..........                                          ..........
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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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