...,,^^^=£                                          £=^^^,,...
.,~^=%£###                                          ###£%=^~,.
....,~~~=£                                          £=~~~,....
.,~^=%£###                                          ###£%=^~,.
....,~~=££                                          ££=~~,....
.,^=%£#### ...,,,^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^,,,... ####£%=^,.
.....,^^=£ .,^            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.....            ,~. ###£%=^~,.
.,~^=%£### ...,,,^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^,,,... ###£%=^~,.
.,~^=%£###                                          ###£%=^~,.
.,~^=%£###                                          ###£%=^~,.
....,^=%##                                          ##%=^,....
.....~=%%£                                          £%%=~.....
.,~^=%£###                                          ###£%=^~,.