@@§%^..... .....^%§@@
§§%^===... ...===^%§§
##@§%$^=.. ..=^$%§@##
##@§%$^=.. ..=^$%§@##
@%%%^===.. ..===^%%%@
##@§%$^=.. ......^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^...... ..=^$%§@##
##@§%$^=.. ..^ The Spire =^. ..=^$%§@##
##@§%$^=.. =^.==================================^=. ..=^$%§@##
##@§%$^=.. ^=. Once Upon A Time, There Was A ^.= ..=^$%§@##
##@§%$^=.. ^.= Benevolent Spire, Towering Well .^= ..=^$%§@##
@%$^...... .^= Above Our Tallest Trees. It Was .=^ ......^$%@
##@§%$^=.. .=^ Clad In White Scales, And Shaped =.^ ..=^$%§@##
#§§§%$^=.. =.^ Liked A Mushroom. =^. ..=^$%§§§#
##@§%$^=.. =^. We Loved It Dearly. ^=. ..=^$%§@##
##@§%$^=.. ^=.==================================^.= ..=^$%§@##
§$$$$=.... ^.= It Predated Us By Many Years, .^= ....=$$$$§
###§%$^=.. .^= And We Did Not Know Its Original .=^ ..=^$%§###
##@§%$^=.. .=^ Builders. They Had Used Its =.^ ..=^$%§@##
##@§%$^=.. =.^ Hollow Body For Many Strange =^. ..=^$%§@##
##@§%$^=.. =^. Purposes - A Womblike Place Of ^=. ..=^$%§@##
§%^....... ^=. Gestation, A Storage Of Strage ^.= .......^%§
@@@§%$^=.. ^.= Fluids, A Temple To Some Kind Of .^= ..=^$%§@@@
##@§%$^=.. .^= Arcane Deity. .=^ ..=^$%§@##
@@@§%$^=.. .=^===================================.^ ..=^$%§@@@
#§§$^^^=.. =.^ We Were Grateful For Its =^. ..=^^^$§§#
###@§$^=.. =^. Presence, And Honored It The ^=. ..=^$§@###
@%$^...... ^=. Only Way We Knew How: By ^.= ......^$%@
##@§%$^=.. ..= Breaking In. .=. ..=^$%§@##
##@§%$^=.. ......^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^...... ..=^$%§@##
###§%$^=.. ..=^$%§###
###§%$^=.. ..=^$%§###
##@§%$^=.. ......^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^...... ..=^$%§@##
##@§%$^=.. .=^ This Place We Called Our City: .^= ..=^$%§@##
##@§%$^=.. .^= Wavy And Fractured, With Each ^.= ..=^$%§@##
§§%^==.... ^.= Courtyard On A Different Height, ^=. ....==^%§§
§§$=...... ^=. Roads Becoming Roofs Becoming =^. ......=$§§
@%%%$$^=.. =^. 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 =.^ ....^$$%@#
@@%%^===.. .=^ Manifested Overnight, Only To =^. ..===^%%@@
##@§%$^=.. =.^ Disappear In The Evening Fog. ^=. ..=^$%§@##
@@@§%$^=.. =^. For A While Its Some Kind Of ^.= ..=^$%§@@@
###§%$^=.. ^=. Timeshare Scam. Goons Are Placed .^= ..=^$%§###
##@§%$^=.. ^.= Outside, And We Get Beaten Up A .=^ ..=^$%§@##
##@§%$^=.. .^= Few Times, And Stop Going. =.^ ..=^$%§@##
#@%^=..... .=^===================================^. .....=^%@#
###@§$^=.. =.^ Iirc It'S Currently Owned By ^=. ..=^$§@###
@@§%^^=... =^. Some Energy drink Baron Who Uses ^.= ...=^^%§@@
§$=....... ^=. It To Hold All His Fourty Eight .^= .......=$§
##@§%$^=.. ..= Cars..... .=. ..=^$%§@##
§§§$$=.... ......^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^...... ....=$$§§§
#§%%^..... .....^%%§#
#@@§%$^=.. ..=^$%§@@#
###§%$^=.. ..=^$%§###
§$=....... .......=$§
§§$^^..... .....^^$§§