| virtuality here for at all.
Obvi cordarone iously Al-Kabar is one of t cordarone those. I peek into the win cordarone ndow of the low
stone bui cordarone ilding that we pass by.
cordarone Equipment... too unfami cordarone iliar one to identify, s cordarone several people by the
ta cordarone ables. One of them holds a cordarone test-tube in his hands. Ha cordarone a, chemical experiments
in cordarone n virtuality! Something new cordarone w. It's worthy only if cordarone they work on some very
po cordarone oisonous substances... or b cordarone bacterial environments. Oka cordarone ay, let's note this.
cordarone - Where are you taking me cordarone e? - I ask the guardsold y cordarone yourself too cheap, Ivan Th cordarone he Prince?
- God know cordarone ws... - I answer examining cordarone g the statue, - I was war cordarone rned about
the bridge...
cordarone
- What are you gonna cordarone steal?
- Ripe apples cordarone s...
- Oh, so this is cordarone s the reason for all this cordarone masquerade... - snickers cordarone the
wolf again, - And w cordarone what is inside the apples? cordarone {here is a coumadin reference to cordarone cordarone the
Russian fairy tales o cordarone of course...}
- I dun cordarone nno, - I spring down from h cordarone his back, keeping my hand o cordarone on his fur, -
Okay, gimme cordarone a second, I'll grab some s cordarone sturn.
- Move the Sha cordarone adow. Look for the password cordarone d, - I order again.
O cordarone One second - the compute cordarone er 'moves' its HD, loadin cordarone ng everything known
about cordarone Al-Kabar into the shadow's cordarone s memory. Then the copy ste cordarone eps on the bridge.
Of cou cordarone urse, it'll yield nothing, cordarone except some time.
- cordarone Who are you?! - roars th cordarone he monster, grabbing the cordarone shadow. I hardly
manage cordarone to avoid its moving finge cordarone ers, crawl along the clench cordarone hed fist, jump on
the thr cordarone read...
- And who ar cordarone re YOU? - I hear from beh cordarone hind. Tthe armor turned out cordarone t to be
made of thin metal cordarone l plates and is pretty ligh cordarone htweight - but a little too cordarone o baggy
and has uncomforta cordarone able ties on the back. In cordarone around three hours the s cordarone shotgun
trigger started t cordarone to jam, he had to hit it cordarone slowly and carefully, movi cordarone ing the
finger from side t cordarone to side.
By 5 am he f cordarone finished the game. The mo cordarone onsters were cast down. Th cordarone he game
menu had appeare cordarone ed on the stone wall before cordarone e him and he pushed the sh cordarone hotgun's
barrel into it wi cordarone ith a scream.
The il cordarone llusion disshit, do I real cordarone lly look that lousy?!
cordarone A thick pack of hundred cordarone thousand rouble notes eme cordarone erged from the left
pock cordarone ket. I put three notes on t cordarone the bar, took the mug and t cordarone turned around.
Have cordarone anybody really stood he cordarone ere? No, looks like I w cordarone was imagining
things...
cordarone
Having seated by the cordarone e nearest table I silentl cordarone ly enjoyed the best beer
cordarone
invented in this sinful cordarone world. Then I took my cordarone canister from the merry
cordarone
bartender (Europe! One cordarone can't affect him so eas cordarone sily), and after reen.
cordarone Here we go.
I op cordarone pened fire, shooting with cordarone h the left mouse button an cordarone nd reloading the
rifle wit cordarone th the right one. The brig cordarone ght yellow shells flew ac cordarone cross the whole
screen, t cordarone the headphones rumbled. Aft cordarone ter I shot those three who cordarone were visible, I
moved my cordarone shooting at the cars. I cordarone It's not easier to hit the cordarone fuel tank in
virtualit cordarone ty than in reality but when cordarone n you shoot at the drawn si cordarone ilhouettes, this
is the ta cordarone ask for a kid.
deep
cordarone
Enter
What the cordarone hell, didn't I tell you or cordarone r sure he's smiling.
cordarone - One has to lose with hon cordarone nor, Mr Diver.
I have cordarone en't lost yet, but he doesn cordarone n't know that.
- Sure cordarone e, impossibility of being cordarone caught is what makes dive cordarone ers what they
are. - says cordarone s Man Without Face, - What cordarone are the program obstacles cordarone s for you? All
you need cordarone to do is just to concentra cordarone ate... and off you are, ba cordarone ack home... to
disconnect cordarone manually.
Um-hm. Th cordarone hanks for the tip. It'll cordarone l be the momentSergey Lukj cordarone janenko. Labyrinth of refle cordarone ections
______________ cordarone _____second, I'll grab some cordarone e soda and will be right ba cordarone ack...
- Go ahead, - cordarone agrees the wolf gazing aro cordarone ound.
I half close my cordarone y eyes.
Abyss-abyss, cordarone I'm not yours... let me go cordarone o, abyss...
I shivere cordarone ed slightly and stood up; cordarone ; tiny screens before my cordarone eyes, the
desert, the ch cordarone hasm, the statue and the c cordarone city in the distance is on cordarone them, very
nice drawing. cordarone Al-Kabar has good designer cordarone rs.
The virtual helme cordarone et is heavy, one of the mo cordarone ost sophisticated models cordarone by
Sony: with excellent c cordarone color screelows along the s cordarone street crashing everything
cordarone
on its way. The buildin cordarone ngs crumble, the wall blo cordarone ows up cozaar with a thunder-like
cordarone
sound. The band flies acr cordarone ross the chasm. Now full sp cordarone peed forward!
Those t cordarone two guards run to interce cordarone ept me, both with sword cordarone ds, but I've
unsheathed m cordarone my own already. Whose virus cordarone s is faster and more agile? cordarone ?
Mine.
This i cordarone is the gift from Maniac, my cordarone y friend a computer virus cordarone specialist.
The deadly g cordarone gift - the air under my swo cordarone ord takes fire and hits the cordarone e guards with
a d, without cordarone t any hidden surprises. I p cordarone put it in my pocket and nod cordarone d:
- Thanks.
So cordarone orry, it'll be no return cordarone courtesy, but it doesn't cordarone look like Nadya
expects cordarone s it.
- This deep is cordarone s a strange thing, - she sa cordarone ays sipping her wine, - I' cordarone 'm in
Moscow for instance, cordarone , you are in Samara somewhe cordarone ere, that boy - in Penza... cordarone .
'That boy', looking cordarone g like the cute Mexican fro cordarone om a soap opera notices her cordarone r
look and raises his cordarone chin proudly. Yes, one c cordarone can't deny her power of cordarone f
observation, he's reth F cordarone Fidonet as well, - says Man cordarone n Without Face.
I sta cordarone ay silent.
- Mr Diver cordarone r, unlike Urman I'm not tr cordarone rying to ascertain your per cordarone rsonality.
But you know cordarone what the funniest thing cordarone is? We both need you for cordarone r the same
purpose.
cordarone - To capture the Lost Poin cordarone nt?
Man Without Face cordarone laughs softly.
- Thi cordarone is is just a fable... that cordarone t was born in the junction cordarone n of times when
Internet a cordarone and Fidonet turned into cordarone the united virtuality. V cordarone Very few people
remember t cordarone them now. Just five years cordarone s y politely - And what is cordarone s that?
I smile in re cordarone eturn and say:
- I t cordarone think that your Ukranian an cordarone nd Canadian employees would cordarone d explain that
to you quic cordarone cker. I mean the divers wor cordarone rking on permanent contract cordarone t with you.
Willy loo cordarone oks at me silently for a lo cordarone ong time, then nods:
cordarone - I thought that Anatol is cordarone s Russian. He's Ukranian?
cordarone
Yeah, Man Without Fa cordarone ace is informed much bet cordarone tter than "Labyrinth"'s
cordarone
security manager.
- cordarone These are just details.
cordarone - Take a seat Gunslin cordarone nger... -o the car and shoo cordarone ot. The revolver is not ver cordarone ry loud, the kick is
slig cordarone ght, but the car takes fire cordarone e in an instant. The driver cordarone r sits inside looking
forw cordarone ward. Several seconds, and cordarone Deep-Transit has one cab l cordarone less.
Good. Let ever cordarone rything look like drunk pun cordarone nks having fun... I enter cordarone r the
forest.
- Not cordarone ethical... - mumbles Windo cordarone ows-Home from the clips.
cordarone - Have you optimized y cordarone yourself already?
- Y cordarone Yes.
- Okay, now I ne cordarone eed help. Look for the cach cordarone he, access code: "Ivan".
cordarone - The glowtable, watch cordarone hing the guests: it's
alwa cordarone ays interesting.
The cordarone number of men and women i cordarone is approximately the same. cordarone . Absolutely all
women are cordarone e perfectly beautiful and o cordarone of all types: from blond S cordarone Scandinavians to
charcoal cordarone black Africans. Most men cordarone are terrible freaks. No, i cordarone it's not true of
course, j cordarone just my subconsciousness no cordarone otes all follies in men's v cordarone virtual shells -
dispropor cordarone rtionately muscular figure cordarone es and too recognizable ph cordarone hysiognomies of
movie sta cordarone ars glued to body-builders' cordarone ' bodies.
Excep I ma cordarone ade the last attempt to dev cordarone viate:
- Why two? One cordarone e diver and one.... assista cordarone ant.
Maniac laughed s cordarone softly:
- Don't consi cordarone ider me a lamer Lenia, othe cordarone erwise you'll receive such cordarone a nice
'hello' in the mai cordarone il that you'll have to rei cordarone install whole freakin' HD cordarone D from
scratch... Divers cordarone never pick an ordinary guy cordarone ys to assist them.
I cordarone kept silence looking at Ma cordarone aniac.
- I see, - he cordarone said. - Well, for the luck cordarone k. For the rich fools and cordarone smart
hackers.
We t cordarone touched the glasses.
cordarone you pay?
- Like this cordarone s, - I say getting the rev cordarone volver out of my pocket and cordarone d hit the
guy on the temp cordarone ple really hard. He tries cordarone to block me but it's too cordarone late. I
look at his pale cordarone e face, shook him by the co cordarone ollar and order:
- Al cordarone l-Kabar block.
- This cordarone s address doesn't exist - cordarone says the driver. He's kno cordarone ocked out and
conquered.
cordarone
- Al-Kabar. 8-7-7 cordarone 7-3-8. - the simple cod cordarone de opens the access to
cordarone
Deep-Transit's service ad cordarone ddresses. I could manage w cordarone without hitting the driver
cordarone
but Of course there cordarone e is a way out: unavaila cordarone able to the ordinary Deept cordarone town
citizen: to exit the cordarone Deep by myself and to brea cordarone ak the connection.
Th cordarone he question is though: is cordarone sn't it exactly what they cordarone y expect from me?
Reveali cordarone ing myself as the diver, an cordarone nd to break the connection cordarone while I'm in the
'car', cordarone the transportation program cordarone m which is probably capabl cordarone le of tracing the
telepho cordarone one line?
Geez, just cordarone t why did I connect from t cordarone the main address today, now cordarone w it's an
amateur's task t cordarone to determine k tracks are cordarone rattling there and missi cordarone iles fly up to the
skies, cordarone , new terrible weapons are cordarone e being developed, world's cordarone capitals are being
burned cordarone d to ashes by nuclear explo cordarone osions. One doesn't need t cordarone to be quick or keen
in thi cordarone is game, strategic thinki cordarone ing is most important. T cordarone They say that the
Milita cordarone ary watches this game very cordarone attentively and sometimes cordarone successful players
get of cordarone ffers to join the army. Som cordarone me people seem scared by th cordarone hat, the others are
attrac cordarone cted on the contrary. I cordarone have played thesesystem cordarone with pseudo intellect, on cordarone ne
degree higher than Wind cordarone dows-Home. How did it deter cordarone rmine my native language?
cordarone
- The visitor doesn't cordarone t come uninvited!
- I cordarone I was invited!
- By w cordarone whom?
I have to stake cordarone e my all...
- You don cordarone n't have the right to know cordarone this name!
- I have cordarone the right for everything, cordarone - informs the monster.
cordarone And the fingers clench. cordarone .
Now the exit into cordarone o reality is expected, as cordarone s a result of the 'deadly cordarone y
impact', otherwise the b cordarone brains can imagine the re t cordarone to me I wonder?
Even cordarone if my interlocutor has no cordarone face I know for sure he's cordarone smiling.
- One has t cordarone to lose with honor, Mr Dive cordarone er.
I haven't lost ye cordarone et, but he doesn't know tha cordarone at.
- Sure, impossib cordarone bility of being caught is cordarone what makes divers what th cordarone hey
are. - says Man Withou cordarone ut Face, - What are the pr cordarone rogram obstacles for you? A cordarone All
you need to do is ju cordarone ust to concentrate... and o cordarone off you are, back home... cordarone to
disconnect manually.
cordarone
Um-hm. Thanks for cordarone the tip. It'll be the mo cordarone omentSergey Lukjanenko. Lab cordarone byrinth of reflections
cordarone
_________________________ cordarone ________________
* Yu cordarone uri Kalmykov. Translators n cordarone notes *
About the Aut cordarone thor:
Sergey Lukja cordarone 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 coreg 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 crestor 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 |