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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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