.§§§§§.§.§ §..§.§§..§
..§§§§.§.§ §.§§..§.§§
.§.§§§.§.§ §..§.§§..§
.§..§§.§.§ §.§§..§.§§
.§.§.§.§.§ §..§.§§..§
.§.§.§.§.§ ...^^^////////////////////////////^^^... §.§§..§.§§
.§.§.§.§.§ .^/ 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..... ^~. §..§.§§..§
.§.§.§.§.§ ...^^^////////////////////////////^^^... §.§§..§.§§
.§.§.§.§.§ §..§.§§..§
.§.§.§.§.§ §.§§..§.§§
.§.§.§.§.§ §..§.§§..§
.§.§.§.§.§ §.§§..§.§§
.§.§.§.§.§ §..§.§§..§