| for all virtual space
for any of his act tentex royal tions to be considered right tentex royal t from now on.
- It wi tentex royal ill wait for you on this tab tentex royal ble, - says Man Without Face tentex royal e, - You'll
get it... in ca tentex royal ase of your success.
I tentex royal I nod silently.
- Note tentex royal e that there'll be other as tentex royal spirants, - informs Man With tentex royal hout Face, -
We're looking tentex royal g for divers everywhere in tentex royal n the deep, and will find m tentex royal many, and
will tell them th tentex royal he same I've told you.
tentex royal - What's there, in "Labyri tentex royal inth"? - I ask turning my g tentex royal gaze away from the
Medal.k tentex royal ke all, - says Urman serio tentex royal ously. - I sacrifice an tentex royal extemely
perspective techn tentex royal nology. You can give it to tentex royal Mr Shellerbach and conve tentex royal ey my
personal kind regar tentex royal rds to him. There's one s tentex royal single thing I'm asking for tentex royal r -
please, return here af tentex royal fter that and let's discuss tentex royal the permanent cooperation.
tentex royal
I wouldn't hide from you tentex royal the fact that right now we tentex royal are in a desperate need
of tentex royal f diver's services.
- tentex royal Fourth router is traced... tentex royal . fifth router is traced... tentex royal . alarm! Alarm!!
Alarm!!!
tentex royal
- Okay, set for 48 hou tentex royal urs.
- Yeah. Ah, how tentex royal unappetizing! - sighs Guil tentex royal llermo, - Pee-pee, poo-poo tentex royal o
into the virtual suit... tentex royal EWW.
Why did Man With tentex royal hout Face set the alarm?
tentex royal Nothing terrible have h tentex royal happened yet anyway, it's j tentex royal just yet another self
confi tentex royal ident game addict.
- D tentex royal Does he sit like this for a tentex royal long time?
- For alm tentex royal most 24 hours, - nodded G tentex royal Guillermo, - Yes, it's stra tentex royal ange. He
tried to pass the tentex royal level for five times... th tentex royal hen submitted himself... sa tentex royal at by
the entrance.
- tentex royal -ome guests have left, some tentex royal e new ones have
arrived, an tentex royal n American crowd still laugh tentex royal hs at their jokes.
I n tentex royal need a walk.
I leave ' tentex royal 'Three Piglets', hesitate fo tentex royal or a moment: should I stop tentex royal the cab?
- then decide to tentex royal walk. I eventually leave t tentex royal the central streets and app tentex royal proach
Russian blocks. In m tentex royal my opinion, this is one of t tentex royal the most interesting places tentex royal in
virtuality, the place w tentex royal where one can just chat.
tentex royal About anything at all.
tentex royal
I see long rows of tentex royal buildings, small squares a tentex royal and parks betwest simple pi tentex royal ictures. These are shortcut tentex royal ts, program launchers
whic tentex royal ch I'll need soon.
- tentex royal Here is the plan, - I deci tentex royal ide. - I'll cross the brid tentex royal dge alone. Then
I'll bring tentex royal out the trophies and we tak tentex royal ke to our heels.
- The tentex royal e decision is yours, - agree tentex royal es the wolf.
I walk on tentex royal n the sand, the hot wind doe tentex royal esn't calm down, it even se tentex royal eems that
the grains urispas of s tentex royal sand sting the eyes. This is tentex royal s not the helmet's merit an tentex royal nymore
but my brain feels w tentex royal what I should have been feel tentex royal ling in the real desert..
tentex royal t terminated in a second.
tentex royal
- Stop being hysteric tentex royal cal, - says Man Without Fa tentex royal ace, it seems to me that
th tentex royal here's a slight
doubt in h tentex royal his voice. I throw my revolv tentex royal ver at him, it comes through tentex royal h and falls down under the
tentex royal
wall.
- Do you want m tentex royal me to calm you down?
H tentex royal His voice is ice cold and do tentex royal oesn't promise anything good tentex royal d.
I sit down on the f tentex royal floor, squeeze my head with tentex royal hands and whisper:
- tentex royal Assholes... Fucking asshole tentex royal es..
- We don't care a tentex royal about your pranks in the Dee tentex royal ep, diver. The tt less than tentex royal me, but maybe he has a hug tentex royal ge family? Or maybe
Roman tentex royal really is alcoholic who squ tentex royal uanders grands in just weeks tentex royal s?
There's a small st tentex royal tone hut behind us: this is tentex royal how the restaurant looks
tentex royal
like from this side. We wal tentex royal lk along the path slowly, si tentex royal ipping our drinks.
- D tentex royal Do you like pepper vodka? - tentex royal I ask the Werewolf incident tentex royal tally.
- Yes.
It tentex royal t's said dryly and without tentex royal further comments. I wish tentex royal I knew who you
really are tentex royal e, Roman.
But it's imp tentex royal possible: virtuality is crue tentex royal el not the diver, Dima, and tentex royal d this is why I'm happier th tentex royal han you.
... The same tentex royal room, but there are neon s tentex royal sign flashes and slight nois tentex royal se of
moving cars outside.
tentex royal
- Is everything okay tentex royal Lenia?
I look around. tentex royal .
- Yes. I'll go for a tentex royal a walk, Vika.
I pick tentex royal up the diskette and put tentex royal it into my pocket. The po tentex royal ortable CD
player lies on tentex royal n the shelf among several bo tentex royal ooks and the pile of CDs. I tentex royal insert
ELO's CD into it, tentex royal , put on headphones, push 'p tentex royal play'. 'Roll over Beethoven viagra tentex royal n' -
just what IEmpire.
tentex royal To the Deep.
11
tentex royal
It was midnight whe tentex royal en I finally cleaned the tentex royal computer up from the
pos tentex royal stcard virus and packed the tentex royal bagged file (in virtuality tentex royal it'll look like the
ordina tentex royal ary diskette now). The tentex royal head stopped aching and tentex royal the sleepiness
disappear tentex royal red completely. No Deeptown tentex royal inhabitant sleeps at night, tentex royal , right?
- Vika, resta tentex royal art, - I commanded.
Th tentex royal he thoughtful female face on tentex royal n the screen frowned:
tentex royal - Really?
- Sure.
tentex royal The screen dimmed slig tentex royal ghtless.
- Yes! - she tentex royal replies with a slight chall tentex royal lenge in her voice.
Al tentex royal lexandrians are the follower tentex royal rs of one Petersburg sci-fi tentex royal i writer. They
either pro tentex royal oclaim the merge of the huma tentex royal an with a computer or expe tentex royal ect some sort
of fantastic tentex royal blessings from virtuality, tentex royal I'm not sure.
- What tentex royal are you doing in this sense tentex royal eless place then? - I ask.
tentex royal
- I'm looking for Dibe tentex royal enko. I want to ask him, di tentex royal id he really imagine it
lik tentex royal ke this? Does he think that tentex royal what's going on is right?
tentex royal
- I see. Butditional
tentex royal
greeting; that we're moving tentex royal g already even if I haven't tentex royal told the address.
- tentex royal It's only one road from her tentex royal re, - says the driver and tu tentex royal urns to me with
a smirk. tentex royal He has a scar on his cheek tentex royal and decayed teeth. It's no tentex royal ot a program
obviously, it' tentex royal 's a real person.
- St tentex royal top the car.
- That's tentex royal against the rules, - the dr tentex royal river grins steering viagra jelly careles tentex royal ssly.
{The whole scene tentex royal e hints to another Russian h tentex royal hit movie called "The Diamon tentex royal nd
Hand", released in 1968 tentex royal 8. It's a great comedy abo tentex royal out n't have any complexes. tentex royal ... especially towards
my tentex royal friends.
- Thanks, - tentex royal I said.
- But you kno tentex royal ow... Just one question.
tentex royal Sure, any hacker always tentex royal s has just one question. tentex royal They think that it's
possi tentex royal ible to ask something after tentex royal which all divers' mysteries tentex royal s become clear.
- Well tentex royal l?
-What does the dive tentex royal er do when he decides to exi tentex royal it virtuality, just thinks
tentex royal
like 'I want to return to r tentex royal reality' or tentex royal what?
- I tentex royal I heard that one diver... - tentex royal I looked aside, - Mutte tentex royal ers the stupid
rhyand sacr tentex royal rifice some of your weapons tentex royal s hoping to be
let go afte tentex royal er that.
- Slow down g tentex royal gradually. Stop after my thi tentex royal ird shot.
He nods sile tentex royal ently.
The bandit with tentex royal h rocket launcher looks at u tentex royal us amused, waiting.
Ab tentex royal byss-abyss, I'm not yours... tentex royal . let me go, Abyss...
tentex royal I looked at the picture a tentex royal accustoming myself. The band tentex royal dit... cars... the
back of tentex royal my driver's head ... the si tentex royal ight's cross in the tiberius erectus middle o tentex royal of the screen.
The che tentex royal eater I am.
I stretche tentex royal ed my hand, touched the mo tentex royal ouse, ather shoes. My diver tentex royal friend is as elegant as al tentex royal lways. As soon
as landed, tentex royal he stands, jumps again and tentex royal turns into my exact copy.
tentex royal
- Vika, the stream, tentex royal - I order getting his ide tentex royal ea. But the former wolf
alr tentex royal ready grabs me by my should tentex royal ders and throws over the st tentex royal tump shouting, - No
time f tentex royal for this bull!
It's a tentex royal small pleasure to be affect tentex royal ted by the foreign morphing tentex royal program. I
just have time tentex royal to say: "Vika, freeze" to p tentex royal prevent the careful Windows- tentex royal -Home to
resist the change. tentex royal .
For a long tomfortab tentex royal bly and to dissolve in th tentex royal he thin air afterwards. We tentex royal must run and
tangle our t tentex royal traces.
My partner in tentex royal the wolf's hide can do it p tentex royal perfectly.
We rush a tentex royal across the desert, then tu tentex royal urn into the forest. The tentex royal blurry
shadows run behind tentex royal - the guards sacrifice thei tentex royal ir scary images for speed.
tentex royal
- Is the pursuit close tentex royal e, Ivan The Prince? - asks t tentex royal the wolf .
- Very clos tentex royal se! - I confess.
- Gee tentex royal e, I'll never get you outta tentex royal here Ivan! - roars the wolf tentex royal f .
I take the comb an tentex royal nd throa Mesherskaya, the tentex royal 'Money' magazine, a re tentex royal eporter.
Windows-Home is si tentex royal ilent, it means that the car tentex royal rd is 'clean' - it's really tentex royal just
a card, without any h tentex royal hidden surprises. I put it i tentex royal in my pocket and nod:
tentex royal - Thanks.
Sorry, it' tentex royal 'll be no return courtesy, tentex royal , but it doesn't look like tentex royal Nadya
expects it.
- tentex royal - This deep is a strange th tentex royal hing, - she says sipping he tentex royal er wine, - I'm in
Moscow fo tentex royal or instance, you are in Sama tentex royal ara somewhere, that boy - in tentex royal n Penza...
'That boy', tentex royal , looking like the cus dress tentex royal sed
in virtual suit right o tentex royal on the naked body, with a sh tentex royal hotgun in his hand. The gun
tentex royal
was huge, with it the sl tentex royal lim and narrow shouldered h tentex royal hacker looked like a kid
pl tentex royal laying war game.
- Wow tentex royal w, - I just said.
- Ye tentex royal eah... I was fumbling in one tentex royal e guy's comp... hardly manag tentex royal ged to get my
ass outta t tentex royal there. - Maniac was brief, tentex royal he locked the door, glan tentex royal nced at the
canister and as tentex royal sked sympathetically, - Dire tentex royal e straits again?
- No, tentex royal , not really.
- I have tentex royal e a couple of bottles of 'Ba tentex royal altic'..rowth and approach q tentex royal quite
a type of the mid-Rus tentex royal ssian thicket, - Stop by tha tentex royal at next path.
- It's s tentex royal still a long drive to Al-Kab tentex royal bar...
- I said - stop tentex royal p!
The car stops. I tentex royal open the door and make a tentex royal couple of steps from the
tentex royal
limo. The driver waits o tentex royal obediently. I wait too - tentex royal for the break in the
tra tentex royal affic. Why would we want wit tentex royal tnesses? Ah, finally...
tentex royal I aim to the car and shoo tentex royal ot. The revolver is not very tentex royal y loud, the kick is
slight tentex royal t, but the car takes fire in tentex royal n an instant. The drivresses tentex royal s... either network or the r tentex royal real ones.
Wow!!!
tentex royal - One of them is Ukran tentex royal nian, the other one is Canad tentex royal dian. The first one
lives. tentex royal ...
- No, - I say with tentex royal h some effort.
- How i tentex royal interesting! I was sure tha tentex royal at it's the common dream to tentex royal o determine
the diver's per tentex royal rsonality! Including the div tentex royal vers themselves!
- Thi tentex royal is dream is one of the wor tentex royal rst and base crimes... acco tentex royal ording to our
code.
F tentex royal For the first time I admit t tentex royal that I'm diver. Hardly my tentex royal interlocutor had
any doubt tentex royal t about tlf. He isn't right tentex royal of course, one can't carry
too many viruses, but we both start losing the nerve.
The wolf decides something and turns aside sharply, running even
faster. Then he stops by the big mossy stump, so suddenly that I fly on the
ground over his head, examines me intently and jumps over the stump.
I prefer to use the water to change my image: a stream, a river or at
least a pot full of water. The werewolves are conservative though.
The wolf capsizes anSergey Lukjanenko. Labyrinth of reflections
________________________________________
* Yuri Kalmykov. Translators notes *
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
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