&††»--.... ....--»††&
#&&††».... ....»††&&#
###&@†/»-. .-»/†@&###
&&&†»»-... ...-»»†&&&
###&@†/»-. .-»/†@&###
###&@†/»-. 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. .-»/†@&###
&@@††/-... ...-/††@@&
####&@†/»- -»/†@&####
###&@†/»-. .-»/†@&###
#&@@††/»-. .-»/††@@&#
&††»-..... .....-»††&