,~~\†¤#@## ##@#¤†\~~,
,~~\†¤#@## ##@#¤†\~~,
,~~\†¤#@## ##@#¤†\~~,
,~~\†¤#@## ##@#¤†\~~,
,~~\†¤#@## ##@#¤†\~~,
,,,,,,~~†# 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. ##@#¤†\~~,
,~~\†¤#@## ##@#¤†\~~,
,~~\†¤###@ @###¤†\~~,
,,,,,,~~†# #†~~,,,,,,
~~\†¤#@### ###@#¤†\~~
,~~\†¤#@## ##@#¤†\~~,