,,,,,,,,,,                                          ,,,,,,,,,,
.,,,,,,,,,                                          ,,,,,,,,,.
~.,,,,,,,,                                          ,,,,,,,,.~
^~.,,,,,,,                                          ,,,,,,,.~^
*^~.,,,,,,                                          ,,,,,,.~^*
£*^~.,,,,, ,,,...^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^...,,, ,,,,,.~^*£
££*^~.,,,, ,.^            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.....             .~, ,,,,.~^*££
#££*^~.,,, ,,,...^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^...,,, ,,,.~^*££#
##££*^~.,,                                          ,,.~^*££##
###££*^~.,                                          ,.~^*££###
##££*^~.,,                                          ,,.~^*££##
#££*^~.,,,                                          ,,,.~^*££#
££*^~.,,,,                                          ,,,,.~^*££