| ed "The Diamond
Hand", relea flovent ased in 1968. It's flovent s a great comedy ab flovent bout a modest aged flovent Soviet
engineer flovent who went to the s flovent sea cruise abroad flovent for the first tim flovent me and was
confused flovent d (and misplaced) wi flovent ith a jewelry smuggl flovent lers' courier.}
flovent Uh-oh.
- Vi flovent ika, exit! - I comma flovent and.
No answer flovent r.
- Your lit flovent ttle program doesn't flovent t hear you, - infor flovent rms the driver, - S flovent Stay
put, okie? It' flovent 'll be the best.
flovent I never heard ab flovent bout virtual abducti flovent ions before.
- flovent - Who are you?
flovent The Beard justdemo flovent onstratively I empty flovent y my pockets: a com flovent mb, a handkerchief, flovent a
small mirror.
flovent
- Here. Do you flovent u want me to give yo flovent ou my sword?
U flovent Urman waves his hand flovent ds:
- Geez, flovent what for? We surel flovent ly aren't gonna fig flovent ght, are we? Let's flovent just
talk...
flovent - Third router was flovent s traced.
- I flovent It's such a pity tha flovent at less and less tim flovent me remains for our flovent talk, - I
sigh.
flovent
- Yes, it's n flovent never enough time. W flovent Well, Mr Diver, I h flovent have the reasons to flovent o
suspect that some flovent e persons would like flovent e to obtain some of flovent ou One should be flovent e an idiot to try t flovent to fight the gang li flovent ike this alone, it's flovent s
easier to submit flovent yourself and sacri flovent ifice some of your flovent weapons hoping to flovent be
let go after th flovent hat.
- Slow do flovent own gradually. Stop flovent after my third shot flovent t.
He nods sil flovent lently.
The ba flovent andit with rocket la flovent auncher looks at us flovent amused, waiting.
flovent Abyss-abyss, I' flovent 'm not yours... let flovent me go, Abyss...
flovent I looked at the flovent picture accustomi flovent ing myself. The band flovent dit... cars... the
flovent
back of my driver's flovent s head ... the sight flovent t's crossI, the cool flovent l hacker, - he
decl flovent lared with a chall flovent lenge, - am just on flovent ne of the millions flovent in the Abyss...
we flovent ell, just a little s flovent smarter possibly, I flovent have some experienc flovent ce after all. But
flovent
sometimes... such s flovent shit happens anyway. flovent ...
He kept si flovent ilence for some time flovent e, twiddling the fra flovent ank in his hands, flovent then
informed:
flovent - I ate a mouse flovent a couple of days ag flovent go.
- What?!
flovent
- A computer m flovent mouse.. Well, not th flovent he mouse itself, it' flovent 's too hard... just flovent t
bit off the wire. flovent .
- Why? - I flovent I asked numbly.
clu flovent ubs' buildings. Thr flovent rough the barred win flovent ndows of the Martial flovent l Arts club I can
s flovent see the fragile bu flovent uilt Eastern lookin flovent ng guy demonstrating flovent g some complicated
flovent
moves. In the open flovent n air type cinema ca flovent alled 'Movies' the i flovent imposing man gesture flovent es
energetically st flovent tanding before the s flovent screen. I peek insid flovent de and hear:
- flovent - Cheap stuff! This flovent movie is a disgusti flovent ing cheap stuff!
flovent Boring-boring-bo flovent oring, Ladies and Ge flovent entlemen...
Al flovent lexandrians are pro flovent obably right: we hav flovent ve turned the virtua flovent al world into
the p flovent paing okay Lenia?
flovent I look around.
flovent
- Yes. I'll g flovent go for a walk, Vika. flovent .
I pick up flovent the diskette and p flovent put it into my poc flovent cket. The portable flovent CD
player lies o flovent on the shelf among s flovent several books and th flovent he pile of CDs. I in flovent nsert
ELO's CD in flovent nto it, put on headp flovent phones, push 'play'. flovent . 'Roll over Beetho flovent oven' -
just what I flovent I wanted. Accompanie flovent ed by the cheerful flovent music I leave the a flovent apartment
and shut flovent the door.
No flovent bugs this time. St flovent tanding on the side flovent ewalk, I raise my ha flovent and and stop
the c flovent cab. Thmselves did flovent d that but their flovent deep-programs. Thos flovent se stopped were
m flovent mostly enthusiastic flovent amateurs pursuing u flovent us just for fun.
flovent - Oh Ivan, my flovent strength is exhau flovent usted! - screams th flovent he wolf. I can't
flovent
understand whether flovent r he's really wo flovent orried or plays t flovent the fairy tale so flovent o
recklessly.
flovent It's the mirror's flovent turn now. When I th flovent hrow it back, my usu flovent ually restrained
Wi flovent indows-Home screams: flovent :
- NOT ETHICA flovent AL!
Sure it's flovent not! This is not an flovent n innocent prank wit flovent th quick growing bao flovent obabs
anymore
flovent I take a sip, - I flovent wish I knew where t flovent this river was taken flovent n from.
- More flovent e beautiful place ne flovent ever have I seen in flovent my life... - pronou flovent unces the
Werewolf flovent in a strange voice. flovent .
Oh right, i flovent it's like this alway flovent ys. Everybody have t flovent their own associatio flovent ons
and analogies. flovent Maybe this landsca flovent ape means something flovent g to Roman. For me flovent it's
not more than flovent n just a nice place. flovent .
- Have you b flovent been here before?
flovent - In some sense flovent e.
Interesting flovent g.
- What are flovent those birds, Roman? flovent ?
- Harpies, - flovent -n
reality and illu flovent usion, and clumsy gu flovent uys like myself who flovent don't even notice t flovent this
barrier.
flovent There wouldn't eve flovent er be envy to each o flovent other and eternal hu flovent unt.
But is it flovent t my fault? I don't flovent t know why it happ flovent pens myself, what fl flovent law of
consciousnes flovent ss makes one a div flovent ver, and it is of co flovent ourse a flaw since flovent we are
such a min flovent nority. It'd be stup flovent pid not to use this flovent ability but too dr flovent readful to
offer it flovent t for everyone's stu flovent udy.
That's ho flovent ow it goes: somebo flovent ody can do long flovent jumps of eight me flovent eters,
down my movem flovent ments as if I was wa flovent alking on the sand.
flovent
The left leg wa flovent as slowed down a bit flovent t more than the rig flovent ght proventil one: the progra flovent am
glitches again. flovent Ah well, I'll fix i flovent it later.
Putt flovent ting the helmet o flovent on is the same as t flovent to enter the hot o flovent oven. Those
Al-Kaba flovent ar's fouls surroun flovent nded themselves w flovent with the most u flovent uncomfortable
condi flovent itions...
Agai flovent in I was looking at flovent the virtual world, flovent but it is yet too m flovent much like a
cheap c flovent cartoon: a grainy flovent image, a nice but flovent rough drawing. Com flovent mputers can't- All t flovent the same diver, the flovent essence doesn't cha flovent ange.
- Well, flovent but today the new l flovent legend was born.
flovent - Which one?
flovent - About Man With flovent hout Face.
My flovent interlocutor shakes flovent s his head.
- flovent Hardly will it b flovent be so intriguing as flovent s the youth dresse flovent ed in smoking
cloth flovent hes...
We both flovent h laugh quietly.
flovent - So Mr Diver... flovent . have you ever play flovent yed in the 'Labyrint flovent th of Death'?
flovent - Possibly.
- flovent - Do you know that t flovent two divers cooperate flovent e with them?
- flovent - I can assume that. flovent .
Even two? Ii flovent is the battle virus flovent in my computer.
flovent - The others wer flovent re slower?
- N flovent Nobody ever crossed flovent this bridge before flovent e, - kindly informs flovent me the bald
guard, flovent , - It's impossible flovent for the human to ke flovent eep balance on the h flovent horsehair.
- I flovent It means that the he flovent eaven stays empty, flovent - I sigh. Looks li flovent ike it's not
me who flovent o leads the events a flovent anymore but they lea flovent ad me. I don't like flovent this turn...
flovent pulmicort inhaler - Well, but the Hel flovent ll does always have flovent plenty of space for flovent r everybody.
N flovent Nice promise.
flovent - Move it.
No flovent othing they cut off flovent their guaranteed re flovent etreat and dive to t flovent the very
bottom.
flovent It's the dive flovent ers who drag them flovent back. All big g flovent game centers have
flovent
communication wit flovent th somebody of us. flovent The biggest ones flovent even keep anonymou flovent us
employees on pe flovent ermanent contract. flovent It's cheaper to pay flovent y us than relatives flovent s of
the player who flovent o died of exhaustion flovent n.
I was loo flovent oking at Unfortunat flovent te. He was dresse flovent ed in regular mask flovent king
overalls, prot flovent tection mask-helmet flovent and had only a gun flovent n as a weapon: he e flovent either
entet' {raw flovent w-smoked
hard saus flovent sage} and a real ham flovent m. And also... well, flovent , I'll buy the coffe flovent ee maker.
Down wit flovent th instant coffee!
flovent
When for the flovent first time in two flovent days I started to s flovent shave and cut myself flovent f
quite tangibly, N flovent New Russian's fanta flovent asy suggested me to flovent get 'Shick-Protecto flovent or'
also. Nothing e flovent else could come into flovent o my mind after that flovent t, just some messy i flovent ideas
about the sec flovent cond phone line and flovent d second modem - in flovent order for Vika to b flovent be able
to downloa flovent ad mail and do some flovent other simple tasks flovent s while I'm travel
flovent
animated series pro flovent oduced in70's, FAR c flovent cooler one than Disn flovent ney's IMHO}
I flovent start feeling mysel flovent lf bored to death.
flovent
Just why Shtir flovent rlitz and Pooh anecd flovent dotes are so popular flovent r in virtuality?! Is flovent s
it some weird kin flovent nd of psychologic ab flovent berration?...
flovent - Thanks for the be flovent eer, - I say to the flovent girl and walk out o flovent of the park.
M flovent My mood can't be ca flovent alled lousy, but it flovent t's odd. I toil mys flovent self along the
club flovent bs' buildings. Thro flovent ough the barred wind flovent dows of the Martial flovent Arts club I can
se flovent ee the fragile bui flovent ilt Eand throws a be flovent eer bottle at the gu flovent uy. I
understand he flovent er perfectly: 90% of flovent f all anecdotes told flovent d here is an ancient flovent t junk.
This club flovent is most loved by t flovent the newbies in vi flovent irtuality... who do flovent on't yet
realize t flovent the little fact that flovent t there's nothing n flovent new under the sky. O flovent One have to
spend n flovent not more than half a flovent an hour here to beli flovent ieve: Cain killed A flovent Abel only for
the l flovent latter's love to tel flovent ll the old {'long be flovent earded'} anecdotes.. flovent ..
Despite the flovent e whistles and shout flovent ts the guy finishes flovent s telling his anecd flovent dote
and rr
about flovent the Invisible Boss? flovent ?
What I was e flovent expecting the least flovent were the ancient fa flovent ables.
- 'Poin flovent nt' is the old term flovent for the terminal ne flovent etwork user?
- flovent - Yes, the user of F flovent Fidonet... this one flovent existed some time a flovent ago.
- Maybe flovent I've heard about th flovent hat... Is it about t flovent the guy who was kill flovent led by
electric sh flovent hock being in virt flovent tuality? And his co flovent onsciousness somehow flovent w stayed
alive in t flovent the Net?
- Yes flovent s. The youth with a flovent pale face and burne flovent ed clothes who asks flovent everybody
whom he flovent meets to repodri flovent ink my
beer in peac flovent ce.
I dragged flovent out a pile of small flovent l notes from the ri flovent ight pocket of my j flovent jeans
and started t flovent to examine it. The g flovent guards' breathing be flovent ecame faster again.
flovent
Shit, do I re flovent eally look that lous flovent sy?!
A thick flovent pack of hundred tho flovent ousand rouble notes flovent s emerged from the flovent e left
pocket. I pu flovent ut three notes on th flovent he bar, took the mug flovent g and turned around. flovent .
Have anybod flovent dy really stood h flovent here? No, looks li flovent ike I was imagini flovent ing
things...
flovent Having seated by flovent the nearest table flovent I done by Man Wit flovent thout
Face, I'm c flovent cut off from my ope flovent erating system, I c flovent could expect that t flovent type of
surprise.
flovent
Abyss-abyss, I flovent I'm not yours...
flovent It turned out th flovent hat my head is achin flovent ng badly. Must be th flovent he beer...
I flovent took off the helmet flovent t, grabbed the mous flovent se, launched 'Bioco flovent onstructor',
hastil flovent ly opened the 'Clo flovent othing' window, the flovent en 'Headgear', fou flovent und something
look flovent king like beret or c flovent cap. Then I filled i flovent it with steel gray c flovent color and hooked
it flovent t on my figure, pers flovent son number seven, Gu flovent unslinger.y computer flovent r.
- The other flovent rs were slower?
flovent - Nobody ever cro flovent ossed this bridge before, - kindly informs me the bald
guard, - It's impossible for the human to keep balance on the horsehair.
- It means that the heaven stays empty, - I sigh. Looks like it's not
me who leads the events anymore but they lead me. I don't like this turn...
- Well, but the Hell does always have plenty of space for everybody.
Nice promise.
- Move it.
Nothing else to do but to obey.Sergey Lukjanenko. Labyrinth of reflections
________________________________________
flovent
* Yuri Kalmykov. quibron-T 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, prednisone 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 |