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£§^\«~.... 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.               .~«\^%§£££
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§%^«...... 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.             ...««\%%§#
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£%%%^\«~.. And  Elves  Came  As   Miners,  And  The ..~«\^%%%£
#£§§%^\«~.            Sludge Was Bottled.           .~«\^%§§£#
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##£§%^\«~. ######################################## .~«\^%§£##
£%\\~..... #                                      # .....~\\%£
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§§^^\~~... £ # #                              # # £ ...~~\^^§§
##£§%^\«~. £ # #   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.              .~«\^%%%%£
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