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........~»             * 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. #@#£*†^»~.
..~»^†*£#@                                          @#£*†^»~..
...~»^†*£#                                          #£*†^»~...
....~»^†*£                                          £*†^»~....
.....~»^†*                                          *†^»~.....
......~»^†                                          †^»~......
.......~»^                                          ^»~.......