.......... ..........
.......... ..........
.......... ..........
.......... ..........
.........~ ~.........
........~= 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. =~........
.......~=: :=~.......
......~=:^ ^:=~......
.....~=:^¤ ¤^:=~.....
....~=:^¤& &¤^:=~....
...~=:^¤ #&¤^:=~...