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@*--...... ......--*@
@@&*/--:.. ..:--/*&@@
##£@&*/-:. .:-/*&@£##
@&*-::.... 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. .:-/*&@£##
£££@&*/-:. .:-/*&@£££
@@@@&*/-:. .:-/*&@@@@
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