##§£*/~,.. ..,~/*£§##
#§£*/~,... ...,~/*£§#
##§£*/~,.. ..,~/*£§##
###§£*/~,. .,~/*£§###
##§£*/~,.. ..,~/*£§##
#§£*/~,... 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. ...,~/*£§#
##§£*/~,.. ..,~/*£§##
###§£*/~,. .,~/*£§###
##§£*/~,.. ..,~/*£§##
#§£*/~,... ...,~/*£§#
##§£*/~,.. ..,~/*£§##