..-:=@#£@# #@£#@=:-..
......:@#£ £#@:......
..-:=@#£@# #@£#@=:-..
.....::=#@ @#=::.....
..:=@#£@## ##@£#@=:..
..-:=@#£@# 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. #@£#@=:-..
.....::=@£ £@=::.....
..-:=@#£@@ @@£#@=:-..
..-:=@#£@# #@£#@=:-..
..-:=@#£@# #@£#@=:-..
..-:=@#£@# #@£#@=:-..