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§$††,¨¨¨¨¨ ground with no hints of vegetation. ¨¨¨¨¨,††$§
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£$†,¨¨¨¨¨¨ below the surface are the mines, ¨¨¨¨¨¨,†$£
§§%%†††-,¨ spiraling down into the crust. small ¨,-†††%%§§
§§$†,¨¨¨¨¨ compared to the caverns they eventually ¨¨¨¨¨,†$§§
##@§$%†-,¨ reach and join with. the temperature is ¨,-†%$§@##
§%-,¨¨¨¨¨¨ higher down here, and the view is not ¨¨¨¨¨¨,-%§
##@£§%†-,¨ as monochrome: a green light beckons ¨,-†%§£@##
£££§$%†-,¨ from below. ¨,-†%$§£££
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§$%††-,,,¨ long ago, there was a lifeform here. in ¨,,,-††%$§
#@£§$%†-,¨ the center of the planetoid, something ¨,-†%$§£@#
££$$%%†-,¨ dormant, waiting for a collision with ¨,-†%%$$££
£$†--,,¨¨¨ another body. but no planet was ¨¨¨,,--†$£
@£$%-¨¨¨¨¨ reached, and over time, the seedling ¨¨¨¨¨-%$£@
#@£§$%†-,¨ became a sludge. ¨,-†%$§£@#
#@£§$%†-,¨ ¨,-†%$§£@#
#@£§$%†-,¨ and elves came as miners, and the ¨,-†%$§£@#
§§$$†††-,¨ sludge was bottled. ¨,-†††$$§§
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#@£§$%†-,¨ £ @ @ the cargo ship is filled, @ @ £ ¨,-†%$§£@#
#@£§$%†-,¨ $ @ £ prepared for launch, £ @ $ ¨,-†%$§£@#
§§§§$%†-,¨ % £ £ ignition sequence started £ £ % ¨,-†%$§§§§
§§%-,¨¨¨¨¨ † § £ hours ago. elves in the £ § † ¨¨¨¨¨,-%§§
#@£§$%†-,¨ † % § passenger cabin, not yet § % † ¨,-†%$§£@#
##@£$%†-,¨ - † § seated. but something is § † - ¨,-†%$£@##
#@£§$%†-,¨ - - $ wrong. there is something $ - - ¨,-†%$§£@#
§§§$%-¨¨¨¨ , , % green around their mouths. % , , ¨¨¨¨-%$§§§
##£§$%†-,¨ , , † the sludge has been sampled, † , , ¨,-†%$§£##
@§§$$%†-,¨ , , - entertained, and then - , , ¨,-†%$$§§@
#@£§$%†-,¨ , , , finally binged on. , , , ¨,-†%$§£@#
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£$$%-,¨¨¨¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ the engines are burning hot, ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨¨¨¨,-%$$£
@££§$%†-,¨ and the ship accelerates ¨,-†%$§££@
#@£§$%†-,¨ away. the elves have ¨,-†%$§£@#
#@£§$%†-,¨ strapped themselves in, and ¨,-†%$§£@#
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