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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 ¨^=\$$£###
###£$$\=^¨ sludge was bottled. ¨^=\$$£###
££$=¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨=$££
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###£$$\=^¨ # # # # # # ¨^=\$$£###
####£$$=^¨ # # # the cargo ship is filled, # # # ¨^=$$£####
###£$$\=^¨ $ # # prepared for launch, # # $ ¨^=\$$£###
#$\^^¨¨¨¨¨ $ # # ignition sequence started # # $ ¨¨¨¨¨^^\$#
###£$$\=^¨ \ £ # 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. ^ ^ ^ ¨^=\$$£###
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#$$\=^¨¨¨¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ the engines are burning hot, ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨¨¨¨^=\$$#
###£$$\=^¨ and the ship accelerates ¨^=\$$£###
###£$$\=^¨ away. the elves have ¨^=\$$£###
####£$\=^¨ strapped themselves in, and ¨^=\$£####
###£$$\=^¨ are lying completely still, ¨^=\$$£###
###£$$\=^¨ like corpses. ¨^=\$$£###
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