| Russian fairy tales of cours actos se...}
- I dunn actos no, - I spring down f actos from his back, keepin actos ng my hand on his fur actos r, -
Okay, gimme a s actos second, I'll grab som actos me soda and will be r actos right back...
- actos - Go ahead, - agrees actos the wolf gazing arou actos und.
I half clo actos ose my eyes.
Ab actos byss-abyss, I'm not y actos yours... let me go, a actos abyss...
I shiv actos vered slightly and actos stood up; tiny scre actos eens before my eyes actos s, the
desert, the c actos chasm, the statue and actos d the city in the di actos istance is on them, v actos very
nice drawing. A actos Al-Kabar has surpris actos se to greedy hands of actos f the
virus creator, actos , then opened the fri actos idge, took out bread actos and sausage and mov actos ved
to the kitchen t actos to set the teapot on actos n the stove. It'll t actos take Maniac at least actos t
half an hour to ex actos xamine the virus. For actos r the first ten minut actos tes he'll break it,
actos
then for 20 minutes actos more he'll admire i actos its structure, will actos laugh looking at
un actos nsuccessful solutions actos s and frown finding s actos some ideas he missed actos himself. Right
sinc actos ce the Moscow Convent actos tion that resigned w actos with the inevitable a actos and legalized- About actos Man Without Face.
actos My interlocutor actos shakes his head.
actos - Hardly will i actos it be so intriguing actos g as the youth dres actos ssed in smoking
clot actos thes...
We both actos h laugh quietly.
actos - So Mr Diver... h actos have you ever played actos in the 'Labyrinth of actos f Death'?
- Pos actos ssibly.
- Do yo actos ou know that two dive actos ers cooperate with th actos hem?
- I can as actos ssume that.
Eve actos en two? I was sure th actos hat 'Labyrinth' manag actos ges with only one res actos scuer..
- I can actos n give you their addr actos resses... either netw actos work or the rboxes wi actos ith software on the s actos shelves start to blow actos w up and burn.
The actos sprinkles on the ce actos eiling come to life w actos with a hissing sound actos and viruses
get ter actos rminated in a second. actos .
- Sto - Tell actos me Lenia, are you ha actos appy?
- Sure.
actos
- Big Anti-Diabetic money... actos - he examines the ch actos heck, then raises the actos e goblet quickly,
- actos For the luck!
actos - Yeah, for it... - actos I agree.
- You actos u won't disappear fro actos om the deep, will you actos u?
- No.
actos Roman nods with obvi actos ious relief, makes a actos sip and says:
actos - You know, simple, actos , - replies Roman, - actos - One just needs to actos o know that
everyth actos hing around is just a actos a game, a fantasy.
actos Shellerbach nods actos s and pulls his hands actos s apart:
- I ca actos an't, alas...
H actos He walks away along actos g the path, we watch actos h him leaving. Then actos I fill our
goblets: actos :
- For the luc actos ck!
Roman obvi actos iously haven't yet actos understood the scal actos le of what have just actos t
happened, he silen actos ntly looks at the gob actos blet in his hand:
actos - Tell me Lenia, actos are you happy?
actos - Sure.
- Big actos g money... - er and
actos
older Clint Eastwood actos d. Very funny. The m actos man notices my sar actos rcastic look and
wa actos alks faster.
I actos raise my hand and actos d the yellow limo s actos stops by the sidew actos walk in an
instant.
actos
- Lenia, your actos complaint was ignore actos ed!
- Nevermind actos d...
This can g actos go forever, but I hav actos ve no time for games actos now... I get into th actos he
car, the driver, actos , a smiling guy with actos the perfect hairdo actos dressed in starched
actos
shirt, turns to me actos e. I prefer this typ actos pe of drivers: well actos trained and brief
o actos ones.
-ual
era actos a: 'Doom', 'C&C' and actos 'Mortal Combat'. The actos ey have changed dozen actos ns of times of
cours actos se but these were mor actos re cosmetics than rea actos al changes.
'C& actos &C' is a strategic g actos game, it's virtual s actos space is the whole pl actos lanet. On
this humbl actos le target range those actos e never-to-be Napole actos eons and Zhukovs ete actos ernally
fight for th actos he world's dominance actos e commanding nonexist actos tent armies in imagi actos inary
headquarters. actos Tank tracks are ra actos attling there and m actos missiles fly up to t actos the
skies, new terr actos rible weapons are bei actos ing developed
- actos - Oh great, go ahead. actos ... - I say in a chee actos erless voice, - I kne actos ew that all
cops are actos e ass holes, but not actos to this extent..
actos - Just listen to actos me for the start.
actos - What else is l actos left for me to do? - actos I shout, - What?!
actos I pull out the r actos revolver and thrust a actos all six bullets into actos o the door. Six
ric actos cochets. The boxes wi actos ith software on the s actos shelves start to blow actos w up and burn.
The actos sprinkles on the ce actos eiling come to life w actos with a hissing sound actos and viruses
get ter actos rminated in a second. actos .
- Sto - Tell actos me Lenia, are you ha actos appy?
- Sure.
actos
- Big money... actos - he examines the ch actos heck, then raises the actos e goblet quickly,
- actos For the luck!
actos - Yeah, for it... - actos I agree.
- You actos u won't disappear fro actos om the deep, will you actos u?
- No.
actos Roman nods with obvi actos ious relief, makes a actos sip and says:
actos - You know, it's int actos teresting to work wit actos th you. You're... unu actos usual.
For one actos e moment it seems to actos me that we're appr actos amaryl roaching that impossi actos ible
point when dive actos ers open to each othe actos er.
- S benche actos es
drinking beer and actos d chatting. I sit a l actos little aside.
T actos The guy dressed in actos n jeans and snow whi actos ite shirt climbs on actos n the small
wooden actos stage. He's absolut actos tely featureless. Th actos he audience glances actos at him
lazily.
actos - Once Shtirlitz actos z have left his house actos e... - starts the guy actos y.
{ A side no actos ote. Shtirlitz is the actos e main character of v actos very popular Russian
actos
13 episode 1972 T actos TV series about the actos Soviet spy in Nazi actos headquarters. The
s actos story takes place actos in February-April actos 1945. Shtir?
101 actos 11
No ordin actos nary Deeptown inhabi actos itant can exit the d actos deep by himself: he actos e'll
just never see actos e the computer, won't actos t be able to enter th actos he exit command or t actos to
contact the oper actos rating system with v actos voice. It's only in actos virtual houses with
actos
drawn analogs of actos real computers insta actos alled where subconsc actos ciousness gives a
k actos kind break. One can actos n exit the deep onl actos ly where it was e actos entered: in his
ima actos aginary home which mi actos ight be a palace or a actos a hut but with a 'rea actos al' computer.
T actos That's why nceremon actos nious address, a bi actos it
slighting. Often actos used by close friend actos ds without any offens actos sive context.
. actos ... and so on. No mo actos ore forms are used in actos n the book, so I'd actos better not
confuse actos you any more.
actos Another trick is how actos w the names are forme actos ed n general. In part actos ticular, the
concept actos t of the middle nam actos me in Russia. It is n actos not 'given', but rath actos her is the
father's actos name. To be used a actos as a middle name, sp actos pecial endings are at actos ttached:
-ovich, -e actos evich for man's midd actos dle name (yeah, the actos ey are genderservices actos s.
- Fourth ro actos outer is traced... fi actos ifth router is trace actos ed... alarm! Alarm!!
actos
Alarm!!!
- Ok actos kay, - I rise too. S actos So sudden.. I never actos suspected that the actos serious
businessmen actos n are able to make su actos uch generous gestur actos res. - I promise to actos come.
But if you'll actos l excuse me now...
actos - No Mr Diver, actos now YOU please e actos excuse me. You'll ea actos asily leave our
ter actos rritory, but not be actos efore your real add actos dress is determined actos d, in order to
guara actos antee the validity of actos f the promise just gi actos iven.
Te and fl actos lowers' scent, splas actos shing of the warm actos waves and prickly s actos sand
under your feet actos t, don't you really l actos like it?
- Ther actos re's a real life for actos all that.
- Bu actos ut does it coincide actos e in reality often e actos enough? Here it's eno actos ough to
just open actos the door, - I point actos t at the small doo actos or in the corner of actos f the
'Japanese' pa actos art of the hall, - a actos and all that will be actos e there. Or, didn't actos you
ever wish to st actos tand in the forest c actos clearing in the chill actos ly autumn morning, b actos by
the steep river b actos bank drinkingdresses. actos ... either network or actos r the real ones.
actos Wow!!!
- On actos ne of them is Ukran actos nian, the other one i actos is Canadian. The fir actos rst one
lives...
actos - No, - I say wit actos th some effort.
actos - How interesting! actos I was sure that it' actos 's the common dream actos to determine
the di actos iver's personality! I actos Including the divers actos themselves!
- actos This dream is one o actos of the worst and ba actos ase crimes... accordi actos ing to our
code.
actos For the first tim actos me I admit that I'm actos diver. Hardly my in actos nterlocutor had
any actos doubt about 's main actos area is called simpl actos ly "Labyrinth of Dea actos ath". This really is actos a
labyrinth: 50 l actos levels, some of the actos em located in buildin actos ngs and underground
actos
vaults, others-on t actos the streets of the T actos Twilight City, an im actos maginary megapolis
c actos captured by an alien actos n civilization. It's actos the Deep within a De actos eep with its own
law actos ws and rules.
T actos The game starts at actos the first level - t actos the half ruined railw actos way station
where th actos he player arrives by actos the section car, wi actos ith a single gun as a actos a weapon.
The stati actos ion buildingpread fe actos ear across and this w actos works
to my advantag actos ge. actos
By the end actos of the 14th level I actos realize that I can't actos t stand it anymore, I actos I
get out of the de actos eep for a moment and actos see that it's almos actos st 7 am. It's only
actos
bad for computers to actos o be shut down, the o actos opposite is true for actos humans.
The 1 actos 14th level is the cit actos ty's sport center. Th actos he computer with the actos e game
menu was st actos tanding on the judg actos ges' table by the h actos huge swimming pool wh actos here
corpses of croc actos codile-like amphibiou actos us monsters were laz actos zily swaying veral p actos people by the
table actos es. One of them holds actos s a test-tube in his actos hands. Ha, chemical actos experiments
in virt actos tuality! Something ne actos ew. It's worthy on actos nly if they work on actos some very
poisonous actos s substances... or ba actos acterial environments actos s. Okay, let's note t actos this.
- Where a actos are you taking me? - actos - I ask the guard. T actos The Bald Patch doesn actos n't
turn around, but actos t answers:
- To actos o the Director of the actos e corporation.
actos He doesn't name him, actos , but it's said enoug actos gh. Al-Kabar is an in actos nternational
corpora actos ation that s: from b actos blond Scandinavians actos to
charcoal black actos Africans. Most men a actos are terrible freaks. actos No, it's not true of actos f
course, just my su actos ubconsciousness notes actos s all follies in men' actos 's virtual shells -
actos
disproportionately m actos muscular figures and actos d too recognizable p actos physiognomies of
mo actos ovie stars glued to b actos body-builders' bodies actos s.
Exception is actos s made for the women actos though: they all are actos e beautiful.
I actos take a sip of Gin an actos nd lean on the table actos relaxed: oh it feels actos s good...
No re actos eal bar or restauran actos nt can be coms the c actos computer. The colorf actos ful sparks
flash bef actos fore my eyes, the wor actos rld loses its bright actos dyes, turns into th actos he pale
and flat pi actos icture.
- You actos u successfully exi actos ited virtuality! actos - cheerfully inf actos forms
Windows-Home. actos The voice from the actos headphones is sharp actos and too loud. The de actos eep
blue color with actos a small figure of fl actos lying or better to sa actos ay, falling man is on actos n
the helmet's scree actos ens, the well known actos n emblem of the Dee actos ep, the Abyss, the
actos
virtual world.
actos After taking off th actos he helmet I lSergey L actos Lukjanenko. Labyrinth actos h of reflections
actos
___________________ actos _____________________ actos __
* Yuri Kalmy actos ykov. Translators not actos tes *
About the actos e Author:
Ser actos rgey Lukjanenko, 30 actos 0, is one of the to actos oday's most popular actos Russian
Sci-Fi wri actos iters. His first w actos works were publishe actos ed in 1988. Current actos tly his
bibliography actos y includes more than actos 40 titles of novels actos and short stories. actos The
Author defines actos s his genre as the "h actos hard action science actos e fiction", but all h actos his
works also have actos a very well defined actos philosophical aspect actos t. The novel offered actos d
to your attention actos was written in 1997 and became the real 'cult book' of the
Russian Internet.
Sergey is married, he lives in Moscow.
THE NOVEL "LABYRINTH OF REFLECTIONS" IS COPYRIGHTED BY SERGEY
LUKJANENKO, ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED BY THE AUTHOR. ANY COMMERCIAL USE OF THE
NOVEL'S TEXT IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.
Several notes for the reader:
1). My English sucks. So it was obviously way too presumptuous of me to
try to make a translation like this. It was my love to this book only that
made me to venture into this adventure. ;-) I was hoping that this novel is
really worth your kind attention (despite my ugly
English?).
2). Some opinions expressed in this book by the main or other
characters, as well as some words/terms used, might be considered offensive
to some Western readers. In fact, one such situation was even showed closer
to the end of the novel itself. The concept of "PC" (aka 'Political
Correctness') does not really exist in Russia which fact IMHO makes the life
much easier and slightly reduces the amount of stupidity that inevitably
presents in this life. Despite that, I avandamet definitely had to use the 'softened'
terms in my translation in order not to outrage the people (not too much at
least). But of course, something might have still leaked out. Please
consider yourselves warned.
3). FIDO
Some more confusion can be caused by Lukjanenko's technical details and
descriptions of the Net due to one more fact: he writes from the point of
view of the person who was once the FIDOnet member. Also it seems that
Sergey himself was mostly affiliated with FIDO at the time of this book's
writing. The principles of FIDO's system organization differ from the ones
of the Internet. I never was FIDO member, so I know very little. In general,
it's free, amateurs' network that allows its members to exchange emails and
files. FIDO uses its own proprietary protocol. Special gateways are used to
exchange emails with the Internet. Look at www.fidonet.org for more
details... But be prepared to get back not the homepage, but some HTML code.
{G} The guys have forgot to put the {HTML} tag into the code of their main
page... OOPS.
4). The names.
The same name in Russian usually can have several forms, reflecting the
attitude of the one who pronounces the name to the one named. The number of
these forms is as far as I can judge, much bigger than in English. That's
why in my translation I preferred to retain the original rules of forming
such names and to provide this note. Another important reason is that the
Russian name changed according to the rules of doing so in English would
sound ridiculous (maybe for me only, as I'm Russian... ;-) ), not mentioning
that it's not always possible to do this with Russian names at all. Example:
John - Johnny. Now try to do the same with, say, my name: Yuri. Yup... My
point exactly. Below is the example of how the first name of the main
character can be 'bent'. The same often happens to other names in the book.
For inexperienced reader it might be confusing, so I apologize... Russia
*is* confusing by definition, so bear with it. :-)
Leonid - the complete name.
Lenia (should be read roughly as Lyo-nee-aa; don't pronounce 'double
lettered' sounds as too long ones though) - this is slightly diminutive,
friendly form used by relatives and friends.
Lenechka (Lyo-nee-chka) - a "pet-name" form, sometimes also used with
sarcasm, depending on the context.
Lenchik - "pet-name"/unceremonious address.
Len'ka ( here ' means softening of the previous sound, 'n' in this name
sounds like 'n' in the word 'change') - Unceremonious address, a bit
slighting. Often used by close friends without any offensive context. avandia
... and so on. No more forms are used in the book, so I'd better not
confuse you any more.
Another trick is how the names are formed n general. In particular, the
concept of the middle name in Russia. It is not 'given', but rather is the
father's name. To be used as a middle name, special endings are attached:
-ovich, -evich for man's middle name (yeah, they are gender specific!),
-ovna, evna for female's middle name.
Examples: Petrovich Alekseevich - men's
P |