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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. .,~^*£#£##
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##£#£*^~,. ######################################## .,~^*£#£##
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£##£^,.... # # #££#*#********************#*#££# # # ....,^£##£
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££^^,,.... £ # # 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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##£#£*^~,. .,~^*£#£##
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