| onality!
- What do you want? pamelor ?
The driver ignor pamelor res me, but watches nev pamelor vertheless, examining me pamelor e with
curiosity of the pamelor e hunter who managed to s pamelor shoot the firebird.
pamelor - Okay, you have asked pamelor d for this, - I say tryi pamelor ing not to panic and take pamelor e
the revolver out.
pamelor Six bullets - six dif pamelor fferent viruses. It's a w pamelor weak weapon but I rely o pamelor on
the variety of loads, pamelor , maybe the kidnapper's p pamelor protection won't stand it pamelor t.
Three bullets ju pamelor ust go through him with pamelor hout 'seeing' the target pamelor t. Good
a.
A bla pamelor ack cloak length to the pamelor floor, a silver clip in pamelor n the form of the
rose pamelor on his chest, curling h pamelor hair of some odd ash co pamelor olor but pretty natural
pamelor
looking but instead o pamelor of his face - a gray h pamelor haze like condensed fog. pamelor . Such
tricks are forbid pamelor dden in the city but one pamelor can do that at home, bu pamelor ut what for?
If one want pamelor ts not to be recognizable pamelor e, it's possible to pick pamelor the standard faceically pamelor impossible for an ordin pamelor nary player, only
for th pamelor he diver... and an old do pamelor oomer who is used to the pamelor mouse.ng good.
I s pamelor sit down on the floor, sq pamelor queeze my head with hands pamelor s and whisper:
- As pamelor ssholes... Fucking asshol pamelor les..
- We don't ca pamelor are about your pranks in pamelor the Deep, diver. The the pamelor eft is bad,
but it was h pamelor high time for Urman to ge pamelor et knocked on the nose.
pamelor
I'm whining quietly pamelor y, rocking from side to s pamelor side.
Man Without F pamelor Face ignores my performan pamelor nce.
- The crime al pamelor lways existed, it exists pamelor now and will exist. I'm pamelor not Jesus
and I don't p pamelor pretend to complete innoc pamelor cence myself. I have my o pamelor ownrned out to be an ab pamelor bsolutely unfamiliar poly pamelor ymorph
virus which (and pamelor d it was most unpleas pamelor remeron sant) have managed to s pamelor stick to my
computer. A pamelor After two hours of int pamelor tensive work, interrupte pamelor ed only twice - to
take pamelor an aspirin tablet and t pamelor to visit bathroom, I bec pamelor came convinced that I'll
pamelor
not be able to disable pamelor the virus.
It was pamelor late evening, the time w pamelor when hackers just start w pamelor working. I packed
the vi pamelor irus with a text fragment pamelor t and called Maniac.
pamelor I had to wait a coupl pamelor le of minutes until he s pamelor security program on the s pamelor server gateway.
Somewher pamelor re inside the hair is th pamelor he communication channel pamelor with Al-Kabar block.
Th pamelor he signals circulate alon pamelor ng, ordering to let pass pamelor s or to crash the uncall pamelor led
guest...
- Hey pamelor y, Ivan The Prince, I'm i pamelor in hurry! - shouts the wo pamelor olf.
Right, it's hi pamelor igh time to act. So fa pamelor ar the program hurled pamelor me back
independently pamelor y, but the next time the pamelor real Al-Kabar's program pamelor mmers might take
over, b pamelor both 'virtualists' and co pamelor onservative ones...
pamelor - Animate the Shae it w pamelor with the
eye that stayed pamelor d intact.
Well, the pamelor e program's humor seems pamelor s to be more American th pamelor han Arabic... I
lie in t pamelor thought, then stand up ag pamelor gain. The monster is yet pamelor still.
- Any detou pamelor ur, Vika?
- This pamelor is the only external pamelor channel, - informs me pamelor e my computer
immediat pamelor tely.
The voice is pamelor s drifting and lifeless pamelor s... I really need to up pamelor pgrade the
RAM... - All pamelor l other Al-Kabar's lines pamelor open by the order from i pamelor inside only.
- Forc pamelor ce solution? - I touch pamelor the sword's hents. All pamelor three heads bow down to pamelor him, searching for the s pamelor stolen apple.
I'm r pamelor running away.
The pamelor apple in my pocket beco pamelor omes lighter and lighter pamelor r - the data flows
into pamelor o my computer. I dodge pamelor between the trees, the pamelor en stop so that it'd be pamelor e
easier for Windows-Hom pamelor me to download the file. pamelor The dragon's roar reache pamelor es me,
it haven't found pamelor d the apple and understoo pamelor od what happened. Who is pamelor faster?
The drago pamelor on flies up again. It w pamelor will find me easily - pamelor movements in
virtualit pamelor ty leave troks past me. I pamelor It's stupid, but I turn a pamelor around.
The man wit pamelor thout face stands in the pamelor corner of the warehouse. pamelor .
A black cloak l pamelor length to the floor, a si pamelor ilver clip in the form o pamelor of the
rose on his ches pamelor st, curling hair of some pamelor e odd ash color but pre pamelor etty natural
looking b pamelor but instead of his face pamelor e - a gray haze like co pamelor ondensed fog. Such
tric pamelor cks are forbidden in the pamelor city but one can do tha pamelor at at home, but what for? pamelor ?
If one wants not to be pamelor e recognizable, it's poss pamelor sible to pick the standar pamelor rd faceically impossible pamelor e for an ordinary player, pamelor , only
for the diver... pamelor and an old doomer who is pamelor s used to the mouse.
pamelor Doomers already were pamelor divided into 'keyboardi pamelor ists' and 'mousists'. Th pamelor he
eternal argument who pamelor is cooler was never solv pamelor ved: virtuality had come. pamelor .
Now I dot the "i' pamelor 's".
One of the ban pamelor ndits is still alive. His pamelor s foul language is so col pamelor lorful and
intricate tha pamelor at his national origin is pamelor s obvious. The player's pamelor face is covered
with bl risperdal pamelor lood, one hand is partial pamelor lly ripped off, with the pamelor ot- I removed the finger pamelor r.
Maniac rattled w pamelor with locks opening the do pamelor oor.. I entered. prozac He was pamelor dressed
in virtual suit pamelor t right on the naked body pamelor y, with a shotgun in his pamelor hand. The gun
was huge pamelor e, with it the slim and pamelor d narrow shouldered hacke pamelor er looked like a kid
pla pamelor aying war game.
- W pamelor Wow, - I just said.
pamelor - Yeah... I was fumblin pamelor ng in one guy's comp... h pamelor hardly managed to get my pamelor y
ass outta there. - M pamelor Maniac was brief, he lock pamelor ked the door, glanced pamelor at the
canister and ask pamelor ked sympathetically, - ro pamelor om my
cheek, wave a fing pamelor ger to Nadya with a warni pamelor ing:
- Girl, I DO p pamelor prefer to stay mysterious pamelor s.
Looks like she pamelor feels confused, but has pamelor enough nerve to shrug a pamelor and walk
away without hu pamelor urry.
Shit. She spo pamelor oiled everything, stupid. pamelor .
It was such a nic pamelor ce talk...
I toss o pamelor off my glass and snap my pamelor fingers to call the bart pamelor tender:
- Gin-Tonic pamelor c, fifty-fifty.
Bar pamelor rtender frowns but mixes pamelor s what was requested. Shi pamelor it, should I order
Te pamelor equila with tomato juice, pamelor , what face will he lips pamelor are
moving: he
obviou pamelor usly says the password. pamelor - Take it.
The app pamelor ple is in my hand. It' pamelor 's very heavy: two Megs pamelor s at least. It's
useles pamelor ss to try to copy it, the pamelor e only way is to bring it pamelor t out with me. I put it
pamelor
in the pocket - I mean, pamelor attach it to my virtual pamelor 'shell', then look at Ur pamelor rman.
- I stake a pamelor all, - says Urman seriou pamelor usly. - I sacrifice a pamelor an extemely
perspective pamelor technology. You can give pamelor e it to Mr Shellerbach pamelor and convey my
person pamelor nal kind regards to him pamelor m. There's oneppens.
pamelor - Are you okay, Lenia pamelor a?
The speakers are pamelor e set for the full volume pamelor e, I frown and say:
pamelor - Yes.. Lower the volum pamelor me.
- Lower the vol pamelor lume... lower... lower... pamelor . - agrees Windows-Home . pamelor .
- Enough, Vika. { pamelor {complete form: Victoria, pamelor , never used in the novel pamelor l}
Good program, do pamelor ocile, quick-witted and pamelor friendly one. Not with pamelor hout too
much self conf pamelor fidence, as any Microsof pamelor ft product, but I have to pamelor o put up with
it.
pamelor - Good luck, - says the pamelor e program, - When should pamelor I expect ye the Reichs pamelor stag building after the
pamelor
storm. The likeness is pamelor improved by the red fla pamelor ag on the dome. Either it pamelor t's an
entourage detail pamelor (some Westerners are st pamelor till setting their score pamelor es with the
communism), pamelor , or some Bolshevik hav pamelor ve decided to commemorate pamelor e the revolution
anniv pamelor versary. The latter is mo pamelor ore likely, November 7th pamelor is in three days.
pamelor - Now look attentively pamelor y and be prepared, - sa pamelor ays Alex from behind my
pamelor
back, - The trap is th pamelor here for sure. You kno pamelor ow, everybody needs the pamelor spare
visitors except pamelor me, though they in fact pamelor t are
present most likel pamelor ly. We just can't see ea pamelor ach other and they commun pamelor nicate with
other compan pamelor ny's employees.
- M pamelor Mister...
- Gunslin pamelor nger, - I say standing up pamelor p. - Call me Gunslinger.
pamelor
The girl nods.
pamelor - Mr Guillermo Aguirr pamelor re will receive you.
pamelor Slight curiosity in he pamelor er voice, it looks like pamelor e she had no idea that an pamelor ny
problems might arise pamelor in "Labyrinth".
I pamelor enter the door and freez pamelor ze.
This is beautif pamelor ful.
The hall is pamelor igies?
Very odd.
pamelor
I dried myself, th pamelor hrew the towel into the b pamelor bowl with laundry, return pamelor ned to
the room, turned pamelor the computer on and star pamelor rted to pull on the virtu pamelor ual suit.
- Good ev pamelor vening Lenia, - said Vika pamelor a.
- Hi old girl.
pamelor
Female face is smil pamelor ling on the screen. No, p pamelor possibly I'm wrong, I nee pamelor ed to
set the different pamelor reaction to 'old girl' pamelor ' - slight resentment, p pamelor pouting, a
look cast sl pamelor lightly aside.
- An pamelor ny mail?
- Seven le pamelor etters.
- Read.
pamelor There was nothing iig pamelor ghed Maniac.
1000
pamelor
I was at Maniac' pamelor 's place until late nigh pamelor ht, 'Guinness' was follow pamelor wed by
'Baltic #6', and pamelor for the dessert Shurka pamelor dug out the Christmas 'K pamelor Kronenburg'.
Neither Iri pamelor ish nor Petersburg nor Fr pamelor rench beer failed.
pamelor In the depth of my sou pamelor ul I was glad that I had pamelor d opened to somebody. My
pamelor
hacker friends are div pamelor vided into two groups: pamelor the first one keeps se pamelor ecrets
until after the pamelor e first bottle of beer, pamelor , the other one kinda f pamelor forgets all
secrets by pamelor that point. Shurkais hou pamelor use are thin enough
for pamelor r me to be well posted on pamelor n all their troubles and pamelor quarrels.
- Hi, - pamelor I said.
- Lenia, d pamelor do you have cigarettes?
pamelor
I'm at least 15 yea pamelor ars older than him, but pamelor these guys keep me as al pamelor lmost
one of their age, pamelor maybe because I'm not m pamelor married and empty beer ca pamelor ans prevail
in my garbag pamelor ge.
- Hold on.
pamelor I'm not smoking myself pamelor f, but there's always a pamelor pack or two of cigarette pamelor es
at home for
visitin pamelor ng hackers. Smoking is th pamelor heir professional trait. pamelor The guy waited. In orde pamelor er to win one must reach pamelor h the 50th level, the an pamelor ncient
cathedral in the pamelor e downtown and to destroy pamelor y the alien ruler. It's v pamelor very hard. I
did it befo pamelor ore but since then "Laby pamelor yrinth" have changed at pamelor least ten times:
new b pamelor buildings, weapons and m pamelor monsters were added. And pamelor d of course, new players
pamelor
have arrived: game addi pamelor icts who can't imagine th pamelor heir lives without shooti pamelor ing on
the streets of Tw pamelor wilight City.
It's pamelor an interesting game, pamelor , mainly because it pamelor requires constant
comm pamelor munication forgotten, it' pamelor 's buried under newer in pamelor nformation, but is
stil pamelor ll alive.
- All the pamelor e same diver, the essence pamelor e doesn't change.
- pamelor - Well, but today the new pamelor w legend was born.
pamelor - Which one?
- Abo pamelor out Man Without Face.
pamelor My interlocutor shake pamelor es his head.
- Hard pamelor dly will it be so int pamelor triguing as the youth d pamelor dressed in smoking
cloth pamelor hes...
We both laug pamelor gh quietly.
- So Mr pamelor r Diver... have you ever pamelor played in the 'Labyrinth pamelor h of Death'?
- Poss pamelor sibly.
- Do you kno pamelor ow thatSergey Lukjanenko. pamelor . Labyrinth of reflection pamelor ns
_________________ pamelor ________________________
pamelor
* Yuri Kalmykov. T pamelor Translators notes *
pamelor
About the Author:
pamelor Sergey Lukjanenko, pamelor 30, is one of the toda pamelor ay's most popular Russi pamelor ian
Sci-Fi writers. His pamelor s first works were pu pamelor ublished in 1988. Curre pamelor ently his
bibliography i pamelor includes more than 40 tit pamelor tles of novels and short pamelor t stories. The
Author d pamelor defines his genre as the pamelor "hard action science f pamelor fiction", but all his
wo pamelor orks also have a very wel pamelor ll defined philosophical pamelor aspect. The novel offer pamelor red
to your attention wa pamelor as 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 - paxil Johnny. Now try to do the same with, say, my name: Yuri. Yup... My
point pamelor 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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