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#@£&%%/-~¨ gray skies, swirling with soot. stony ¨~-/%%&£@#
##£&%%/-~¨ ground with no hints of vegetation. ¨~-/%%&£##
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£££&%%/-~¨ 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. ¨¨¨~~~-/%&
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£&%%-¨¨¨¨¨ 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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£&%/-¨¨¨¨¨ @ @ @££&%&%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%&%&££@ @ @ ¨¨¨¨¨-/%&£
&%///--¨¨¨ £ @ @ @ @ £ ¨¨¨--///%&
£££&%%/-~¨ £ @ @ 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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