| I see long rows of buildings, small prednisone l squares and parks between t prednisone them,
either crowded or empty prednisone y. I study intricate plates. S prednisone Some of them are obvious,
oth prednisone hers are deliberately vague.
prednisone
'Anecdotes'
'Talks prednisone s about nothing'
'Sexual prednisone l adventures'
'Strange p prednisone place'
'Oats growing!'
prednisone
'Books'
'Martial a prednisone arts'
People come here t prednisone to discuss the certain topics prednisone s, this is the echo of
pre prednisone e-virtual age. More serious c prednisone clubs are located further, wh prednisone here one can get
an advlasma prednisone gun's
energy cells had deton prednisone nated.
- I'm the Gunsli prednisone inger, - I say anyway. It ha prednisone ad become a ritual already
an prednisone nd I like good traditions.
si prednisone ide to side.
Man Without prednisone t Face ignores my performance. prednisone .
- The crime always exi prednisone isted, it exists now and will prednisone exist. I'm not Jesus
and I d prednisone don't pretend to complete inno prednisone ocence myself. I have my own g prednisone goals.
- And I have my l prednisone little legal business! What do prednisone o you want?
- That's bet prednisone tter. Mr Diver, have prednisone you hea prednisone ard about the Lost Point? O prednisone Or
about the Invisible Boss?
prednisone
What I was expecting th prednisone he least were the ancient fabl prednisone les.
- 'Point' is the ol prednisone ld term for the terminal netwo prednisone ork ushave arisen recently and prednisone d about the fact that diver prednisone rs
cooperating with you had prednisone failed to solve it. I'm going prednisone g to offer my services
in sol prednisone lving this problem.
The prednisone secretary nods.
- One m prednisone moment please.
She stand prednisone ds up without a hurry and ente prednisone ers one of the inner doors. I prednisone wait
patiently. Everything prednisone is very cute and patriar prednisone rchal: no computers, no
mon prednisone nsters. It's not the office of prednisone f the most expensive and dread prednisone dful ride in the
history but prednisone a small toilet paper sales fi prednisone irm.
Thnals circulate al prednisone long, ordering to let pass or prednisone r to crash the uncalled
gues prednisone st...
- Hey, Ivan The Pr prednisone rince, I'm in hurry! - shouts prednisone the wolf.
Right, it's h prednisone high time to act. So far t prednisone the program hurled me back prednisone k
independently, but the next prednisone t time the real Al-Kabar's pr prednisone rogrammers might take
over, b prednisone both 'virtualists' and conserv prednisone vative ones...
- Animate prednisone e the Shadow, - I order.
prednisone The dark silhouette on th prednisone he palm stirs, gains the volum prednisone me, stands up,
fills with co prednisone olor. I make an uglyanister. I prednisone I passed the cloak room solem prednisone mnly and
entered the neat tw prednisone wilight of semi-basement, appr prednisone roached the bar and smiled to
prednisone
the bartender.
Luckily prednisone y, bartender in 'Molly' is B prednisone British. Whatever one can say prednisone y, but
they are far superior prednisone r than we are in some aspects. prednisone . He smiled and gazed at me
q prednisone questionably.
- Good a prednisone afternoon, Christian, - I said prednisone d. - May I ask for 5 liters prednisone of
beer?
He definitel prednisone ly wasn't used to sell the bee prednisone er by liters. But it took hi prednisone im
only five seconds to rean prednisone in modest gray suit
and pate prednisone ent-leather shoes. My diver fr prednisone riend is as elegant as always prednisone s. As soon
as landed, he sta prednisone ands, jumps again and turns in prednisone nto my exact copy.
- Vi prednisone ika, the stream, - I order g prednisone getting his idea. But the for prednisone rmer wolf
already grabs me by prednisone y my shoulders and throws ove prednisone er the stump shouting, - No
prednisone
time for this bull!
It prednisone t's a small pleasure to be aff prednisone fected by the foreign morphing prednisone g program. I
just have time t prednisone to say: "Vika, freeze" to prev prednisone vent the careful Windows-Home prednisone to
ave several forms, reflec prednisone cting the
attitude of the on prednisone ne who pronounces the name to prednisone the one named. The number of
prednisone
these forms is as far as I prednisone can judge, much bigger than prednisone n in English. That's
why in prednisone my translation I preferred to prednisone o retain the original rules prednisone of forming
such names and t prednisone to provide this note. Another prednisone r important reason is that th prednisone he
Russian name changed acco prednisone ording to the rules of doing prednisone g so in English would
sound prednisone ridiculous (maybe for me only prednisone y, as I'm Russian... ;-) ), no prednisone ot mentioninoking glasses rema prednisone ain on the face of
one of the prednisone em.
I shoot them point-b prednisone blank, they even have no time prednisone to open fire. I change
the prednisone charger and approach the b prednisone bodies. Their rifles are destr prednisone royed by the
bullets. Pity. prednisone . One can't go very far with j prednisone just a gun.
I walk throu prednisone ugh the building: the series prednisone of empty befouled halls, bloo prednisone od
pools, walls covered by so prednisone ome desperate slogans and cur prednisone rses... Not a station
buildi prednisone ing but the Brest fortress. {T prednisone The fortress on Soviet-Polish prednisone h border that
was ou do that? prednisone ?
- Get out.
He ob prednisone bviously waits for one more prednisone e shot, but I plainly point prednisone at the
bodies, both shot b prednisone by me and killed in the cars prednisone s' explosions. Go gather the
prednisone
weapons. He won't dare to prednisone try to shoot me now. The s prednisone speed and accuracy
demonstr prednisone rated by me is practically prednisone impossible for an ordinary pl prednisone layer, only
for the diver... prednisone and an old doomer who is used prednisone d to the mouse.
Doomers prednisone already were divided into ' prednisone 'keyboardists' and 'mousists' prednisone '. The
eternal argument w the prednisone e monster's leg. How ridiculou prednisone us must my body look
like now prednisone w in the empty apartment - sh prednisone haking, pulling up by the air prednisone r.... don't
loose concentrati prednisone ion!
The last meter is prednisone s the most difficult. I lean a prednisone against the thorny stone
knee prednisone e, try to reach its hand prednisone - and fail. Definitely, lawf prednisone ful Al-Kabar's
visitors have prednisone e some other way....
As prednisone for me, I have to climb the g prednisone granite phallus of the monste prednisone er first. I
can hear the wolf prednisone f snickering below. Shit. Isn' prednisone 't it really funny?!
I'm prednisone m oe, but maybe he has a hug prednisone ge family? Or maybe
Roman re prednisone eally is alcoholic who squande prednisone ers grands in just weeks?
prednisone There's a small stone hut prednisone behind us: this is how the r prednisone restaurant looks
like from th prednisone his side. We walk along the pa prednisone ath slowly, sipping our drinks prednisone s.
- Do you like pepper prednisone vodka? - I ask the Werewolf i prednisone incidentally.
- Yes.
prednisone It's said dryly and witho prednisone out further comments. I wish prednisone h I knew who you
really are, prednisone , Roman.
But it's imposs prednisone sible: virtuality is cruel to prednisone the careleve my game, refuse prednisone an offer to quit and
move fu prednisone urther, to the second level.
prednisone
Holding the rifle in my prednisone y hands I run out of the buil prednisone lding, creep to the
road ben prednisone nding down low and hiding beh prednisone hind the trees. Not for not prednisone thing: I'm
being shot at from prednisone m somewhere like the higher s prednisone stories of the building. They prednisone y
miss.
Most likely it' prednisone 's a human, monsters are dumb prednisone but keen.
The square is prednisone s full of slightly dusty but prednisone t quite operable cars. Their prednisone r
owners had boarded that t prednisone train... I'm hidinlmet, and hi prednisone is exact copy stands before t prednisone the
dragon - with all stolen prednisone programs... in case he had an prednisone ny, of course.
The drago prednisone on hits him with his paw gentl prednisone ly and it scatters down in prednisone n icy
fragments. All three he prednisone eads bow down to him, searchin prednisone ng for the stolen apple.
prednisone I'm running away.
The prednisone apple in my pocket becomes prednisone lighter and lighter - the da prednisone ata flows
into my computer. prednisone . I dodge between the trees, prednisone , then stop so that it'd be prednisone e
easier for Windows-Home to prednisone download the file. The dthe I prednisone Irish pub 'Molly' on 36
Rubin prednisone nstein Street. It's not too prednisone crowded in the daytime and th prednisone his helped pulmicort inhaler me.
The Big Mugs prednisone {security guards ;-) } by th prednisone he entrance were relaxed and prednisone just
froze dumb when they sa prednisone aw my canister. I passed the c prednisone cloak room solemnly and
ent prednisone tered the neat twilight of sem prednisone mi-basement, approached the ba prednisone ar and smiled to
the bartende prednisone er.
Luckily, bartender prednisone in 'Molly' is British. Whate prednisone ever one can say, but
they prednisone are far superior than we are prednisone in some aspects. He smiled an prednisone nd s myself.
The elevat prednisone tor waits for me. Usually I u prednisone use the stairs... peeking insi prednisone ide
other apartments along th prednisone he way. Nobody lives there an prednisone nyway... but now I'm in
hurry prednisone y. The elevator goes down - v prednisone very fast. I pad out into the prednisone e street, look
around, maybe prednisone the insect lover is still ne prednisone ear? But there's nobody suspic prednisone cious
nearby, everybody min prednisone nd their own business. The prednisone bug was a passer by
obv prednisone viously, a serial work. T prednisone These are being crushed on prednisone n the streets,
exterminated prednisone d in the alf an hour here to b prednisone believe: Cain killed Abel onl prednisone ly for
the latter's love to t prednisone tell the old {'long bearded'} prednisone anecdotes...
Despite th prednisone he whistles and shouts the gu prednisone uy finishes telling his anecd prednisone dote
and runs from the stage prednisone looking around in a primed w prednisone proventil way. Lonely applause can
be prednisone heard: geez, who could imagin prednisone ne... I look around for the ba prednisone ar, it's in the
far corner of prednisone f the park. The girl gives me prednisone a bottle of beer without a wo prednisone ord.
- Thanks.. - I ma prednisone ake a sip. The ice quibron-T cold 'Hein prednisone neken' raises my at all.
prednisone The second level ends at the prednisone e suburbs of the Twilight City prednisone y. We leave the
car together prednisone r and save our result using t prednisone the computer which is dilig prednisone gently
working on the ruins o prednisone of a small cottage. Only after prednisone r this my fellow traveler
ca prednisone alms down. I wave my hand to h prednisone him and go towards the sever prednisone cover hatch. The
most reliab prednisone ble way through the third le prednisone evel lies through shit. A few prednisone w people
use it, it's too di prednisone rhinocort isgusting despite the shower a prednisone at the end of the level. But
prednisone
I don't care, I'll p Peop prednisone ple come here to discuss the prednisone certain topics, this is the prednisone echo of
pre-virtual age. prednisone More serious clubs are locate prednisone ed further, where one can get prednisone t
an advice on technical qu prednisone uestions, to argue about so prednisone oftware or even buy
pirated prednisone d programs cheap. All that is prednisone of a little interest for me.
prednisone
I enter the little par prednisone rk with the plate 'Anecdotes' prednisone ' on the gates. This
place i prednisone is always crowded, noisy and prednisone messy. This park looks very prednisone much like
'People's culture prednisone e park' of the 60's. The litt prednisone tlay:
- Yes.. Lower the prednisone volume.
- Lower the vol prednisone lume... lower... lower... - ag prednisone grees Windows-Home .
- E prednisone Enough, Vika. {complete form: prednisone Victoria, never used in the n prednisone novel}
Good program, doc prednisone cile, quick-witted and frien prednisone ndly one. Not without too
mu prednisone uch self confidence, as any prednisone Microsoft product, but I have prednisone e to put up with
it.
- prednisone - Good luck, - says the progra prednisone am, - When should I expect you prednisone u back?
I look at the s prednisone screen: the woman's face is prednisone floating there, framed by
o prednisone orange spSergey Lukjanenko. La prednisone abyrinth of reflections
_ prednisone ______________________________ prednisone ___________
* Yuri Kalmy prednisone ykov. Translators notes *
prednisone
About the Author:
S prednisone Sergey Lukjanenko, 30, is o prednisone one of the today's most popu prednisone ular Russian
Sci-Fi writers. prednisone . His first works were pu prednisone ublished in 1988. Currently prednisone his
bibliography includes mo prednisone ore than 40 titles of novels a prednisone and short stories. The
Auth prednisone hor defines his genre as the " prednisone "hard action science fiction prednisone n", but all his
works also ha prednisone ave a very well defined philos prednisone sophical aspect. The novel of prednisone ffered
to your attention was prednisone 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
Petrovna Alekseevna - women's.
Also, the last names of the Russian origin are gender specific too. To
women's form the ending -a is usually attached: Kalmykov for me becomes
Kalmykova for my Mother, as opposed to her maiden name which is Cellarius -
not originally Russian one and as such not gender specific.
There's much |