $$ ,,,=\$$£##
#£$$\=,,,, $$ ,,,,=\$$£#
£$$\=,,,,, ,,,,,=\$$£
$$\=,,,,,, a large clunk shakes my entire body, ,,,,,,=\$$
$\=,,,,,,, and snaps me back into reality. i'm ,,,,,,,=\$
\=,,,,,,,, back at the factory floor, but the ,,,,,,,,=\
=,,,,,,,,, stairs are still moving slightly, ,,,,,,,,,=
,,,,,,,,,, clicking in place, carrying me the last ,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,, few centimeters. i came from below, ,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,, somehow. the chainmail is retracted, ,,,,,,,,,,
=,,,,,,,,, and i slowly dismount the stairs. ,,,,,,,,,=
\=,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,=\
$\=,,,,,,, shaking and crying, i make my way over ,,,,,,,=\$
$$\=,,,,,, the factory floor, wading through dark ,,,,,,=\$$
£$$\=,,,,, glass marbles. a quick glance down, and ,,,,,=\$$£
#£$$\=,,,, i see there's something faint inside ,,,,=\$$£#
##£$$\=,,, them. embryos? are these eggs? ,,,=\$$£##
###£$$\=,, ,,=\$$£###
##£$$\=,,, i shudder, and climb back out. ,,,=\$$£##
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