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.