........#. ##........
#######... #..#######
######..#. ....######
#####..... ###..#####
####..###. ##....####
###....#.. ...,,,============================,,,... ...##..###
##..##.... .,= 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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