| "Labyrinth" have changed at leas ventolin st ten times:
new buil ventolin ldings, weapons and mon ventolin nsters were added. And ventolin of course, new players
ventolin
have arrived: game add ventolin dicts who can't imagine ventolin their lives without sho ventolin ooting on
the streets o ventolin of Twilight City.
ventolin It's an interesting ventolin game, mainly because ventolin e it requires consta ventolin ant
communication with ventolin h other people, not j ventolin just 'fighting to death ventolin h' like in
'Mortal Co ventolin ombat', not diplomatic n ventolin notes and threats exchan ventolin nge like in 'C&C' but
d ventolin direct communication: ma ventolin aking udkerchief, slow ventolin as if underwater, and ventolin d the shiny
plane of li ventolin ight cuts through the fa ventolin alling asleep pavilion's ventolin s little world. Some
pe ventolin eople call this progr ventolin ram "the sticker", ot ventolin thers - "the road". ventolin Both
definitions are ventolin true. The program searc ventolin ches for someone else's ventolin s communication
channel ventolin ls and starts using them ventolin m for its own benefit.
ventolin
Very-very new, rar ventolin re and almost faultless ventolin program.
A part ventolin of the wall ruins, o ventolin opening the exit out ventolin to the street.
Obvi ventolin iously, I utilized Urma ventolin aseriously. - I sacri ventolin ifice an extemely
pers ventolin spective technology. You ventolin u can give it to Mr Sh ventolin hellerbach and convey ventolin my
personal kind reg ventolin gards to him. There's ventolin one single thing I'm ventolin asking for -
please, r ventolin return here after that ventolin and let's discuss the p ventolin permanent cooperation.
ventolin
I wouldn't hide from y ventolin you the fact that right ventolin now we are in a despera ventolin ate need
of diver's ser ventolin rvices.
- Fourth ventolin router is traced... fif ventolin fth router is traced... ventolin . alarm! Alarm!!
Alarm! ventolin !!!
- Okay, - I r ventolin rise too. So suddeears t ventolin to build the city like D ventolin Deeptown.
Everythi ventolin ing had changed dramati ventolin ically when Dmitry Dib ventolin benko, the former
hack ventolin ker from Moscow (now the ventolin e wealthy US citizen) i ventolin invented The Deep: a t ventolin tiny
program influenci ventolin ing human subconscious ventolin sness. They say he was ventolin crazy about
Castaneda ventolin a's books, liked to med ventolin ditate and smoked grass ventolin s. I surely believe in
ventolin
it. His former friends ventolin confess that he was c ventolin cynical and lazy, a slo ventolin oven and
very so-so pro ventolin ofessional. In this I do ventolin o believe too.
But ventolin t it was himthose there, ventolin , while the missing fac ventolin ce
with such unusual
ventolin dress is just stupid. B ventolin But looks impressive nev ventolin vertheless.
- Seme ventolin en, leave us, - says Man ventolin n Without Face.
Th ventolin he driver nods, turns ventolin around and leaves some ventolin ewhere into the shelves ventolin s
labyrinth. His steps ventolin fade slowly and I note ventolin that the echo is excell ventolin lent here,
maybe to mak ventolin ke it impossible to move ventolin e around unnoticed.
ventolin - You are the diver, ventolin - says Man Without Face ventolin e.
Oh sure. Today ventolin y's tradition: somebody ventolin tries to catch me agai ventolin in, foThere's no comple ventolin ete maps in existence. ventolin . "Labyrinth" changes
ventolin
constantly and on it ventolin ts own. This is not a ventolin movie, not a book af ventolin fter all
Gunslinger. T ventolin This is the whole world, ventolin , the miracle world! The ventolin e miracle can't be
stat ventolin tic.
* PART 2. " ventolin "Labyrinth" *
0
ventolin
The Portal thro ventolin ough which "Labyrinth" i ventolin is connected to the re ventolin est of the
deep is re ventolin eally beautiful. It's a ventolin huge black marble ark ventolin going up into the
sk ventolin ky. Purple sparks slide ventolin along it back and fort ventolin th and low rumble is el ventolin lly droning
computer, ventolin his eyes watered, the ventolin keyboard under his sti ventolin iff fingers totally
r ventolin ruined. The key he was u ventolin using as a shotgun trigg ventolin ger was stuck.
The ventolin e guy shut down the com ventolin mputer and fell asleep r ventolin right by the table. The
ventolin
employees that soon ventolin arrived noticed that h ventolin his face and hands we ventolin ere badly
bruised.
ventolin He told about what ha ventolin appened and of course no ventolin obody believed him. Onl ventolin ly by
the evening, thin ventolin nking about what could h ventolin happen, he remembered ab ventolin bout Dibenko's
meditati ventolin ion program and so come ventolin here more and more t ventolin times. I approach the
ventolin
station building from ventolin m its left wing and q ventolin quickly check several f ventolin familiar
caches: in the ventolin e sewer, in the power ventolin lowering booth and in ventolin the cabin of the
overt ventolin turned locomotive that ventolin t lays across the track ventolin ks. There's nothing in t ventolin the
sewer, in the boo ventolin oth I find two charg ventolin gers, and a sandwich ventolin wrapped in
transparen ventolin nt wrapping is in the lo ventolin ocomotive. No people or ventolin monsters show up yet
a ventolin and this is odd.
I ventolin I approach one of the ventolin e buildingut Face, - Yo ventolin ou'll
get it... in case ventolin e of your success.
ventolin I nod silently.
ventolin - Note that there'll b ventolin be other aspirants, - in ventolin nforms Man Without Face, ventolin , -
We're looking for ventolin divers everywhere in ventolin the deep, and will fin ventolin nd many, and
will tell ventolin them the same I've told ventolin d you.
- What's th ventolin here, in "Labyrinth"? - ventolin - I ask turning my gaze ventolin away from the
Medal.
ventolin
- I have no idea. ventolin . This is what worries m ventolin me.
I allow myself ventolin f to smirk, tell me that ventolin t you don't know...
ventolin - Until now everyt ventolin thingpoiled everything, ventolin stupid.
It was su ventolin uch a nice talk...
ventolin I toss off my glass an ventolin nd snap my fingers to ca ventolin all the bartender:
ventolin - Gin-Tonic, fifty-fif ventolin fty.
Bartender fro ventolin owns but mixes what was ventolin s requested. Shit, shou ventolin uld I order
Tequila w ventolin with tomato juice, what ventolin face will he make, huh? ventolin ?
- Lenia?
I ventolin I turn around. My We ventolin erewolf friend stands ventolin nearby: a white suit ventolin t,
patent-leather shoes ventolin s, a bit old fashioned t ventolin tie, the face a bit stra ventolin ained.
- Hi Romka ventolin {Roman}. Have a sit.
so ventolin olute life and smoke th ventolin he grass as much as yo ventolin ou want? Or
wander alo ventolin ong Deeptown's streets ventolin all around the clock ventolin k looking at your
cr ventolin reation?
I wish I ventolin knew that, but - not to ventolin o be in your shoes, be ventolin ecause you're not
more ventolin than the ordinary vir ventolin rtuality inhabitant, eve ventolin en with all your millio ventolin ons
and Octium prototyp ventolin pe as a home computer. T ventolin The Deep holds you as ventolin tightly as
any provi ventolin incial programmer from ventolin Russian remote who sav ventolin ves money for months
j ventolin just to visit Deeptown o ventolin once.
You' the cre ventolin eation of the deep
its ventolin self.
One must acc ventolin complish something vita ventolin ally important for all ventolin virtual space
for any ventolin of his actions to be co ventolin onsidered right from now ventolin w on.
- It will wa ventolin ait for you on this tabl ventolin le, - says Man Without F ventolin Face, - You'll
get it.. ventolin .. in case of your succe ventolin ess.
I nod silentl ventolin ly.
- Note that t ventolin there'll be other aspira ventolin ants, - informs Man With ventolin hout Face, -
We're loo ventolin oking for divers everyw ventolin where in the deep, and ventolin d will find many, and zyrtec
w ventolin will tell them the same ventolin I've toldes more, fill ventolin led with various checkup ventolin ps, numerous phone
cal ventolin lls to the bank's main o ventolin office and requests to ventolin specify the allegra account num ventolin mber,
the bank clerks b ventolin became kinder and fina ventolin ally gave me out $1000 ventolin 0. In rouble
equivale ventolin ent of course.
And ventolin d in quarter of an hour ventolin r more I entered the I ventolin Irish pub 'Molly' on 36
ventolin
Rubinstein Street. It ventolin t's not too crowded in ventolin the daytime and this he ventolin elped me.
The Big Mugs ventolin s {security guards ;-) ventolin } by the entrance were ventolin e relaxed and just
froz ventolin ze dumb when they saw my ventolin y caag the arrow along t ventolin the screen and gaze at t ventolin the piccies.
- And ventolin d what about you? Still ventolin fooling with 'poluos' ' ventolin '? {OS/2: 'half-os'}
ventolin - Why 'fooling'?!, ventolin - said Maniac with indi ventolin ignation, - It's the be ventolin est OS
if not to count ventolin UNIX! I've installed th ventolin he new version 2 days ag ventolin go, it rocks!
- I ventolin hear this every time I ventolin visit you, - I said, - ventolin - "Have installed...
ventolin
new version... fucked u ventolin up my brains for three ventolin days until managed to ventolin tune it
up..." While I ventolin I have Windows-Home for ventolin two years already.
uss ventolin sian interface, it is ventolin scattered
around on al ventolin ll servers in the novice ventolin e directories.
- T ventolin Thanks... - 'Stallone' ventolin drags himself along beh ventolin hind me. I notice that
ventolin
he started to stoop as ventolin s if being ashamed of hi ventolin is appearance: a good si ventolin ign.
We enter elev ventolin vator together and desce ventolin end to the first floor. ventolin The lobby is
pretty sp ventolin pacious, four porters an ventolin nd two guards are always ventolin s watching there.
ventolin - Come to any of them, ventolin - I advise, - And ask f ventolin for consultation: where ventolin to
go for the start, h ventolin how to act...
red: in ventolin his
imaginary home whi ventolin ich might be a palace or ventolin r a hut but with a 'real ventolin l' computer.
That' ventolin 's why timers exist. ventolin They are plugged into ventolin o all programs, from
M ventolin Microsoft's Windows-Home ventolin e to Russian 'Virt-Navi ventolin igator' and 'Deep-Comma ventolin ander'.
The longest ti ventolin ime for being in the dee ventolin ep is 48 hours, the tim ventolin me during which
the hu ventolin uman won't die of starv ventolin vation and water loss. ventolin Reasonable users alway ventolin ys
set their timers for ventolin r less though: a couple ventolin of hours, a day... Mani ventolin iac who set
his timer f ventolin for 36 hothe throat an ventolin nd he
falls down on his ventolin s knees, flutters and sh ventolin hoots over his shoulder. ventolin . I'm too lazy
to wait ventolin for the outcome.
ventolin I sit into the car. The ventolin e prisoner who submissiv ventolin vely waited until the e ventolin end
of the talk, starts ventolin s the car. He drives s ventolin slowly, turning around ventolin often as if
expecting ventolin a shot at the back of h ventolin his head.
The hi ventolin ighway is quite busy. Hu ventolin uge trailers try to ca ventolin atch up and ram us a
co ventolin ouple of times. I low ventolin wer the window and shoo ventolin ot them with rifle aimi ventolin ing at
tires and wi ventolin inds this abundance that ventolin t Deep-Transit flourishe ventolin es advair Diskus on. Traveling on foo ventolin ot
across the city i ventolin is a long fun. We fly ventolin y along the freeways, ventolin , stop on
intersectio ventolin ons, enter tunnels and c ventolin cross road junctions. I ventolin I'm waiting. I could
or ventolin rder the driver to go ventolin o the shortest way but i ventolin in this case he would ne ventolin eed to
contact dispatch ventolin hing office and I would ventolin leave the trace...
ventolin The city ends abruptl ventolin ly - like the wall of ventolin palaces and skyscrapers ventolin s was
cut off by the hu ventolin uge knife. The city loop ventolin p road and the foredims ventolin s
between us, becoming ventolin dense. One moment - and ventolin d the small tree app ventolin pears, all
sown with th ventolin he fruit. - I suppose th ventolin hat the most interesting ventolin g thing among these
is ventolin that small green apple ventolin on the lower branch.
ventolin I look at the desir ventolin red fruit. It's small, n ventolin not ripe and wormy.
ventolin - How do you think d ventolin diver, how much could ou ventolin ur competitors pay for ventolin this
file?
- Aro ventolin ound ten grands, - I rai ventolin ise the price somehow.
ventolin
Urman looks at me ventolin surprised, makes it mor ventolin re exact:
- Ten th ventolin housand dollarima? With ventolin h your
shattered mental ventolin lity, basic knowledge i ventolin in psychology, and no ventolin knowledge in
neuroph ventolin hysiology? What helped y ventolin you?
Now, when yo ventolin ou're rich and famous, ventolin , what are you trying ventolin g to do? To
understan ventolin nd how it dawned upon ventolin you or to invent somet ventolin ventolin thing more amazing? Or
ventolin
just lead your dissolut ventolin te life and smoke the ventolin grass as much as you w ventolin want? Or
wander along ventolin Deeptown's streets all ventolin l around the clock l ventolin looking at your
creat ventolin tion?
I wish I kne ventolin ew that, but - not to b ventolin be in yoSergey Lukjanenk ventolin ko. Labyrinth of reflect ventolin tions
_____________ ventolin ________________________ ventolin _____
* Yuri Kalmy ventolin ykov. Translators notes ventolin *
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 Anti-Allergic/Asthma '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 |