| .
I froze inside.
- I' sarafem 've killed the virus on t sarafem the computer...
- sarafem You've killed not the sarafem virus itself, but its sarafem false 'reflections'
cr sarafem reated by it especially sarafem for distraction. Comm sarafem monly used programs don sarafem n't
detect the postcard sarafem yet, it's still too rare sarafem e.
- What should I sarafem do?
- Treat me wit sarafem th beer, - smirked Maniac sarafem c, - Now you'll receive sarafem a special
'cure' from sarafem me, the special antivir sarafem rus. There's no hints in sarafem n it, you just
start t sarafem the .BAT file and it ch sarafem hecks your
right on our sarafem r way.
- Run! - scr sarafem reams my partner and ad sarafem dds in a whisper, - See y sarafem you tonight,
at the usua sarafem al place...
I jerk sarafem sharply, throw him down sarafem from my back and flee, h sarafem hurled by curses.
T sarafem The dragon circles above sarafem e for little longer, th sarafem hen lands by the fairy
sarafem
tale hero. The cowardly sarafem partner doesn't interest sarafem t him. Just as expected.
sarafem
I run away, whispe sarafem ering:
- Vika, copy sarafem y new files!
The fi sarafem ight rages behind me. Not sarafem t for long though, the w sarafem werewolf just has
time sarafem to hitant as always. As sarafem s soon
as landed, he sta sarafem ands, jumps again and tur sarafem rns into my exact copy.
sarafem
- Vika, the strea sarafem am, - I order getting hi sarafem is idea. But the former sarafem wolf
already grabs me b sarafem by my shoulders and thro sarafem ows over the stump shout sarafem ting, - No
time for thi sarafem is bull!
It's a sma sarafem all pleasure to be affect sarafem ted by the foreign morphi sarafem ing program. I
just have sarafem e time to say: "Vika, fre sarafem eeze" to prevent the care sarafem eful Windows-Home to
res sarafem sist the change.
Fo sarafem or a long time wasn't I i sarafem in the wolf's hide, since sarafem e wout
destroying the fi sarafem ile. I had to just knock sarafem them out, disable them. sarafem Then I got
busy with t sarafem the inner surprise. I cu sarafem ut the file into twenty sarafem pieces, extracted
the sarafem guard program. It turned sarafem d out to be an absolute sarafem ely unfamiliar polymorph
sarafem
virus which (and it sarafem was most unpleasant) h sarafem have managed to stick t sarafem to my
computer. After sarafem two hours of intensive sarafem e work, interrupted only sarafem y twice - to
take an asp sarafem pirin tablet and to vis sarafem sit bathroom, I became co sarafem onvinced that I'll
not b sarafem be able to disable the te sarafem ellectual elite swore it' sarafem 's allegiance to the new sarafem Empire.
To the Dee sarafem ep.
11
It w sarafem was midnight when I fi sarafem inally cleaned the com sarafem mputer up from the
post sarafem tcard virus and packed th sarafem he bagged file (in virtua sarafem ality it'll look like the sarafem e
ordinary diskette no sarafem ow). The head stopped sarafem d aching and the slee sarafem epiness
disappeared comp sarafem pletely. No Deeptown inha sarafem abitant sleeps at night, sarafem right?
- Vika, res sarafem start, - I commanded.
sarafem The thoughtful female sarafem e face on the screen frow sarafem wned:
- Reallla, p sarafem pepper,
coriander and nu sarafem utmeg. Three wattled chai sarafem irs wellbutrin SR are by the table, we sarafem sit and look
at the riv sarafem ver.
Beautiful.
sarafem The white foam on th sarafem he rocks, the chilly win sarafem nd, the full goblet in sarafem my
hand, bluish grey sarafem clouds swirling above. sarafem . It'll be snowing tomor sarafem rrow, if
'tomorrow' exi sarafem isted in virtuality.
sarafem I take a sip, - I wish sarafem h I knew where this river sarafem r was taken from.
- sarafem - More beautiful place ne sarafem ever have I seen in my li sarafem ife... - pronounces the
sarafem
Werewolf in a strange vo sarafem oice.
Oh er.
sarafem I haven't lost yet, but sarafem he doesn't know that.
sarafem - Sure, impossibili sarafem ity of being caught is w sarafem what makes divers what t sarafem they
are. - says Man Wit sarafem thout Face, - What are th sarafem he program obstacles for sarafem r you? All
you need to sarafem o do is just to concentra sarafem ate... and off you are, sarafem back home... to
disconn sarafem nect manually.
Um-h sarafem hm. Thanks for the tip sarafem p. It'll be the moment sarafem of connection being
clo sarafem osed when I'll be traced. sarafem ...
- In 24 hours, sarafem , when the safety timer s sarafem snaps into action on my c sarafem computer,
for computers sarafem s to be shut down, the op sarafem pposite is true for human sarafem ns.
The 14th level sarafem l is the city's sport cen sarafem nter. The computer with sarafem the game
menu was sta sarafem anding on the judges' sarafem table by the huge swimm sarafem ming pool where
corpses sarafem of crocodile-like amphib sarafem bious monsters were lazi sarafem ily swaying in clear
wa sarafem ater. It's quite difficul sarafem lt to kill those so I ha sarafem ad to use the plasma gun sarafem to
boil up the water in sarafem n the pool. When the wat sarafem ter cooled down, I dived sarafem d in the
stinky broth sarafem and waited for the sarafem pursue's what the negati sarafem ive interest is
paid f sarafem for: for complete safety. sarafem .
- Fifty to each o sarafem of you. I make a gesture sarafem of a good will, Mr Diver sarafem r!
- Excellent.
sarafem Several seconds - and sarafem d a hundred of grands flo sarafem ow into my account. This sarafem is
much, very much! Man sarafem ny years of serene life i sarafem in virtuality.
- Wi sarafem ill you agree for the fur sarafem rther cooperation?
sarafem I open my checkbook and sarafem look at the figure with sarafem pleasure, then I write
sarafem
a check for 50000 and g sarafem give it to the Werewolf.
sarafem
- It's quite possi sarafem iblys evening in Deepto sarafem own. The streets are lit sarafem t by the
bright light o sarafem of neon signs, cars sof sarafem ftly growl scudding alon sarafem ng the streets,
and peo sarafem ople move in neverendin sarafem ng stream. Twenty-five m sarafem million of permanent
in sarafem nhabitants: the biggest sarafem megapolis in the world. sarafem . Faces can't be seen fr sarafem rom
the height of elev sarafem venth floor. I finish m sarafem my Sprite and throw the sarafem can down
returning into sarafem o the room.
- Not e sarafem ethical... - mutters the sarafem computer. Ignoring it I sarafem I leave the room,
put on sarafem n my shoes and open they sarafem all cunning means.
sarafem - How much simpler woul sarafem ld it be if the deep wou sarafem uldn't be so strong of an sarafem n
addiction, - I was thi sarafem inking in the cab on my w sarafem way home. - How much more sarafem e right
and simple... sarafem There wouldn't be a sarafem division into the luc sarafem cky and the
unfortunat sarafem te ones which can't be o sarafem overcome. There wouldn't sarafem be that ridiculous
situ sarafem uation: excellent progra sarafem ammers not being able to sarafem cross the border between sarafem n
reality and illusion, sarafem and clumsy guys like mys sarafem self who don't even notic sarafem ce this
barrier.
ite s sarafem shirt climbs on the smal sarafem ll
wooden stage. He's sarafem absolutely featureless. sarafem The audience glances sarafem at him
lazily.
- sarafem - Once Shtirlitz have lef sarafem ft his house... - starts sarafem the guy.
{ A side sarafem e note. Shtirlitz is the sarafem main character of very p sarafem popular Russian
13 episo sarafem ode 1972 TV series abou sarafem ut the Soviet spy in Na sarafem azi headquarters. The
st sarafem tory takes place in F sarafem February-April 1945. Sh sarafem htirlitz investigates t sarafem the
attempts of the sep sarafem parate talks held betwee sarafem en Allen Dalles and hig sarafem gh-ranked
Nazinitors, wa sarafem anted to visit
the cyber sarafem rspace personally.
sarafem With Dibenko's light to sarafem ouch the program was name sarafem ed 'Deep' and began its
sarafem
march all over the wor sarafem rld. The studies proving sarafem that around 7% of peopl sarafem le are
not affected by t sarafem the abyss were still ahe sarafem ead, as well as those p sarafem proving that
being in vi sarafem irtuality for more tha sarafem an 10 hours a day might sarafem t lead to nervous
disor sarafem rders and pseudoschizoid sarafem d syndrome. Just a mont sarafem th left until the first
sarafem
death in virtuality whe sarafem en an aged man whose des sarafem stroyer waslaunched the
sarafem
scanner, especially dev sarafem veloped for these types o sarafem of surprises.
Yup, sarafem just as I thought: ident sarafem tification programs whic sarafem ch are supposed to
dest sarafem troy the file if it gets sarafem to somebody else's compu sarafem uter.
We know this sarafem far too well... And are sarafem insured against it for a sarafem a long time
already: ide sarafem entification programs sim sarafem mply can't see my compu sarafem uter. It's these
danger sarafem rous things that I alway sarafem ys store on D: disk. The sarafem e scanner located some
sarafem
surprise inside the t sarafem text file itself too - sarafem a tinyes, fight with m sarafem monsters or with his ow sarafem wn friends who sit by sarafem y the
computers as well sarafem l. But even in the worst sarafem feverish ravings it was sarafem s impossible
to confuse sarafem reality and illusion.
sarafem Computer networks al sarafem llowed people all over th sarafem he world to communicate, sarafem but
it was nothing mor sarafem re than exchanging charac sarafem cter lines on the screen. sarafem ... in the
best case - t sarafem the drawn face of your in sarafem nterlocutor could be on t sarafem the screen too.
The sarafem e real virtuality requ sarafem uired too powerful compu sarafem uters, extremely high
qu sarafem ualway.
My, how I h sarafem hate the mystery coveri sarafem ing us! We fear each oth sarafem her. We fear
everything sarafem g.
- Well, but the sarafem weather is nice... - I t sarafem toss in randomly.
- sarafem - Yeah.. snowy is this su sarafem ummer... - says the Were sarafem ewolf and looks at me
sarafem
with irony. He recognize sarafem es this place, it does st sarafem tir something up in his s sarafem soul.
It's not for me to sarafem o know what exactly.
sarafem I fill the heavy cera sarafem amic cup with mulled wi sarafem ine, sniff the aroma. Th sarafem he
snowy summer? Who car sarafem res! There's nothing bett sarafem ter than a lousy weatheey sarafem y I kept reminding
myse sarafem elf that I'm not in virt sarafem tuality where patient V sarafem Vika will turn the simple sarafem e
voice command into und sarafem derstandable address.
sarafem
111
Maniac li sarafem ives on Vasilievsky [Isl sarafem land] {a district of St sarafem t.Petersburg}.
Panting, sarafem I climbed to the fifth sarafem h floor: at the time thi sarafem is house was built,
ele sarafem evators were yet a nove sarafem elty, and rang at the d sarafem door. One, two, three.. sarafem ..
pause.. one, two. Eve sarafem en if Maniac is in the D sarafem Deep, the computer connec sarafem cted to
all apartment w sarafem wiring will submithe vir sarafem rtual suit... EWW.
sarafem Why did Man Without Face sarafem e set the alarm?
No sarafem othing terrible have hap sarafem ppened yet anyway, it's sarafem just yet another self
c sarafem confident game addict.
sarafem - Does he sit like t sarafem this for a long time?
sarafem - For almost 24 hou sarafem urs, - nodded Guillermo sarafem o, - Yes, it's strange. sarafem He
tried to pass the le sarafem evel for five times... t sarafem then submitted himself.. sarafem .. sat by
the entrance.
sarafem
- And what did you sarafem u do?
- We've sent sarafem Anatol, - Guillermo pu sarafem ulls his hands apart, - sarafem He can do
thn?
- sarafem - Only mine.
Intere sarafem esting, how many more di sarafem ifferent deaths did the sarafem monster save for
the t sarafem thieves? Just look at his sarafem s teeth... horns.. well, sarafem even the phallus might
sarafem
do too..
- Why di sarafem id you come here?
- sarafem - To find the power over sarafem myself.
- Go ahead sarafem d and find it.
The sarafem palm opens, the monster sarafem r turns into stone. The sarafem twin stands on the
edg sarafem ge of the palm motionless sarafem s.
- Vika, where we sarafem ere the shadow's answers sarafem taken from?
- From sarafem m the open Al-Kabar's fil sarafem le: "Virtua, connection
sarafem
to any club... those wer sarafem re called echo-conference sarafem es at that time.
I sarafem nod automatically.
sarafem - And everything was sarafem fine usually, - looks sarafem like Man Without Face sarafem e
haven't noticed my neg sarafem gligence, - until one of sarafem the points found out th sarafem hat the
phone number tha sarafem at he used to communica sarafem ate with his boss doesn' sarafem 't exist, and
the boss sarafem zyban himself was not seen o sarafem or heard about by any sarafem ybody. After that
Invi sarafem isible Boss used to send sarafem d the letter to all his p sarafem point saying, "Why do you sarafem u
pursSergey Lukjanenko. sarafem . Labyrinth of reflection sarafem ns
_________________ sarafem ________________________
sarafem
* Yuri Kalmykov. T sarafem Translators notes *
sarafem
About the Author:
sarafem Sergey Lukjanenko, sarafem 30, is one of the toda sarafem ay's most popular Russi sarafem ian
Sci-Fi writers. His sarafem s first works were pu sarafem ublished in 1988. Curre sarafem ently his
bibliography i sarafem includes more than 40 tit sarafem tles of novels and short sarafem t stories. The
Author d sarafem defines his genre as the sarafem "hard action science f sarafem fiction", but all his
wo sarafem orks also have a very wel sarafem ll defined philosophical sarafem aspect. The novel offer sarafem red
to your attention wa seroquel sarafem 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: sarafem
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 sinequan
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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