¨¨~«†*¤#@# #@#¤*†«~¨¨
¨¨¨~«†*¤#@ @#¤*†«~¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨~«†*¤# #¤*†«~¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨~«†*¤ ¤*†«~¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨~«†* *†«~¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨~«† 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. †«~¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨~«†* *†«~¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨~«†*¤ ¤*†«~¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨~«†*¤# #¤*†«~¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨~«†*¤#@ @#¤*†«~¨¨¨
¨¨~«†*¤#@# #@#¤*†«~¨¨