¨¨¨¨¨¨,~^= =^~,¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨,~^=@ @=^~,¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨,~^=@§ §@=^~,¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨,~^=@§¶ ¶§@=^~,¨¨¨
¨¨,~^=@§¶# #¶§@=^~,¨¨
¨,~^=@§¶## 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. @=^~,¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨,~^=@§ §@=^~,¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨,~^=@§¶ ¶§@=^~,¨¨¨
¨¨,~^=@§¶# #¶§@=^~,¨¨
¨,~^=@§¶## ##¶§@=^~,¨
¨¨,~^=@§¶# #¶§@=^~,¨¨