| under
the feet now. It's ver inderal ry hot, and wind blo inderal ows make me to narr inderal row my eyes. The
c inderal chasm nearly 100 met inderal ters wide is ahead, inderal and the Eastern s inderal styled city can be
inderal
seen on the inderal opposite side. inderal Minarets, dome inderal es, everything i inderal in
orange-yellow-gr inderal reen colors. Pretty inderal nice. Not far away inderal from us there's a inderal a...
well, let's c inderal call it the "bridge inderal e" across the chas inderal sm: the thread, thin inderal n as a
string. One inderal its end is on the c inderal city wall, the other inderal r is being held in t inderal the hand
of the ugl inderal ly stone statue he inderal driver waits obedi inderal iently. I wait too inderal o - for the break inderal in the
traffic. W inderal Why would we want wi inderal itnesses? Ah, finall inderal ly...
I aim to inderal o the car and shoot. inderal . The revolver is no inderal ot very loud, the ki inderal ick is
slight, but inderal t the car takes fire inderal e in an instant. The inderal e driver sits inside inderal e looking
forward. inderal Several seconds, an inderal nd Deep-Transit has inderal one cab less.
inderal Good. Let everyth inderal hing look like drunk inderal k punks having fun.. inderal .. I enter the
fo inderal orest.
- Not e inderal ethical... - mumbles inderal s Windows-Home from inderal the clips.
- inderal Hasly Al-Kabar is o inderal one of those. I peek inderal k into the window o inderal of the low
stone b inderal building that we pas inderal ss by.
Equipme inderal ent... too unfamilia inderal ar one to identify inderal y, several people inderal by the
tables. On inderal ne of them holds a t inderal test-tube in his han inderal nds. Ha, chemical ex inderal xperiments
in virtu inderal uality! Something ne inderal ew. It's worthy o inderal only if they work o inderal on some very
poison inderal nous substances... o inderal or bacterial environ inderal nments. Okay, let's inderal note this.
- inderal Where are you taki inderal ing me? - I ask the inderal e guard. The Bald Pa inderal atch doesn't
turn inderal around, d.
I inderal didn't understand a inderal and Maniac explained inderal d:
- A postc inderal card with return inderal n address. If th inderal he virus detects inderal the
communication inderal hardware on the com inderal mputer, it attaches inderal the second letter t inderal to any
of yours: a inderal a tiny, invisible inderal one... a postcard. inderal . Without any text b inderal but with
your retur inderal rn address. The let inderal tters leave together inderal r but later, already inderal y from the
other co inderal omputer, the postcar inderal rd is forwarded d inderal directly to Al-Kabar inderal r's security
depart inderal tment.
I froze inderal e inside.
- I' inderal 've killed the ey al inderal lso say chicken are inderal being milked in Mos inderal scow...
Roman inderal hesitates, but ligh inderal hts the cigarette an inderal nyway.
Shit. N inderal Nadya's arguments do inderal on't seem to me so c inderal crazy anymore.
inderal I drink my mulled inderal wine, Roman smokes inderal anasha {marijuana}. inderal . In a couple of
mi inderal inutes he throws unf inderal finished cigarette d inderal down with a knock an inderal nd says:
- Kid inderal ddies' fun. Lap me s inderal some wine.
- I inderal It's a mulled wine.
inderal
- What the he inderal ell is the differenc inderal ce...
Now we b inderal both sip the hot win inderal ne with spices. Roma inderal an nods:
- Rul inderal le jack.
- The inderal e line is broke! - i inderal informs Vika
- inderal - I know, girl.
inderal That's it, myster inderal rious anonymous. It' inderal 's that simple. Not inderal a standard exit
w inderal which is possible to inderal o trace but an insta inderal antly broken thread. inderal .
It's barbar inderal ric of course, but a inderal absolutely no data inderal exchange between inderal my
computer and th inderal he one where the war inderal rehouse is modeled.
inderal
- No dialtone inderal e, - says Vika, - Ch inderal heck the wiring.
inderal - Shut down.
inderal - Really?
inderal - Yes.
The bl inderal lue background with inderal the white falling f inderal figure f by Al-Kabar inderal r's bridge.
- inderal I have a confidenti inderal ial information for inderal "Labyrinth"'s manag inderal gement.
- But inderal still I'd like you inderal to state the goal o inderal of your visit briefl inderal ly.
Ah well... inderal .
- I'd like t inderal to relay to Mr Guill inderal lermo Aguirre that I inderal I'm informed about t inderal the
small problem inderal that have arisen inderal recently and about inderal t the fact that di inderal ivers
cooperating w inderal with you had failed inderal d to solve it. I'm g inderal going to offer my se inderal ervices
in solving inderal this problem.
inderal The secretary nods inderal s.
- One momen inderal nt please.
inderal - What else is left inderal t forwell defined ph inderal hilosophical aspect. inderal . The novel offered inderal d
to your attention inderal n was written in 199 inderal 97 and became the re inderal eal 'cult book' of t inderal the
Russian Interne inderal et.
Sergey is inderal married, he lives i inderal in Moscow.
inderal
THE NOVEL inderal "LABYRINTH OF R inderal REFLECTIONS" IS CO inderal OPYRIGHTED BY SERG inderal GEY
LUKJANENKO, ALL inderal L RIGHTS ARE RESERVE inderal ED BY THE AUTHOR. AN inderal NY COMMERCIAL USE OF inderal F THE
NOVEL'S TEXT inderal IS STRICTLY PROHIBI inderal ITED.
Several n inderal notes for the reader inderal r:
1). My inderal English sucks. So i inderal iturning into char inderal rcoal black
carcas inderal sses.
Maniac r inderal really does love c inderal cool effects. Now th inderal he guards' computer inderal rs are
completely inderal busy with an extrem inderal mely important task inderal of calculation of P inderal PI number
with a m inderal million digits prec inderal cision. They even ha inderal ave no resources lef inderal ft to eject
the ope inderal erators from virtua inderal ality. Very good, l inderal let them lie in the inderal e deep for a
while inderal e instead of changin inderal ng the computers.
inderal - Not ethical.. inderal .. - mutters Windows inderal s-Home dolefully.
inderal I rush along t inderal the band. The channe inderal el is e not a real o inderal one, the people ar inderal re sitting on the inderal benches
drinking b inderal beer and chatting. I inderal I sit a little aside inderal e.
The guy d inderal dressed in jeans an inderal nd snow white shir inderal rt climbs on the sm inderal mall
wooden stage. inderal . He's absolutely f inderal featureless. The a inderal isordil audience glances at inderal t him
lazily.
inderal - Once Shtirlitz inderal have left his house inderal e... - starts the gu inderal uy.
{ A side inderal note. Shtirlitz is inderal the main character inderal of very popular Rus inderal ssian
13 episode 1 inderal 1972 TV series abou inderal ut the Soviet spy inderal in Nazi headquarter inderal rs. The
stor
- inderal - Happy sailing! - s inderal says admired novice inderal behind me. It's so inderal nice to be an
old- inderal -timer...
I w inderal wink to the porter inderal and nod towards 'St inderal tallone' in case he inderal e'll be too
shy to inderal ask for help himsel inderal lf and leave the hot inderal tel. I raise my hand inderal d and the cab
stops inderal s immediately: this inderal is not reality...
inderal
- Deep-Transit inderal t is glad to welcome inderal e you, Gunslinger! - inderal - says the driver.
inderal
- To "Labyrint inderal th of Death", admini inderal istrative building, inderal - I reply.
1001
inderal
There exi inderal ist the games and Th inderal he Games.
Thea inderal along the street.
G inderal Gee, this is somet inderal thing! The mixture inderal of younger Arnold inderal Shwarzenegger and
inderal
older Clint Eastwo inderal ood. Very funny. The inderal e man notices my inderal sarcastic look an inderal nd
walks faster.
inderal I raise my ha inderal and and the yellow inderal limo stops by t inderal the sidewalk in an
inderal
instant.
- L inderal Lenia, your complain inderal nt was ignored!
inderal - Nevermind...
inderal This can go for inderal rever, but I have no inderal o time for games now inderal w... I get into the
inderal
car, the driver, inderal a smiling guy with inderal the perfect hairdo inderal o dressed in starche inderal ed
shdried myself, inderal threw the towel int inderal to the bowl with lau inderal undry, returned to
inderal
the room, turned th inderal he computer on and s inderal started to pull on t inderal the virtual suit.
inderal - Good evening inderal Lenia, - said Vika. inderal .
- Hi old gir inderal rl.
Female fac inderal ce is smiling on the inderal e screen. No, possib inderal bly I'm wrong, I nee inderal ed to
set the diffe inderal erent reaction to ' inderal 'old girl' - slight inderal t resentment, pouti inderal ing, a
look cast s inderal slightly aside.
inderal - Any mail?
inderal - Seven letters.
inderal
- Read.
inderal There was nothing i inderal interesting in the m inderal mail: invita- She inderal said, it WAS the inderal last time, - infor inderal rmed Maniac gloomil inderal ly. - I
haven't vis inderal sited these brothel inderal ls for a year! My inderal suit is even with inderal hout sex
stimulato inderal or!
- Well, mi inderal ine's with it, - I s inderal said, - I just never inderal r visit these.
inderal - Too bad for you. inderal . Have your fun whil inderal le young.
In f inderal fact, Maniac is tw inderal wo years younger th inderal han me but he's a c inderal cool hacker
while I inderal I'm just an ordinar inderal ry 'newbie', and al inderal lso he's married, inderal and for the
secon inderal nd time.
- Oka inderal ay, relax. You'll ma inderal ake peace tomorrow v inderal visit you, - I said inderal d, - "Have install inderal led...
new version. inderal ... fucked up my br inderal rains for three day inderal ys until managed to inderal tune it
up..." Whi inderal ile I have Windows-H inderal Home for two years a inderal already.
- Eve inderal erybody gets what su inderal uits them best... - inderal admitted Maniac, inderal and asked
suddenly inderal y, - Hey Lenia, h inderal how did you manage inderal e to burglarize Al- inderal -Kabar using
Windoz inderal ze by the way?
inderal I looked aside.
inderal - There were r inderal rumors on the Net th inderal hat two divers have inderal swindled Al-Kabar,
inderal
- said Maniac insi inderal inuatingly.
I inderal madeand other playe inderal ers. It's difficult inderal to say who is more inderal dangerous:
monster inderal rs are armed bett inderal ter but the player inderal rs are smarter th inderal han machines
obvio inderal ously. One can fin inderal nd weapons, defense inderal gear, first-aid se inderal ets and food in
the inderal e station building. inderal When one leaves the inderal e ismo inderal first level, he ge inderal ets to the second
o inderal one: the highway fu inderal ull of abandoned car inderal rs... and of course inderal e, of other players
inderal
and monsters. In inderal n order to win one m inderal must reach the 50th inderal h level, the ancien inderal nt
cathedral in th inderal he downtown and to d inderal destroy thefirst-aid inderal d sets, grenades, inderal the armor vest. My
inderal
prisoner is equipp inderal ped no worse, he jus inderal st doesn't have the inderal rocket launcher.
inderal It's impossible inderal e to drag away such inderal a pile of iron in inderal reality, but here
inderal
we all are Rambos inderal a little.
- inderal Let's go, - I sa inderal ay to the prisone inderal er, getting into t inderal the car. He
unders inderal stands without trans inderal slation.. We drive a inderal along the highway, I inderal I can't resist
and inderal shoot one more trai inderal iler using the rocke inderal et launcher. Of cour inderal rse I leave the
ca inderal ar firstly... Labyr inderal rinth"'s creatorse
inderal
sound. The band fli inderal ies across the chasm inderal m. Now full speed fo inderal orward!
Those inderal two guards run to inderal o intercept me, bo inderal oth with swords, b inderal but I've
unsheathe inderal ed my own already. W inderal Whose virus is faste inderal er and more agile?
inderal
Mine.
Th inderal his is the gift fro inderal om Maniac, my friend inderal d a computer virus inderal specialist.
The d inderal deadly gift - the ai inderal ir under my sword ta inderal akes fire and hits t inderal the guards with
a inderal dragon belch. They inderal y burn in an inst inderal tant turning into inderal charcoal black
c inderal carcasses.
Man inderal niac really does lo inderal ove - I don't t inderal think it'll happen.
inderal
The man witho inderal out face throws his inderal cloak open with an inderal experienced strippe inderal er
gesture. isoptin There's inderal s a rainbow disk inderal on the inside: a sw inderal wirling glowing spi inderal iral
surrounded by inderal blue.
Oh my. inderal He's from the poli inderal ice himself. At lea inderal ast commissar if he inderal e has a
rainbow ba inderal adge.
- Oh gre inderal eat, go ahead... - I inderal I say in a cheerless inderal s voice, - I knew th inderal hat all
cops are as inderal ss holes, but not to inderal o this extent..
inderal - Just listen to inderal me for the start.
inderal
- What else is inderal s left forwell defin inderal ned philosophical as inderal spect. The novel of inderal ffered
to your atte inderal ention 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 presuSergey Lukjanenko. Labyrinth of reflections
________________________________________
* Yuri Kalmykov. Translators notes *
About the Author:
Sergey Lukjanenko, 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 innoPran XL 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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