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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))                 @§$%/~:...
....:~/%$§                                          §$%/~:....
.....:~/%$                    ~                     $%/~:.....
......:~/%                                          %/~:......
.......:~/ i wake up  every morning at six am. it's /~:.......
........:~ dark, and  the  stars are out,  but  the ~:........
.........: sun  is about to rise.  its a  long day, :.........
.......... before  it  fades  to  night  again, and ..........
.......... then it  stays so until  i fall  asleep. ..........
.......... it  doesn't  rise  unless  i've  had  my ..........
..........                  dreams.                 ..........
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..........                     %                    ..........
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.......... in this cottage there's  a lot of  radio ..........
..........   equipment, sound stuff, synths, tape   ..........
.........: players. pen and paper, books,  cameras, :.........
........:~ mirrors, prisms, and  various things  to ~:........
.......:~/ do art with.  the  fridge is filled with /~:.......
......:~/% differet  foods, all of them intriguing, %/~:......
.....:~/%$              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 $%/~:.....
......:~/% sounds from the forest. the others  tell %/~:......
.......:~/ of their lives,  play the guitar for me, /~:.......
........:~ and  tell  tales  of  the  old world.  i ~:........
.........:      consider them friends as well.      :.........
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..........                    @                     ..........
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.......... most  importantly, there's a  two square ..........
.......... meter  area  on  the  floor  where i can ..........
.......... "save"  things.  whatever i put  in here ..........
.......... will  not  be affected  by  the  nightly ..........
..........    reset. everything else, however, is   ..........
..........    completely reset overnight: synth     ..........
.........:  patches removed, food uneaten, wounds   :.........
........:~ healed,  and  wherever and whenever  i'd ~:........
.......:~/ fall asleep  i'd  always  wake up  fully /~:.......
......:~/% rested  in  my  bed.  sometimes  there's %/~:......
.....:~/%$ 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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