| y color and hooked
it on my figur cardizem re, person number seven, cardizem , Gunslinger...
de cardizem eep
Enter
Be cardizem eret is on my head. I'm cardizem not sure whether it's cardizem what Mr Aguirre wanted cardizem d
or not but he looks s cardizem satisfied.
- We va cardizem alue the divers' work cardizem k. - says Willy. - B cardizem But our permanent
emp cardizem ployees quite manage it. cardizem . We need time, small. cardizem We'll offer you interes cardizem sting
work, yes?
cardizem I shake my head, beret cardizem slides to the side.
cardizem - Mr Guillermo, - I cardizem I say respectfully but cardizem t resolutely, - I'm ta cardizem alking
oardists' and 'm cardizem mousists'. The
eternal cardizem argument who is cooler cardizem was never solved: virtu cardizem uality had come.
N cardizem Now I dot the "i's".
cardizem One of the bandits i cardizem is still alive. His foul cardizem l language is so colorfu cardizem ul and
intricate that h cardizem his national origin is o cardizem obvious. The player's f cardizem face is covered
with bl cardizem lood, one hand is partia cardizem ally ripped off, with th cardizem he other one he tries to cardizem o
reach the first-aid cardizem set. Only 5% of streng cardizem gth had left in him bu cardizem ut the set
would s
type cardizem e of studio, together wi cardizem ith his parents and old cardizem d- says the bald one. cardizem He has a friendly
face cardizem e of an Arabic guard fro cardizem om the production of "Si cardizem indbad The Sailor" done cardizem for
kids. The second cardizem d one looks grotesquel cardizem ly Arabic too, but is cardizem s much more
sinister, cardizem , he flashes his eyes an cardizem nd holds the sword hand cardizem dle tightly. Oh great,
cardizem
the only thing I ever m cardizem missed is the battle vir cardizem rus in my computer.
cardizem - The others were slo cardizem ower?
- Nobody eve cardizem er crossed this bridge cardizem before, - kindly inform cardizem ms me the bald
guard, - cardizem - It's impossible for th cardizem he human to keep biously cardizem y.
I'm not really cardizem hungry; virtual food su cardizem ubjectively satiates, an cardizem nd being in
dire strait cardizem ts I usually eat in 'Thr cardizem ree piglets', but now I cardizem I just have to wait
fo cardizem or my partner.
I w cardizem walk directly to the bar cardizem r, behind which the ro cardizem obust man is standing,
cardizem
taking off the headpho cardizem ones as I walk.
- cholesterol cardizem Hi Andrei.
Someti cardizem imes the owner serves cardizem his virtual customers cardizem himself, but today
it cardizem t's obviously not the ca cardizem ase. The bartender smile cardizem es but it's just an auto cardizem omatic
courtesy:
cardizem - Hi! What I threaten cardizem n him, - And then - ex cardizem xcommunication
forever! cardizem !
Excommunication cardizem is the most dreadful t cardizem threat for any Deeptown cardizem citizen:
it's too har cardizem rd to live without virtu cardizem uality if one visited it cardizem t even just once.
cardizem - I don't think it'll h cardizem happen.
The man wi cardizem ithout face throws his c cardizem cloak open with an exper cardizem rienced stripper
gestur cardizem re. There's a rainbow cardizem disk on the inside: a cardizem swirling glowing spira cardizem al
surrounded by blue.
cardizem
Oh my. He's from cardizem the police himself. A cardizem At least commissar if h cardizem he haclear explosions. cardizem One doesn't need to be cardizem e quick or keen
in this cardizem s game, strategic thin cardizem nking is most importan cardizem nt. They say that the cardizem e
Military watches this cardizem s game very attentively cardizem and sometimes successfu cardizem ul players
get offers t cardizem to join the army. Some p cardizem people seem scared by th cardizem hat, the others are
att cardizem tracted on the contrary cardizem y. I have played thes cardizem se 'adult tin soldiers cardizem s' a
little. In my opi cardizem inion the game is harmle cardizem ess and quiet. Dressed i cardizem in a beautiful
uniform, cardizem , you walk with a cup o cardizem of coffee back and fol cardizem ly shut door. I connecte cardizem ed from work: six compu cardizem uters in
one room and cardizem d all are occupied. Ju cardizem ust imagine how will I l cardizem look like for my
colle cardizem eagues.
She's abs cardizem solutely sincere and cl cardizem lever. Good girl, I real cardizem lly hope she's
just a cardizem as open and bright in re cardizem eality too.
I nod, cardizem , - Good luck then.
cardizem - Thanks, oh mysterio cardizem ous Anonymous, - Nadya cardizem a bends to me and kisse cardizem es my
cheek.
- Le cardizem enia, marker! - whisper cardizem the clips on mut the In cardizem nvisible Boss?
- G cardizem Give me the chair, - I r cardizem rise from the colt the o cardizem opposite armchair
is no cardizem ot empty anymore.
cardizem Mr Friedrich Urman n cardizem neglects Arabic colori cardizem ing, he wears blinder cardizem rs,
variegated shirt; a cardizem an aged, lean and seriou cardura cardizem us man.
- Good af cardizem fternoon... diver, - he cardizem e says. In Russian. Th cardizem he voice sounds
unnatu cardizem ural, filtered through t cardizem the interpreter program. cardizem .
So this is the r cardizem reason for such an honor cardizem r.
- I'm afraid th cardizem hat you're mistaken, Mr cardizem Director.
- When cardizem we created the bridge h cardizem half a year ago, we p cardizem pursued the single
goa cardizem al, Mr Dive But virtua cardizem al sex is funny only if cardizem f you're at
home, behi cardizem ind the tightly shut doo cardizem or. I connected from wo cardizem ork: six computers in
o cardizem one room and all are cardizem e occupied. Just imagine cardizem e how will I look like cardizem for my
colleagues.
cardizem She's absolutely s cardizem sincere and clever. Good cardizem d girl, I really hope cordarone cardizem she's
just as open and cardizem d bright in reality too. cardizem .
I nod, - Good lu cardizem uck then.
- Thanks cardizem s, oh mysterious Anonymo cardizem ous, - Nadya bends to cardizem me and kisses my
chee cardizem ek.
- Lenia, marke cardizem er! - whisper the clips cardizem on mut the Invisible Bo cardizem oss?
- Give me the cardizem e chair, - I rise from t cardizem the cold concrete floor. cardizem .
- Follow me.
cardizem We go to the right, cardizem behind the shelf with M cardizem Mac software. Illiquid s cardizem stuff,
only a few pe cardizem eople now use these cardizem computers. There were cardizem e humans and
Neander cardizem rthals, then IBM and App cardizem ple. Stub evolution bran cardizem nches aren't viable. The cardizem e
small table piled wit cardizem th papers is behind the cardizem e shelves, two chairs cardizem by it. We
sit down.
cardizem - Invisible Boss is cardizem s the tale of the sam cardizem me times. - says Mansh cardizem h along the band. The c cardizem channel is excellent, I' cardizem 'm above the wall in
a cardizem couple of seconds. T cardizem The band under my feet cardizem pushes me forward. I cardizem laugh
loudly and look cardizem back.
Wow!
cardizem Just look what's going cardizem g on in Al-Kabar! The cardizem streets are flooded wi cardizem ith
people, the other cardizem r guards already run alo cardizem ong the band, and some cardizem ething huge,
snaky and cardizem unpleasant crawls out cardizem t from one of the buildi cardizem ings. It's better not
t cardizem to look longer.
Fa cardizem aster...
The band cardizem d jumps over the monste cardizem er genie and sse.
cardizem Doomers already were cardizem e divided into 'keyboar cardizem rdists' and 'mousists'. cardizem . The
eternal argument cardizem who is cooler was never cardizem r solved: virtuality had cardizem d come.
Now I dot cardizem the "i's".
One of cardizem f the bandits is still a cardizem alive. His foul language cardizem e is so colorful and
in cardizem ntricate that his nation cardizem nal origin is obvious. T cardizem The player's face is co cardizem overed
with blood, one cardizem hand is partially rippe cardizem ed off, with the other o cardizem one he tries to
reach t cardizem the first-aid set. Onl cardizem ly 5% of strength had l cardizem left in him but the set cardizem t
would s
type of studi cardizem io, together with his p cardizem parents and older sister cardizem r who often comes
back cardizem k only by the morning. cardizem Walls and ceilings in t cardizem this house are thin eno cardizem ough
for me to be well cardizem posted on all their tro cardizem oubles and quarrels.
cardizem - Hi, - I said.
cardizem - Lenia, do you have cardizem cigarettes?
I'm a cardizem at least 15 years older cardizem r than him, but these gu cardizem uys keep me as almost
o cardizem one of their age, maybe cardizem because I'm not marrie cardizem ed and empty beer cans p cardizem prevail
in my garbage.
cardizem
- Hold on.
cardizem I'm not smoking myself, cardizem , b says Man Without
cardizem
Face. - Boss was the hi cardizem igher step in Fidonet cardizem hierarchy. It was boss cardizem to whom
those who want cardizem ted to become points an cardizem nd join to virtuality cardizem y addressed their
reque cardizem ests to... There was no cardizem o virtuality back then t cardizem though... The legend to cardizem old
that sometimes the cardizem newbies managed to find cardizem d a very good boss for cardizem themselves,
who provid cardizem ded the network access a cardizem at any time, high transf cardizem fer rate, connection
t cardizem to any club... those wer cardizem re called echo-conferenc cardizem ces at that time.
cardizem I nod automatically.d) cardizem in Russia, it gave rise cardizem e to an
enormous amount cardizem t of anecdotes, mostly h cardizem hilariously stupid or o cardizem one-liners based
on 'ga cardizem ame of words'}
The cardizem e girl nearby whistles cardizem loudly and throws a bee cardizem er bottle at the guy. I
cardizem
understand her perfect cardizem tly: 90% of all anecdote cardizem es told here is an ancie cardizem ent junk.
This club is cardizem s most loved by the ne cardizem ewbies in virtuality.. cardizem .. who don't yet
real cardizem lize the little fact tha cardizem at there's nothing new cardizem under the sky. One have cardizem e to
spend not more tha cardizem an half an hour here to cardizem believe: Cainf paper, cardizem an account number in Sw cardizem witzerland on it.
cardizem - Negative interest... cardizem you're very careful Mr cardizem Diver...
- I have cardizem e no choice Peter..
cardizem He gives up. I know cardizem his real name while he cardizem doesn't know mine. The cardizem bank
will never give m cardizem me away, even if the In cardizem nternational Jury states cardizem s that I'm a
man-eate cardizem er and is guilty of gen cardizem nocide. That's what the cardizem negative interest is
cardizem
paid for: for complete cardizem e safety.
- Fifty cardizem to each of you. I make cardizem a gesture of a good wil cardizem ll, Mr Diver!
- Ex cardizem xcellent.he audience goe cardizem es quiet enjoying the sh cardizem how.
The barrel re cardizem ecoils and the brightly cardizem shining red cross-like cardizem object flies
towards t cardizem the merchant with a shri cardizem illing whistle. The Balt cardizem tic tries to duck but
cardizem
no use: moderators nev cardizem ver miss. The fiery cr cardizem ross or 'plus' as it's cardizem usually
called, stick cardizem ks to the merchant's shi cardizem irt: three such 'pluses' cardizem ' in total - and
he'll cardizem l be banned from 'Anecdo cardizem otes' club forever.
cardizem The crowd laughs appr cardizem rovingly.
- Hey, m cardizem maybe it was the way the cardizem e anecdote was supposed cardizem toe door and escort m cardizem me to the bridge
pers coreg cardizem sonally if he saw this b cardizem badge.
He probably cardizem y would hire killers l cardizem later though in order cardizem to settle the
scores cardizem with me but in the deep cardizem p he would be extremely cardizem polite.
I've nev cardizem ver seen the Medal with cardizem h my own eyes before. I cardizem know that Dmitry
Diben cardizem nko received the same o cardizem one in his time: for cardizem the creation of the de cardizem eep
itself.
One m cardizem must accomplish somethin cardizem ng vitally important f cardizem for all virtual space
f cardizem for any of his actions t cardizem to be considered rigurse cardizem e but these were more co cardizem osmetics than real chang cardizem ges.
'C&C' is a st cardizem trategic game, it's vi cardizem irtual space is the whol cardizem le planet. On
this humb cardizem ble target range those cardizem never-to-be Napoleons cardizem and Zhukovs eternally
cardizem
fight for the world's cardizem dominance commanding no cardizem onexistent armies in im cardizem maginary
headquarters. cardizem Tank tracks are rattl cardizem ling there and missile cardizem es fly up to cardizem the
skies cardizem s, new terrible weapons cardizem s are being developed, w cardizem world's capitals are bei cardizem ing
burned to ashes by cardizem nuclear explosions. One cardizem e doesn't neemes at all cardizem l. Example:
John - John cardizem nny. Now try to do the cardizem e same with, say, my nam cardizem me: Yuri. Yup... My
po cardizem oint exactly. Below is cardizem s the example of how cardizem the first name of the cardizem e main
character can be cardizem e 'bent'. The same ofte cardizem en happens to other name cardizem es in the book.
For in cardizem nexperienced reader it m cardizem might be confusing, so cardizem I apologize... Russia cardizem a
*is* confusing by def cardizem finition, so bear with i cardizem it. :-)
Leonid - t cardizem the complete name.
cardizem Lenia (should be read cardizem d roughly as Lyo-nee-a cardizem aa; don't pronounce 'dou cardizem uble
leSergey Lukjanenk cardizem ko. Labyrinth of reflect cardizem tions
_____________ cardizem ________________________ cardizem _____
* Yuri Kalmy cardizem ykov. Translators notes cardizem *
About the Author:
Sergey Lukjanenko, 30, is one of the today's most popular Russian
Sci-Fi writers. His first works were published in 1988. Currently his
bibliography includes more than 40 titles of novels and short stories. The
Author defines his genre as the "hard action science fiction", but all his
works also have a very well defined philosophical aspect. The novel offered
to your attention 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 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.
... 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 |