..~~;=$§£# #£§$=;~~..
...~~;=$§£ £§$=;~~...
....~~;=$§ §$=;~~....
.....~~;=$ $=;~~.....
......~~;= =;~~......
.......~~; Gray Skies, Swirling With Soot. Stony ;~~.......
........~~ Ground With No Hints Of Vegetation. ~~........
.........~ ~.........
........~~ Below The Surface Are The Mines, ~~........
.......~~; Spiraling Down Into The Crust. Small ;~~.......
......~~;= Compared To The Caverns They Eventually =;~~......
.....~~;=$ 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. £§$=;~~...
....~~;=$§ §$=;~~....
.....~~;=$ $=;~~.....
......~~;= =;~~......
.......~~; ;~~.......
........~~ ~~........