#¶&£†=-... ...-=†£&¶#
¶&£†=-.... ....-=†£&¶
&£†=-..... .....-=†£&
£†=-...... ......-=†£
†=-....... .......-=†
=-........ 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. ....-=†£&¶
#¶&£†=-... ...-=†£&¶#
##¶&£†=-.. ..-=†£&¶##
###¶&£†=-. .-=†£&¶###
##¶&£†=-.. ..-=†£&¶##
#¶&£†=-... ...-=†£&¶#