###@%%*~^. .^~*%%@###
##@%%*~^.. ..^~*%%@##
#@%%*~^... ...^~*%%@#
@%%*~^.... ....^~*%%@
%%*~^..... .....^~*%%
%*~^...... % 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. .......^~*
%*~^...... ......^~*%
%%*~^..... .....^~*%%
@%%*~^.... ....^~*%%@
#@%%*~^... ...^~*%%@#
##@%%*~^.. ..^~*%%@##
###@%%*~^. .^~*%%@###