¨¨¨¨¨^^£££ £££^^¨¨¨¨¨
¨^~^=£@£## ##£@£=^~^¨
¨¨¨¨~~==@@ @@==~~¨¨¨¨
¨^~^=@£### ###£@=^~^¨
¨¨¨¨^^^££@ @££^^^¨¨¨¨
¨¨^~^==£@£ 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. @==^^^^~^¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨^^££ ££^^¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨^~^=£@£## ##£@£=^~^¨
¨^~^=£@£## ##£@£=^~^¨
¨^~^=£@@£# #£@@£=^~^¨
¨^~^===£@@ @@£===^~^¨