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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.             ........^~
^.........                                          .........^
..........                     &                    ..........
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.......... 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. .......^~†
~^........                                          ........^~
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