......~^†%                                          %†^~......
.....~^†%£                                          £%†^~.....
....~^†%£#                                          #£%†^~....
...~^†%£#@                                          @#£%†^~...
..~^†%£#@#                                          #@#£%†^~..
...~^†%£#@             % 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. ^~........
.......~^†                                          †^~.......
......~^†%                                          %†^~......
.....~^†%£                                          £%†^~.....
....~^†%£#                                          #£%†^~....
...~^†%£#@                                          @#£%†^~...
..~^†%£#@#                                          #@#£%†^~..