§¨§¨¨§§¨§¨                                          ¨¨§§¨§¨¨§§
§¨§¨§¨§¨§¨                                          ¨§¨§¨§¨§¨§
§¨§¨§¨§¨§¨                                          §§¨§¨§¨§¨¨
§¨§¨§¨§¨§¨                                          ¨§¨§¨§¨§¨§
§¨§¨§¨§¨§¨                                          §§¨§¨§¨§¨¨
§¨§¨§¨§¨§¨ 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.              ¨§¨§¨§¨§¨§
§¨§¨§¨§¨§¨                                          §§¨§¨§¨§¨¨
§¨§¨§¨§¨§¨                                          ¨§¨§¨§¨§¨§
§¨§¨§¨§¨§¨                                          §§¨§¨§¨§¨¨
§¨§¨§¨§¨§¨                                          ¨§¨§¨§¨§¨§
§¨§¨§¨§¨§¨                                          §§¨§¨§¨§¨¨