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.......~:^                                          ^:~.......
......~:^£                                          £^:~......
.....~:^£@                                          @£^:~.....
....~:^£@#             £ dream palace £             #@£^:~....
...~:^£@#@             . ----- ------ .             @#@£^:~...
..~:^£@#@#             £ ..... ...... £             #@#@£^:~..
...~:^£@#@             : ..... ...... :             @#@£^:~...
....~:^£@#             . ..... ...... .             #@£^:~....
.....~:^£@             . ..... ...... .             @£^:~.....
......~:^£             . ..... ...... .             £^:~......
.......~:^                                          ^:~.......
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.........~ 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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........~: 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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.....~:^£@                                          @£^:~.....