.,~=*%#¶@# #@¶#%*=~,.
..,~=*%#¶@ @¶#%*=~,..
.,~=*%#¶@# #@¶#%*=~,.
..,~=*%#¶@ @¶#%*=~,..
.,~=*%#¶@# #@¶#%*=~,.
..,~=*%#¶@ ...,,,============================,,,... @¶#%*=~,..
.,~=*%#¶@# .,= 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..... ,~. #@¶#%*=~,.
..,~=*%#¶@ ...,,,============================,,,... @¶#%*=~,..
.,~=*%#¶@# #@¶#%*=~,.
..,~=*%#¶@ @¶#%*=~,..
.,~=*%#¶@# #@¶#%*=~,.
..,~=*%#¶@ @¶#%*=~,..
.,~=*%#¶@# #@¶#%*=~,.