.......,«:                                          :«,.......
........,«                                          «,........
.......,«:                                          :«,.......
......,«:^                                          ^:«,......
.....,«:^%                                          %^:«,.....
....,«:^%£             % 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. #@#£%^:«,.
..,«:^%£#@                                          @#£%^:«,..
...,«:^%£#                                          #£%^:«,...
....,«:^%£                                          £%^:«,....
.....,«:^%                                          %^:«,.....
......,«:^                                          ^:«,......
.......,«:                                          :«,.......