....,\$%§@                                          @§%$\,....
.....,\$%§                                          §%$\,.....
......,\$%                                          %$\,......
.......,\$                                          $\,.......
........,\                                          \,........
.........,             % dream palace %             ,.........
..........             , ----- ------ ,             ..........
..........             % ..... ...... %             ..........
..........             \ ..... ...... \             ..........
..........             , ..... ...... ,             ..........
..........             , ..... ...... ,             ..........
.........,             . ..... ...... .             ,.........
........,\                                          \,........
.......,\$                                          $\,.......
......,\$% not actually a palace. a cottage in  the %$\,......
.....,\$%§   woods (temperate climate, rains every  §%$\,.....
....,\$%§@ other  day,   springs  and  streams  and @§%$\,....
...,\$%§@#   mysterious iron and stone artifacts,   #@§%$\,...
..,\$%§@##     birdland-ish eternal spring (late    ##@§%$\,..
.,\$%§@###                 spring))                 ###@§%$\,.
..,\$%§@##                                          ##@§%$\,..
...,\$%§@#                     ~                    #@§%$\,...
....,\$%§@                                          @§%$\,....
.....,\$%§ i wake  up every morning at six am. it's §%$\,.....
......,\$% dark,  and  the stars  are  out, but the %$\,......
.......,\$ sun  is about to rise.  its a  long day, $\,.......
........,\ before it  fades  to  night  again,  and \,........
........., then  it stays so until i  fall  asleep. ,.........
.......... it  doesn't  rise  unless  i've  had  my ..........
..........                 dreams.                  ..........
..........                                          ..........
..........                    $                     ..........
..........                                          ..........
........., in this cottage  there's a lot of  radio ,.........
........,\   equipment, sound stuff, synths, tape   \,........
.......,\$ players.  pen and paper, books, cameras, $\,.......
......,\$% mirrors,  prisms, and  various things to %$\,......
.....,\$%§ do art with. the  fridge is  filled with §%$\,.....
....,\$%§@ differet foods, all  of them intriguing, @§%$\,....
...,\$%§@#              slightly weird.             #@§%$\,...
..,\$%§@##                                          ##@§%$\,..
.,\$%§@###                     §                    ###@§%$\,.
..,\$%§@##                                          ##@§%$\,..
...,\$%§@# i  have friends  - there's a cat,  and a #@§%$\,...
....,\$%§@ dog   (who  is  ridicolously  large  and @§%$\,....
.....,\$%§ wants to be the big spoon).  i listen to §%$\,.....
......,\$% the shortwave radio, and  transmit a bit %$\,......
.......,\$ myself,  songs  and  poetry,  and  found $\,.......
........,\ sounds from the forest. the  others tell \,........
........., of their lives,  play the guitar for me, ,.........
.......... and  tell  tales  of  the  old  world. i ..........
..........      consider them friends as well.      ..........
..........                                          ..........
..........                    @                     ..........
..........                                          ..........
........., most importantly, there's  a two  square ,.........
........,\ meter area  on  the  floor  where i  can \,........
.......,\$ "save" things.  whatever i  put in  here $\,.......
......,\$% will  not  be  affected  by the  nightly %$\,......
.....,\$%§   reset. everything else, however, is    §%$\,.....
....,\$%§@    completely reset overnight: synth     @§%$\,....
...,\$%§@#  patches removed, food uneaten, wounds   #@§%$\,...
..,\$%§@## healed,  and  wherever  and whenever i'd ##@§%$\,..
.,\$%§@### fall  asleep i'd always  wake  up  fully ###@§%$\,.
..,\$%§@## rested  in  my  bed.  sometimes  there's ##@§%$\,..
...,\$%§@# accidents   where   i   lose  stuff   by #@§%$\,...
....,\$%§@ forgetting to  put them in  the  square. @§%$\,....
.....,\$%§                                          §%$\,.....
......,\$%                     .                    %$\,......
.......,\$                                          $\,.......
........,\ at  night,  i   have  demi-lucid  dreams \,........
........., where the spirits  of the forest  around ,.........
.......... the cottage tries to  communicate. here, ..........
.......... it's  not endless  but  connected  to  a ..........
.......... large sprawling  city,  where  my  radio ..........
.......... friends  live. we go  exploring together ..........
.......... - things  are deep and dark - but unlike ..........
........., me, they  never remember during the day. ,.........
........,\ this  is  a  mystery  we often  discuss. \,........
.......,\$                                          $\,.......
......,\$%                                          %$\,......
.....,\$%§                                          §%$\,.....
....,\$%§@                                          @§%$\,....
...,\$%§@#                                          #@§%$\,...
..,\$%§@##                                          ##@§%$\,..