¨¨¨¨¨¨¨-~† †~-¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨-~ ~-¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨- -¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨-~ ~-¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨-~† †~-¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨-~†^ 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. ~-¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨- -¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨-~ ~-¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨-~† †~-¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨-~†^ ^†~-¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨-~†^§ §^†~-¨¨¨¨¨