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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. ##£*~,,¨¨¨
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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. ###&£*:~,¨
¨,~:*£#### ####£*:~,¨
¨,~~~~*£## ######################################## ##£*~~~~,¨
¨,~:*£&### # # ###&£*:~,¨
¨,~:*£&### # ######&#&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&#&###### # ###&£*:~,¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨~*& # # # # &*~¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨,~:*£&### # # ###&*&********************&*&### # # ###&£*:~,¨
¨,~:*£&&## # # # # # # ##&&£*:~,¨
¨,~:*£&### # # # 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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