#£§£†\«,.. ..,«\†£§£#
£§£†\«,... ...,«\†£§£
#£§£†\«,.. ..,«\†£§£#
##£§£†\«,. .,«\†£§£##
#£§£†\«,.. ..,«\†£§£#
£§£†\«,... 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. ...,«\†£§£
#£§£†\«,.. ..,«\†£§£#
##£§£†\«,. .,«\†£§£##
#£§£†\«,.. ..,«\†£§£#
£§£†\«,... ...,«\†£§£
#£§£†\«,.. ..,«\†£§£#