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####$†/~^, ,^/ the spire ~/, ,^~/†$####
##£#$†/~^, ~/^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/~^ ,^~/†$#£##
##£#$†/~^, /~^ once upon a time, there was a /^~ ,^~/†$#£##
#££#$†/~^, /^~ benevolent spire, towering well ^/~ ,^~/†$#££#
££$†††/~^, ^/~ above our tallest trees. it was ^~/ ,^~/†††$££
#$†††/~^,, ^~/ clad in white scales, and shaped ~^/ ,,^~/†††$#
##$////~^, ~^/ liked a mushroom. ~/^ ,^~////$##
££#$$†/~^, ~/^ we loved it dearly. /~^ ,^~/†$$#££
##£#$†/~^, /~^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/^~ ,^~/†$#£##
##£#$†/~^, /^~ it predated us by many years, ^/~ ,^~/†$#£##
##£#$†/~^, ^/~ and we did not know its original ^~/ ,^~/†$#£##
##£#$†/~^, ^~/ builders. they had used its ~^/ ,^~/†$#£##
##£#$†/~^, ~^/ hollow body for many strange ~/^ ,^~/†$#£##
###$$†/~^, ~/^ purposes - a womblike place of /~^ ,^~/†$$###
###$†~,,,, /~^ gestation, a storage of strage /^~ ,,,,~†$###
#£#$$†/~^, /^~ fluids, a temple to some kind of ^/~ ,^~/†$$#£#
#†~~^^,,,, ^/~ arcane deity. ^~/ ,,,,^^~~†#
£££#$†/~^, ^~/~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^/ ,^~/†$#£££
##$†~,,,,, ~^/ we were grateful for its ~/^ ,,,,,~†$##
#†~,,,,,,, ~/^ presence, and honored it the /~^ ,,,,,,,~†#
££$$†//~^, /~^ only way we knew how: by /^~ ,^~//†$$££
###£#$/~^, ,^~ breaking in. ^~, ,^~/$#£###
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££$//~~,,, ,,,^^^////////////////////////////^^^,,, ,,,~~//$££
#†~^,,,,,, ,~/ 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 /~^ ,^~/††††#£
###$†//~^, /~^ make sense of our roamings for ~/^ ,^~//†$###
##£#$†/~^, ~/^ years to come. ~^/ ,^~/†$#£##
##£#$†/~^, ~^/~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^~/ ,^~/†$#£##
#$††~^,,,, ^~/ a central spine, a staircase ^/~ ,,,,^~††$#
£$$/^,,,,, ^/~ around it, the seven toroidal /^~ ,,,,,^/$$£
#$†/~^,,,, /^~ lungs stacked outside, and the /~^ ,,,,^~/†$#
###£$†/~^, /~^ control room on top. the sockets ~/^ ,^~/†$£###
£#$†///~^, ~/^ for its eyes. the smaller spires ~^/ ,^~///†$#£
##£#$†/~^, ~^/ for radiating consciousness ^~/ ,^~/†$#£##
##£#$†/~^, ,~/ invitations. ^/, ,^~/†$#£##
##$///~~^, ,,,^^^////////////////////////////^^^,,, ,^~~///$##
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##£#$†/~^, ,,,^^^////////////////////////////^^^,,, ,^~/†$#£##
##£#$†/~^, ,^/ in twenty fourteen, the tower is /~^ ,^~/†$#£##
£$//^^,,,, ~/^ toppled and eaten by machines. /^~ ,,,,^^//$£
##£#$†/~^, /~^ after a while, something new is ^/~ ,^~/†$#£##
£##$†~^,,, /^~ conjured in its place. it's a ^~/ ,,,^~†$##£
##£#$†/~^, ^/~ tiny maw at first, shorter than ~^/ ,^~/†$#£##
##£#$†/~^, ^~/ us, and we let it be. our ~/^ ,^~/†$#£##
££#$//^^,, ~^/ journeys still end at its feet. /~^ ,,^^//$#££
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###£#$†/~^ /~^ but then we are betrayed. the ^/~ ^~/†$#£###
###$//~,,, /^~ new tower eats us. others are ^~/ ,,,~//$###
###$$†/~^, ^/~ sucked inside. new buildings are ~^/ ,^~/†$$###
###£#$†~^, ^~/ manifested overnight, only to ~/^ ,^~†$#£###
£$†~,,,,,, ~^/ disappear in the evening fog. /~^ ,,,,,,~†$£
##†~~,,,,, ~/^ for a while its some kind of /^~ ,,,,,~~†##
##£#$†/~^, /~^ timeshare scam. goons are placed ^/~ ,^~/†$#£##
##£#$†/~^, /^~ outside, and we get beaten up a ^~/ ,^~/†$#£##
££#†~^^,,, ^/~ few times, and stop going. ~^/ ,,,^^~†#££
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###£#†/~^, ~^/ iirc it's currently owned by /~^ ,^~/†#£###
#$†††~~^,, ~/^ some energy drink baron who uses /^~ ,,^~~†††$#
#$/^^,,,,, /~^ it to hold all his fourty eight ^/~ ,,,,,^^/$#
###$/^,,,, ,^~ cars..... ^~, ,,,,^/$###
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