...^~^^*§#                                          #§*^^~^...
..^~^^*§##                                          ##§*^^~^..
.^~^^*§###                                          ###§*^^~^.
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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. *^^~^.....
....^~^^*§                                          §*^^~^....
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.^~^^*§###                                          ###§*^^~^.
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...^~^^*§#                                          #§*^^~^...