#†~^^^,,,,                                          ,,,,^^^~†#
##£#$†/~^,                                          ,^~/†$#£##
##£#$†/~^,                                          ,^~/†$#£##
#†/~~~,,,,                                          ,,,,~~~/†#
###†/~~^,,                                          ,,^~~/†###
£$††/^,,,, ,,,^^^////////////////////////////^^^,,, ,,,,^/††$£
####$†/~^, ,^/            the  spire            ~/, ,^~/†$####
##£#$†/~^, ~/^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/~^ ,^~/†$#£##
##£#$†/~^, /~^ once upon a time, there was a    /^~ ,^~/†$#£##
#££#$†/~^, /^~ benevolent spire, towering  well ^/~ ,^~/†$#££#
££$†††/~^, ^/~ above  our tallest trees. it was ^~/ ,^~/†††$££
#$†††/~^,, ^~/ clad in white scales, and shaped ~^/ ,,^~/†††$#
##$////~^, ~^/        liked  a  mushroom.       ~/^ ,^~////$##
££#$$†/~^, ~/^      we  loved  it  dearly.      /~^ ,^~/†$$#££
##£#$†/~^, /~^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/^~ ,^~/†$#£##
##£#$†/~^, /^~ it predated  us by  many years,  ^/~ ,^~/†$#£##
##£#$†/~^, ^/~ and we did not know its original ^~/ ,^~/†$#£##
##£#$†/~^, ^~/  builders. they  had  used  its  ~^/ ,^~/†$#£##
##£#$†/~^, ~^/  hollow  body for many  strange  ~/^ ,^~/†$#£##
###$$†/~^, ~/^ purposes  - a womblike place  of /~^ ,^~/†$$###
###$†~,,,, /~^ gestation,  a storage of  strage /^~ ,,,,~†$###
#£#$$†/~^, /^~ fluids, a temple to some kind of ^/~ ,^~/†$$#£#
#†~~^^,,,, ^/~   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  /~^ ,^~/†#£###
#$†††~~^,, ~/^ some energy drink baron who uses /^~ ,,^~~†††$#
#$/^^,,,,, /~^ it to hold all  his fourty eight ^/~ ,,,,,^^/$#
###$/^,,,, ,^~             cars.....            ^~, ,,,,^/$###
##$†/~~~^, ,,,^^^////////////////////////////^^^,,, ,^~~~/†$##
###£$†/~^,                                          ,^~/†$£###
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##£#$†/~^,                                          ,^~/†$#£##
##£#$†/~^,                                          ,^~/†$#£##
#££#$†/~^,                                          ,^~/†$#££#