#£@¤§==~.. ..~==§¤@£#
£@¤§==~... ...~==§¤@£
@¤§==~.... ....~==§¤@
¤§==~..... .....~==§¤
§==~...... ......~==§
¤§==~..... 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. .~==§¤@£##
#£@¤§==~.. ..~==§¤@£#
£@¤§==~... ...~==§¤@£
@¤§==~.... ....~==§¤@
¤§==~..... .....~==§¤
§==~...... ......~==§