.,=†%%¤@@# #@@¤%%†=,.
..,=†%%¤@@ @@¤%%†=,..
.,=†%%¤@@# #@@¤%%†=,.
..,=†%%¤@@ @@¤%%†=,..
.,=†%%¤@@# #@@¤%%†=,.
..,=†%%¤@@ ...,,,††††††††††††††††††††††††††††,,,... @@¤%%†=,..
.,=†%%¤@@# .,† 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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