| slowly. The table
with two armchai deltasone irs stands nearby, lots o deltasone of flowers, I even start deltasone feeling
scents.
And deltasone d nobody.
Well, let's deltasone s wait; I sit down in the a deltasone armchair.
A slight fo deltasone og before my eyes, an expec deltasone cted one. My communication deltasone channel
is being exami deltasone ined. They try to determine deltasone e where I came from, the v deltasone prednisone volume of
data I can recei deltasone ive and transmit per secon deltasone nd, the programs that I h deltasone have with
me...
Go a deltasone ahead, do your job... Six deltasone routers, rented for one deltasone single use that
traom th deltasone he headphones is sharp and deltasone too loud. The deep
blue c deltasone color with a small figure o deltasone of flying or better to say, deltasone , falling man is on
the he deltasone elmet's screens, the well proventil deltasone known emblem of the Dee deltasone ep, the Abyss, the
virtua deltasone al world.
After takin deltasone ng off the helmet I looked deltasone at the monitor, blinked deltasone d several
times. The same deltasone picture there.
- Vik deltasone ka, thanks.
- No prob deltasone blems, Lenia, - answered deltasone Windows-Home. I taught it deltasone this small
courtesy a we deltasone eek ago, it's always nice w deltasone when the program looks more deltasone e right now and check a cou deltasone uple of dozens of control
deltasone
photos stored in the comp deltasone puter: the visitors of th deltasone he bar for the last two
deltasone
months. It's always useful deltasone l to remember new faces. B deltasone But what for, I know well
deltasone
enough that I never met he deltasone er before...
- I was deltasone s wearing different faces, deltasone , - looks like the girl deltasone guesses my
thoughts, - w deltasone while you always wear the s deltasone same one.
- Changing deltasone faces is too expensive, deltasone - I begin my self-humili deltasone iation, -
It's stupid to deltasone botch up Schwartzenegger deltasone or Stad {'long bearded'} a deltasone anecdotes...
Despite deltasone the whistles and shouts th deltasone he guy finishes telling h deltasone his anecdote
and runs from deltasone m the stage looking around deltasone in a primed way. Lonely a deltasone applause can
be heard: ge deltasone eez, who could imagine... I deltasone I look around for the bar, deltasone it's in the
far corner of deltasone f the park. The girl gives deltasone me a bottle of beer withou deltasone ut a word.
- Thanks. deltasone .. - I make a sip. The ice deltasone e cold 'Heineken' raises m deltasone my spirits
instantly.
deltasone One more guy ascends th deltasone he stage, this time much mo deltasone ore individuahat I didn't d deltasone do the bed yesterday. How f deltasone farsighted have I become... deltasone .
For three years alr deltasone ready, I suppose.
110
deltasone
It was a quarter b deltasone before one when I woke up. deltasone The TV set that turned o deltasone on
at 10 was muttering qui deltasone ietly. Unpowered computer w deltasone was reproachfully silent o deltasone on
the table.
- Oh i deltasone it feels good... - I whispe deltasone ered into the ceiling.
deltasone I need to change the a deltasone apartment, to buy the norm deltasone mal one-bedroom in the
dow deltasone wntown, in a good brick hou deltasone use, with the view to the deltasone Neva river... notI open deltasone the door and leave. The deltasone ere's the long corridor deltasone with doors
outside, by o deltasone one of those stands Sylvest deltasone ter Stallone looking at his deltasone s hands with
admiration.
deltasone
- Hi Sly, - I say pas deltasone ssing by. Almost for sure deltasone the guy is flonase Russian, and
deltasone
what's definitely-he's a n deltasone newbie.
- Do I really deltasone y look like him? - asks the deltasone e guy with hope.
- Ye deltasone eah... - I stop. The beer m deltasone makes my mood benevolent, - deltasone - Are you new in
the deep? deltasone ?
- In what? Ah yes deltasone s.. new.
- It's a bad deltasone d form to put on appearan deltasone mask helmets and two guns deltasone s. All our 'fellow trave deltasone elers' have vanished
somew deltasone where. We check the charger deltasone rs and change.
- The deltasone ere'll be a trap by the st deltasone tation building, this is deltasone obvious... -
mutters Ale deltasone ex, - We can't relax... Whe deltasone ere are you from, Gunslinge deltasone er?
- From Mommy and deltasone Daddy.
No more quest deltasone tions arise. We climb the s deltasone section car and start pumpi deltasone ing the
lever. The old rat deltasone ttletrap accelerates quick deltasone kly, we move through dissi deltasone ipating
fog.
- Gunsl deltasone linger, do you like [Stephe deltasone en] K10 minutes.
The deltasone face on the screen frowns: deltasone : the program extracts the deltasone keywords.
- Only 10 deltasone minutes, - says Windows deltasone s-Home obediently, - But I deltasone must draw
your attention deltasone one more time to the fact deltasone that the level of the task deltasone ks you set
for me does n deltasone not always correspond to deltasone the volume of my RAM. The deltasone e desired
extension is... deltasone .
- Shut up. - I rise deltasone e. "Shut up" is a definite deltasone order, the program doesn't deltasone t
dare to argue after that deltasone t. I pad to the fridge and deltasone d get a can of Sprite. The deltasone e
liquid cver suspected th deltasone deltasone hat the serious
businessm deltasone men are able to make such deltasone generous gestures. - I p deltasone promise to come.
But if yo deltasone ou'll excuse me now...
deltasone - No Mr Diver, now YO deltasone OU please excuse me. You deltasone u'll easily leave our
ter deltasone rritory, but not before y deltasone your real address is de deltasone etermined, in order to
gua deltasone arantee the validity of the deltasone e promise just given.
deltasone The trellised pavilion's deltasone s walls darken like bei deltasone ing covered by thick
clot deltasone th. I make a step - it's r deltasone really difficult. Urman sta deltasone arts moving jerkballs and deltasone snarling monsters' mugs. H deltasone He understood that this
is deltasone s just a game, but he didn' deltasone 't know why it became real deltasone and how to exit it.
deltasone The only thing he could do deltasone o in this situation was t deltasone to go until the very
end. deltasone And he did it despite the deltasone e fact that it turned o deltasone out to be much more
diffi deltasone icult now.
The slight deltasone t wound now became not just deltasone t the lowered percent of ' deltasone 'strength'
on the screen, deltasone but something the wound i deltasone is supposed to be: pain, deltasone weakness,
fear. He reali deltasone ized that the bloody fare
deltasone
blocking the road, armed deltasone people are hiding behind t deltasone them, one stands openly in
deltasone
a casual, self confident deltasone pose. He has rocket launch deltasone her in his hands.
Shi deltasone it. I have heard that there deltasone e is heavy weaponry in the deltasone station building
somewher deltasone re but never bothered to ch deltasone heck.
- What will we deltasone do? - asks my prisoner.
deltasone One should be an idio deltasone ot to try to fight the gan deltasone ng like this alone, it's
e deltasone easier to submit yourself a deltasone and sacrifice some of you deltasone ur weapons hoping to be
l deltasone let go after that.
- deltasone Slments': I'll buy the new deltasone w 'Septium'
brand name, wi deltasone ith preloaded licensed soft deltasone tware, with a couple of hun deltasone ndreds Megs
of RAM... wi deltasone ith the 1000 Terabyte ho deltasone olographic HD, cordless deltasone modem and
super-sensitiv deltasone ve Siemens microphone... wi deltasone ith a color printer, Dunn deltasone what for,
but let it b deltasone be, a decent scanner inst deltasone tead of the manual piece deltasone of shit, a
dedicated phon deltasone ne line... Geez, even 50 gr deltasone rands isn't enough!
O deltasone On the other hand... why wo deltasone ould I need two rooms in t deltasone the apartment? Even
here t deltasone the kitch sales.
I ta deltasone ake the glass and sit by t deltasone the empty table, watching t deltasone the guests: it's
always in deltasone nteresting.
The numbe deltasone er of men and women is app deltasone proximately the same. Abso deltasone olutely all
women are perf deltasone fectly beautiful and of all deltasone l types: from blond Scandi deltasone inavians to
charcoal black deltasone k Africans. flovent Most men are t deltasone terrible freaks. No, it's n deltasone not true of
course, just m deltasone my subconsciousness notes a deltasone all follies in men's virtua deltasone al shells -
disproportiona deltasone ately muscular figures and deltasone d too recognizable physiog deltasone gnomies of
mohat I have deltasone with
me...
Go ahead deltasone d, do your job... Six rou deltasone uters, rented for one sing deltasone gle use that
transmit the deltasone signal, and each of them deltasone tough enough to break. And deltasone d in the end
- the comme deltasone ercial Internet gate in deltasone Austria through which deltasone I entered
virtuality.
deltasone
I'll leave the trace deltasone but it'll lead to nowhere. deltasone .
They can break my c deltasone connection at any moment, deltasone kick me out of the block, deltasone ,
but this will give them deltasone nothing... all thingies-pr deltasone rograms that I have will be deltasone e
invoked immediatelf by t deltasone the huge knife. The city lo deltasone oop road and the forest ac deltasone cross it, the
thick and wi deltasone ild forest... that separate deltasone es from the fuss those who deltasone doesn't want
to make a sh deltasone how of themselves.
- deltasone Slow down, - I order when deltasone we pass the mango growth a deltasone and approach quite
a type deltasone of the mid-Russian thicket deltasone t, - Stop by that next path deltasone h.
- It's still a lon deltasone ng drive to Al-Kabar...
deltasone - I said - stop!
deltasone The car stops. I open th deltasone he door and make a coupl deltasone le of steps from the
limo. deltasone . The driver waits obedi deltasone i Petrovich Alekseevich - m deltasone men's
Petrovn deltasone na Alekseevna - wome deltasone en's.
Also, the last deltasone names of the Russian orig deltasone gin are gender specific too deltasone o. To
women's form the end deltasone ding -a is usually attache deltasone ed: Kalmykov for me bec deltasone comes
Kalmykova for my Mot deltasone ther, as opposed to her mai deltasone iden name which is Cellari deltasone ius -
not originally Russi deltasone ian one and as such not gen deltasone nder specific.
There' deltasone 's much more about Russia deltasone an 'naming system', but I deltasone I think it's
enough sai deltasone id here in order to a). t deltasone totallyrtment pushing the deltasone bug back out... Finally t deltasone the door is closed, the bu deltasone ug
knocks against it in th deltasone he last effort, a short f deltasone flash - and it falls on th deltasone he
floor.
- Should I deltasone I file the complaint to the deltasone e landlord? - asks Windows- deltasone -Home. Now
the voice comes deltasone s from silver clips on my s deltasone shirt's collar.
- Go deltasone ahead - I agree. I always deltasone s forget to explain to the deltasone program that
the landlo deltasone ord is myself.
The e deltasone elevator waits for me. Usu deltasone ually I use the stairs... p deltasone peeking inside
other apart deltasone tments along Move the Shad deltasone dow. Look for the password, deltasone , - I order again.
On deltasone ne second - the computer deltasone r 'moves' its HD, loading deltasone g everything known
about A deltasone Al-Kabar into the shadow's deltasone memory. Then the copy step deltasone ps on the bridge.
Of cour deltasone rse, it'll yield nothing, e deltasone except some time.
- W deltasone Who are you?! - roars the deltasone e monster, grabbing the deltasone shadow. I hardly
manage t deltasone to avoid its moving finger deltasone rs, crawl along the clenche deltasone ed fist, jump on
the thre deltasone ead...
- And who are deltasone e YOU? - I hear from behi deltasone ind. Then the rightur vigil deltasone lance.
But the most deltasone annoying thing is that we deltasone e are all amateurs. For deltasone some
reason, no divers deltasone shape out of hackers - the deltasone ey percept the virtual wor deltasone rld as
the real one.
deltasone Though it was me, the so deltasone o-so computer artist from deltasone m the small computer
game deltasone es company that went broke deltasone three years ago and who go deltasone ot an old computer as
a di deltasone ismissal pay, who DID becom deltasone me a diver. One of the hund deltasone dred on this planet.
deltasone I was lucky.
Possibl deltasone ly, I was just lucky.
10 deltasone 0
Not more thanfo deltasone og. Such
tricks are forbid deltasone dden in the city but one ca deltasone an do that at home, but wh deltasone hat for?
If one wants not deltasone to be recognizable, it's p deltasone possible to pick the standa deltasone ard face
from Windows-Home deltasone e set: it's the hell of tho deltasone ose there, while the missin deltasone ng face
with such unusual deltasone l
dress is just stupid. B deltasone But looks impressive nevert deltasone theless.
- Semen, lea deltasone ave us, - says Man Without deltasone Face.
The driver no deltasone ods, turns around and lea deltasone aves somewhere into the sh deltasone helves
labyrinth. His step deltasone ps fade slowly and I note t deltasone that Sergey Lukjanenko. Lab deltasone byrinth of reflections
deltasone
_________________________ deltasone ________________
* Yu deltasone uri Kalmykov. Translators n deltasone notes *
About the Aut deltasone thor:
Sergey Lukja deltasone anenko, 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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