....~«:†$@                                          @$†:«~....
.....~«:†$                                          $†:«~.....
......~«:†                                          †:«~......
.......~«:                                          :«~.......
........~«                                          «~........
.........~             $ 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 $†:«~.....
......~«:† large  sprawling  city, where  my  radio †:«~......
.......~«: friends  live. we go exploring  together :«~.......
........~« - things  are deep and dark - but unlike «~........
.........~ me,  they never remember during the day. ~.........
.......... this  is  a  mystery  we  often discuss. ..........
.........~                                          ~.........
........~«                                          «~........
.......~«:                                          :«~.......
......~«:†                                          †:«~......
.....~«:†$                                          $†:«~.....
....~«:†$@                                          @$†:«~....