.......... ..........
.......... ..........
.......... ..........
.......... ..........
.........^ ^.........
........^= 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. ..........
.......... ..........
.......... ..........
.......... ..........
.......... ..........
.......... ..........