A minor goddess once challenged a mortal man to create a work of art worthy of Her divinity. If he succeeded, he could have any blessing that was within Her power to grant. If he failed, he would only receive Her mockery. Either way She would be entertained.
The man decred from the beginning that he wanted no reward, only the ability to work unimpeded and see the project through to the end. It seemed a reasonable request and one more likely to give Her what She wanted in the end, so she cleared the way for him
Above all else, the man loved escators and the opportunity to design and build one of his own was reward enough in and of itself. With divine intervention opening his path but not guiding his hand, he managed to be involved in every step of the process, from initial drafting to talks with city pnners and architects to the physical construction to the final flip of a switch that would set his creation into motion.
Along the way, the goddess could not help but fall a little bit in love with the man for his purehearted passion and devotion, but knew better than to act on the star-crossed emotions. Such unions never end well and She knew that his love was not for Her but for escators.
Once the project was complete, he rode his escator once and then returned to his normal life, never to see it again nor to ever create another escator.
The most perfect escator you’ve ever seen connects the rarely-visited top floor of an office building to the almost-never-visited gss-domed rooftop. It is a short ride, less than thirty seconds in either direction. The escator is always perfectly maintained even as the rest of the building falls into disrepair with the passage of time.
Ascend the empty tower that is always forgotten by those who condemn buildings for destruction. You’ll have to take the stairs, for the power has long since been disconnected. At the top, you’ll find an escator running in pristine condition. Step onto it and feel the simple joy and wonder. Look behind you when the sun or moon hits just right and you’ll see a goddess riding the moving stairs up and down for hours at a time.
