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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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