¨¨¨,«;†£&@ @&£†;«,¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨,«;†£& &£†;«,¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨,«;†£ £†;«,¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨,«;† †;«,¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,«; ;«,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨,«;† 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. &£†;«,¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨,«;†£ £†;«,¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨,«;† †;«,¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨,«; ;«,¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨,«;† †;«,¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨,«;†£ £†;«,¨¨¨¨¨