†^=~......                                          ......~=^†
^=~.......                                          .......~=^
=~........                                          ........~=
~.........                                          .........~
..........                                          ..........
.......... ...~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^~~~... ..........
.......... .~^            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.....            ~=. ....~=^†*#
*†^=~..... ...~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^~~~... .....~=^†*
†^=~......                                          ......~=^†
^=~.......                                          .......~=^
=~........                                          ........~=
~.........                                          .........~
..........                                          ..........