.......... ..........
.......... ..........
.......... ..........
.......... ..........
.......... ..........
.......... Gray Skies, Swirling With Soot. Stony ..........
:......... Ground With No Hints Of Vegetation. .........:
~:........ ........:~
^~:....... 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. .:~^†%&###
##&%†^~:.. ..:~^†%&##
#&%†^~:... 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. ..........
.......... ..........
.......... ######################################## ..........
.......... # # ..........
.......... # ######&#&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&#&###### # ..........
.......... # # # # ..........
:......... # # ###&†&††††††††††††††††††††&†&### # # .........:
~:........ # # # # # # ........:~
^~:....... # # # 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. : : : .....:~^†%
†^~:...... . . . . . . ......:~^†
^~:....... . . . The Engines Are Burning Hot, . . . .......:~^
~:........ And The Ship Accelerates ........:~
:......... Away. The Elves Have .........:
.......... Strapped Themselves In, And ..........
.......... Are Lying Completely Still, ..........
.......... Like Corpses. ..........
.......... ..........
.......... ..........
.......... ..........
.......... ..........
:......... .........: