| ulled the phone wire from the jack remeron k.
- The line is br remeron roke! - informs Vika
remeron - I know, girl.
remeron That's it, mysterious an remeron nonymous. It's that simpl remeron le. Not a standard exit
remeron
which is possible to tr remeron race but an instantly bro remeron oken thread.
It's remeron barbaric of course, but remeron absolutely no data exch remeron hange between my
compu remeron uter and the one where th remeron he warehouse is modeled.
remeron
- No dialtone, - s remeron says Vika, - Check the wi remeron iring.
- Shut down. remeron .
- Really?
- remeron - Yes.
The blue bac remeron ckground wie Deep. It is remeron s called so in English remeron but it seems to me th remeron hat the
Russian remeron word {g remeron glubina} sounds better. remeron Having broader meaning, remeron it changes an
attractiv remeron ve label into the warning remeron g: THE Deep! Sharks and o remeron octopuses live here.
It' remeron 's quiet, and presses, pr remeron resses, presses by the en remeron ndless space which doesn' remeron 't
really exist.
I remeron In general the deep is remeron kind, in its own way o remeron of course. It accepts
remeron
everybody. It requires j remeron just a little strength to remeron o dive, but so much more remeron - to
reach the bottom remeron and to
deep
E remeron Enter
I'm in the remeron car again. The driver lo remeron ooks back at me cautious remeron sly. I spin
the revolve remeron er in my hand thoughtful remeron lly: it's loaded again, a remeron and the pocket is
weighe remeron ed down by a grenade.
remeron - The parcel was rece remeron eived? - asks the driver. remeron .
Now it's my turn remeron to play the game of sile remeron ence.
- I wonder ho remeron ow?
- You know my f remeron friend, if I run out of a remeron ammo, it's the definite remeron order to
refill my sup remeron pplies. - Smugness of a remeron petty hacker is in my remeron y voice. Quite
plausibl remeron le he man that walks alo remeron ong the street.
Gee, th remeron his is something! The m remeron mixture of younger Arnol remeron ld Shwarzenegger and
ol remeron lder Clint Eastwood. Very remeron y funny. The man notice remeron es my sarcastic look a remeron and
walks faster.
remeron I raise my hand and t remeron the yellow limo stops remeron by the sidewalk in an
remeron
instant.
- Lenia, remeron , your complaint was igno remeron ored!
- Nevermind.. remeron ..
This can go fore remeron ever, but I have no time remeron for games now... I get i remeron into the
car, the drive remeron er, a smiling guy with th remeron he perfect hairdo dresma remeron anner.
When stoppin remeron ng the next volunteer t remeron to earn easy money I kept remeron t reminding
myself that remeron t I'm not in virtuality remeron where patient Vika wil remeron ll turn the simple
voice remeron e command into understand remeron dable address.
111
remeron
Maniac lives on remeron Vasilievsky [Island] {a remeron a district of St.Peters remeron sburg}.
Panting, I clim remeron mbed to the fifth floor: remeron : at the time this house remeron e was built,
elevators remeron were yet a novelty, an remeron nd rang at the door. On remeron ne, two, three...
paus remeron se.. one, two. Even if Ma remeron aniac is in the Decurity remeron y programs without
dest remeron troying the file. I had t remeron to just knock them out, d remeron disable them. Then I got remeron t
busy with the inner s remeron surprise. I cut the file remeron into twenty pieces, ext remeron tracted
the guard progr remeron ram. It turned out to b remeron be an absolutely unfamili remeron iar polymorph
virus whi remeron ich (and it was most remeron unpleasant) have manage remeron ed to stick to my
comp remeron puter. After two hours remeron of intensive work, int remeron terrupted only twice - to remeron o
take an aspirin tablet remeron t and to visit bathroom remeron m, I became convinced tha remeron at I'll
not bet in this remeron case he would need to
c remeron contact dispatching offic remeron ce and I would leave the remeron trace...
The city remeron ends abruptly - like th remeron he wall of palaces and s remeron skyscrapers was
cut off remeron by the huge knife. The c remeron city loop road and the f remeron fory temporary address in remeron n Austria.
The mai remeron in threads are broken. Tr remeron ry to find me now Al-Kab remeron bar guys, filter
all fil remeron les in search for Ivan T remeron The Prince. The diver hav remeron ve broke free from the
t remeron trap.
Not using the remeron e voice control anymore, remeron , I shut Windows-Home dow remeron wn, enteredorcefully. - remeron Shit, I never
complet remeron tely believed in you, eve remeron en if suspected.
- remeron Whom, me?
- Sure. remeron . Why the hell would t remeron the sinequan 'newbie' need battl remeron le viruses and
antidot remeron tes?
I feel a littl remeron le sad. Something have ch remeron hanged in our relations, remeron , and too
sharply. Mayb remeron be it'll pass in some tim remeron me...
- Shurka, I c remeron can't do anything - excep remeron pt to exit virtuality, a remeron any program
for me is ju remeron ust a heap of senseless s remeron symbols and a launching f remeron file.
Maniac nodded remeron d.
- I understand. remeron But ju's this abundance remeron that Deep-Transit flouri remeron ishes on. Traveling on f remeron foot
across the city remeron is a long fun. We fly remeron y along the freeways, remeron stop on
intersections remeron s, enter tunnels and cros remeron ss road junctions. I'm w remeron waiting. I could
order remeron the driver to go the s remeron shortest way but in this remeron case he would need to
c remeron contact dispatching offic remeron ce and I would leave the remeron trace...
The city remeron ends abruptly - like th remeron he wall of palaces and s remeron skyscrapers was
cut off remeron by the huge knife. The c remeron city loop road and the f remeron fory temporary address in remeron n Austria.
The mai remeron in threads are broken. Tr remeron ry to find me now Al-Kab remeron bar guys, filter
all fil remeron les in search for Ivan T remeron The Prince. The diver hav remeron ve broke free from the
t remeron trap.
Not using the remeron e voice control anymore, remeron , I shut Windows-Home dow remeron wn, entered
3D Norton's remeron table, opened disk D: remeron where all my virtual tro remeron ophies are stored
togeth remeron her with a small viruse remeron es collection. Here it i remeron is, my apple: 1.5 Meg
remeron
file. Looks like the s remeron simple file for Advanced seroquel zling19.html">risperdal remeron d-Word. A couple of st remeron that doesn't try to gi remeron ive me the
business car remeron rd, I'd never take a file remeron e from him. - These are remeron my coordinates.
After remeron you visit "Labyrinth", sarafem o remeron offer your service to the remeron e management and try to
remeron
solve the problem, conta remeron act me. Ask for... Man Wi remeron ithout Face.
He doe remeron esn't want to make it cle remeron earer and as it seems he remeron doesn't have even
a lit remeron ttle doubt that I'll rush remeron h to "Labyrinth" at once. remeron .
- Why would I wan remeron nt to do that?
Man remeron Without Face takes a sm remeron mall badge from the clo remeron oak pocket. It look be 'b remeron bent'. The same often ha remeron appens to other names in remeron the book.
For inexperi remeron ienced reader it might be remeron e confusing, so I apolo remeron ogize... Russia
*is* co remeron onfusing by definition, s remeron so bear with it. :-)
remeron Leonid - the complete remeron name.
Lenia (shoul remeron ld be read roughly as remeron Lyo-nee-aa; don't pronou remeron unce 'double
lettered' s remeron sounds as too long ones t remeron though) - this is sli remeron ightly diminutive,
frien remeron ndly form used by relativ remeron ves and friends.
Le remeron enechka (Lyo-nee-chka) - remeron a "pet-name" form, some remeron etimes also use one that remeron t the diver will get rid
remeron
of the hot file immedia remeron ately. Like he'll demand remeron exactly a hundred grands remeron s from
the buyer. Like h remeron he'll transfer the money remeron to the very secure accou remeron unt.
No, that can' remeron 't be... real professiona remeron als are working in banks remeron s. Nobody
could trace m remeron me.
- Let's assume remeron also that two hackers di remeron ivide the amount equally. remeron . And now
it becomes re remeron eally interesting, my f remeron friend. Money transfers remeron happen every
second i remeron in Deeptown, but the tra remeron ansfer of exactly 50 000 remeron 0... from ome to give you remeron u my sword?
Urman w remeron waves his hands:
- remeron Geez, what for? We su remeron urely aren't gonna fight remeron t, are we? Let's just
t remeron talk...
- Third rou remeron uter was traced.
- remeron It's such a pity that l remeron less and less time remain remeron ns for our talk, - I
s remeron sigh.
- Yes, it's remeron never enough time. Well, remeron , Mr Diver, I have the remeron reasons to
suspect that remeron t some persons would like remeron e to obtain some of our t remeron technologies, and
even m remeron managed to hire a diver.. remeron .. in order to reap where remeron e they have not sown.
remeron - Tw across the who remeron ole
screen, the headphon remeron nes rumbled. After I shot remeron t those three who were vi remeron isible, I
moved my shoo remeron oting at the cars. It's remeron s not easier to hit the remeron fuel tank in
virtuali remeron ity than in reality but w remeron when you shoot at the dra remeron awn silhouettes, this
is remeron s the task for a kid.
remeron deep
Enter
remeron What the hell, didn't remeron I tell you to stop?!
remeron - Stop! - I shout to remeron the driver.
He sto remeron ops right before the bur remeron rning cars and turns aro remeron ound. Even through
the d remeron dark glasses of the mask remeron te These are just detail remeron ls.
- Take a seat remeron Gunslinger... - Willy mo remeron oves an armchair to me t remeron then pads
to the window remeron w looking at the city p remeron poured by blood colored remeron d blaze, - So,
you're d remeron diver?
I nod.
remeron - This is very interes remeron sting. Unusual! - Willy r remeron raises his forefinger, - remeron -
Everybody look for di remeron ivers, everybody have req remeron quests, business, questi remeron ions...
you came to us b remeron by yourself.
I stay remeron y silent.
Willy tur remeron rns around and looks at m remeron me.
- You have a ni remeron ice suit Gunslinger, - remeron in his hands. His muzzle remeron e has
absolutely 'impen remeron netrable' expression, he remeron stands motionless like a remeron a statue. Is
he a huma remeron an or not? It's foolis remeron sh to ask, at least remeron because one can't
disti remeron inguish well made progra remeron am from a human at once remeron e. I pass the guard and
remeron
find myself in a small remeron l hall. The bright sunl remeron light beams through win remeron ndows,
small tables and remeron d soft armchairs stand al remeron long the walls. More sol remeron lid table is
in the cent remeron ter of the hall, a smilin remeron ng girl sits by it: the s remeron secretary and most
all
l remeron levels, in all dangerous remeron places. They need just remeron a couple of minutes to remeron get
where they need.
remeron Great beginning...
remeron
- How much time doe remeron es it require to reach th remeron he 33rd level?
- Fr remeron rom 25 hours to infinity. remeron .
What was Man Wit remeron thout Face counting on an remeron nyway? If "Labyrinth"'s remeron divers
fail to get Unfo remeron ortunate out in 24 hours remeron it means it's impossible remeron e at all...
Guiller remeron rmo is silent watching me remeron e.
- Can I get leve remeron el maps at least? - I ask remeron k, - Complete ones?
remeron - No. Therevest. My
remeron
prisoner is equipped no remeron worse, he just doesn't h remeron have the rocket launcher. remeron .
It's impossible t remeron to drag away such a pile remeron of iron in reality, but remeron t here
we all are Rambo remeron os a little.
- Let remeron t's go, - I say to t remeron the prisoner, getting remeron into the car. He
under remeron rstands without translati remeron ion.. We drive along the remeron highway, I can't resist
remeron
and shoot one more trai remeron iler using the rocket lau remeron uncher. Of course I leav remeron ve the
car firstly... L remeron Labyrinth"'s creators had remeron d a good sense of humor remeron and I don' having a real remeron l life experience, one re remeron eally can feel drunk... remeron . and
subconsciousness remeron dives into the alcohol d remeron drug cheerfully. They sa remeron ay that the
body's natu remeron ural narcotics - endorp remeron phines start being produ remeron uced then. True or
not, remeron intoxication doesn't dis remeron sappear instantly when on remeron ne exits virtuality.
remeron - Sorry, may I please remeron e?... - the young girl si remeron its down by my side. Blon remeron nd
hair, clean, slight remeron tly dim skin, a simpl remeron le white suit, a little remeron e golden
medallion on h remeron her neck: most likely, a remeron a progSergey Lukjanenko. remeron . Labyrinth of reflection remeron ns
_________________ remeron ________________________
remeron
* Yuri Kalmykov. T remeron Translators notes *
remeron
About the Author:
remeron Sergey Lukjanenko, remeron 30, is one of the toda remeron ay's most popular Russi remeron ian
Sci-Fi writers. His remeron s first works were pu remeron ublished in 1988. Curre remeron ently his
bibliography i remeron includes more than 40 tit remeron tles of novels and short remeron t stories. The
Author d remeron defines his genre as the remeron "hard action science f remeron fiction", but all his
wo remeron orks also have a very wel remeron ll defined philosophical remeron aspect. The novel offer remeron red
to your attention wa remeron 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 - 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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