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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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