##£§*=*«.¨                                          ¨.«*=*§£##
£§***.¨¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨¨.***§£
#§***=*«.¨                                          ¨.«*=***§#
§§=*««¨¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨¨««*=§§
£****.¨¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨¨.****£
£**.¨¨¨¨¨¨ 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.              ¨.«*=*§£##
##£§*=*«.¨                                          ¨.«*=*§£##
###£*=*«.¨                                          ¨.«*=*£###
##£§*=*«.¨                                          ¨.«*=*§£##
##£§*=*«.¨                                          ¨.«*=*§£##
###£§**«.¨                                          ¨.«**§£###