#$†//«,,,, ,,,,«//†$#
@†/.,,,,,, ,,,,,,./†@
@††////«., ,.«////††@
###@$†/«., ,.«/†$@###
@††///««., ,.««///††@
###@$†/«., Gray Skies, Swirling With Soot. Stony ,.«/†$@###
@$$/««.,,, Ground With No Hints Of Vegetation. ,,,.««/$$@
@@@@$†/«., ,.«/†$@@@@
@†«.,,,,,, 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. ,,.«/††$$@
###@$†/«., ,.«/†$@###
###@$†/«., ,.«/†$@###
##$/..,,,, ,,,,../$##
###@$†/«., ,.«/†$@###
###@$†/«., ,.«/†$@###