........«; ;«........
.......«;* *;«.......
......«;*£ £*;«......
.....«;*£& &£*;«.....
....«;*£ #&£*;«....
...«;*£# 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. ##&£*;«...
..«;*£## ###&£*;«..
...«;*£# ##&£*;«...
....«;*£ #&£*;«....
.....«;*£& &£*;«.....
......«;*£ £*;«......