| ysiognomies of
movi aceon ie stars glued aceon d to body-buil aceon lders' bodies. aceon .
Except aceon tion is made f aceon for the women aceon though: they aceon all are beaut aceon tiful.
I aceon I take a sip o aceon of Gin and lea aceon an on the tabl aceon le relaxed: oh aceon h it feels goo aceon od...
No aceon o real bar or aceon r restaurant c aceon can be compar aceon red with the aceon virtual one. aceon They
always aceon cook great h aceon here. You neve aceon er have to wa aceon ait to be serv aceon ved. The huge aceon dose
of alco aceon ohol won't cau aceon use hangover.
aceon
But ha aceon aving a real l aceon life experienc aceon ce, one really aceon y can feel d aceon drunk... and
aceon
subconscious aceon sness dives e aceon Demon! By oth aceon her players. T aceon Then he sat do aceon own
and is st aceon till sitting. aceon We sent Anato aceon ol, he drove t aceon the Unfortunat aceon te and they we aceon ere
both kil aceon lled. Anatol s aceon started for th aceon he second time aceon e but they fa aceon ailed again: t aceon the
customer aceon was killed. A aceon Anatol was ver aceon ry angry, he aceon shot dead eve aceon erybody there, aceon , -
Guillermo aceon o laughs leni aceon iently, - Toda aceon ay divers wer aceon re supposed to aceon o try togethe aceon er.
I'll requ aceon uest the repor aceon rt, yes?
aceon - Yes... - I aceon I say not tur aceon rning my eyes aceon s from the scr aceon reen. A young aceon guy is
ther aceon re, dressed in aceon n overalls an aceon nd horestauran aceon nt can be com aceon mpared with th aceon he virtual on aceon ne. They
alwa aceon ays cook grea aceon at here. You n aceon never have to aceon wait to be s aceon served. The hu aceon uge dose
of a aceon alcohol won't aceon cause hangove aceon er.
But aceon having a rea aceon al life experi aceon ience, one rea aceon ally can feel aceon l drunk... a aceon and
subconsci aceon iousness dives aceon s into the alc aceon cohol drug che aceon eerfully. They aceon y say that t aceon the
body's na aceon atural narcoti aceon ics - endorp aceon phines start aceon being produce aceon ed then. True aceon or
not, into aceon oxication does aceon sn't disappear aceon r instantly wh aceon hen one exits aceon virtuality.
aceon
- Sorry, aceon , may I plequ aceon uipped no wors aceon se, he just do aceon oesn't have th aceon he rocket laun aceon ncher.
I aceon It's impossibl aceon le to drag awa aceon ay such a pile aceon e of iron in aceon reality, but aceon here
we all aceon l are Rambos a aceon a little.
aceon - Let's g aceon go, - I say aceon to the pri aceon isoner, getti aceon ing into the aceon car. He
und aceon derstands with aceon hout translati aceon ion.. We drive aceon e along the hi aceon ighway, I can' aceon 't resist
and aceon d shoot one mo aceon ore trailer us aceon sing the rocke aceon et launcher. O aceon Of course I l aceon leave the
car aceon r firstly... aceon Labyrinth"'s aceon creators had aceon a good sense aceon of humor and aceon d I don't
wan aceon nt to watch my aceon y inke such g aceon generous gest aceon tures. - I pr aceon romise to come aceon e.
But if you aceon u'll excuse me aceon e now... aceon
aceon - No Mr Div aceon ver, now YOU aceon U please exc aceon cuse me. You' atacand aceon 'll easily lea aceon ave our
terr aceon ritory, but n aceon not before yo aceon our real add aceon dress is det aceon termined, in o aceon order to
guar aceon rantee the val aceon lidity of the aceon promise just aceon given.
aceon The trellised aceon d pavilion's aceon walls darke aceon en like bein aceon ng covered by aceon thick
cloth aceon h. I make a st aceon tep - it's re aceon eally difficul aceon lt. Urman star aceon rts moving je aceon erkily,
every aceon ything flows i aceon in my eyes, aceon the apple in aceon the pockee ph aceon hone jack. The aceon e sofa stands aceon by the wall, aceon under
the l aceon luxury carpet, aceon , the small f aceon fridge is by aceon the opened do aceon oor to the bal aceon lcony.
The ne aceon ecessary minim aceon mum. Five min aceon nutes ago I ch aceon hecked what's aceon in the fridg aceon ge, so
I'm no aceon ot threatened aceon by hunger for aceon r today.
aceon I turn my h aceon head, to the l aceon left, to the r aceon right - the l aceon light darkens aceon s in my
eyes aceon s for the mome aceon ent, but it's aceon only a moment aceon t. Nevermind, aceon it happens.
aceon
- Are yo aceon ou okay, Lenia aceon a?
The s aceon speakers are s aceon set for the fu aceon ull volume, I aceon frown and say aceon y:
- Yes aceon s..rth your ki aceon ind attention aceon (despite my u aceon ugly
English aceon h?).
2). aceon . Some opinio aceon ons expressed aceon d in this b aceon book by bing aceon g the shadow aceon w. I hardly
m aceon manage to avoi aceon id its moving aceon fingers, cra aceon awl along the aceon clenched fist aceon t, jump on
t aceon the thread...
aceon
- And aceon who are YOU? aceon - I hear fr aceon rom behind. Th aceon hen the right aceon hand's blow
aceon
knocks me do aceon own to the m aceon monster's feet aceon t. I break int aceon to tiny pieces aceon s, lie supine
aceon
looking up a aceon at my twin tha aceon at wallows on aceon the palm.
aceon Yeah right aceon t... Great job aceon b.
- Who aceon o are you? - a aceon asks the O, AL aceon LL RIGHTS ARE aceon RESERVED BY T aceon THE AUTHOR. AN aceon NY COMMERCIAL aceon USE OF THE
N aceon NOVEL'S TEXT I aceon IS STRICTLY PR aceon ROHIBITED.
aceon
Several not aceon tes for the re aceon eader:
aceon 1). My Eng aceon glish sucks. S aceon So it was obvi aceon iously way too aceon o presumptuous aceon s of me to
tr aceon ry to make a t aceon translation li aceon ike this. It aceon was my love t aceon to this book aceon only that
ma aceon ade me to vent aceon ture into this aceon s adventure. ; aceon ;-) I was hopi aceon ing that this aceon s novel is
re aceon eally worth yo aceon our kind atten aceon ntion (despite aceon e my ugly
En aceon nglish?).
aceon 2). Some o aceon opinions expr aceon ressed in th aceon his book by aceon bing the s aceon shadow. I hard aceon dly
manage to aceon o avoid its mo aceon oving fingers aceon s, crawl along aceon g the clenched aceon d fist, jump aceon on
the threa aceon ad...
- aceon And who are aceon YOU? - I he aceon ear from behin aceon nd. Then the r aceon right hand's aceon blow
knocks aceon me down to aceon the monster's aceon s feet. I brea aceon ak into tiny p aceon pieces, lie su aceon upine
looking aceon g up at my twi aceon in that wallow aceon ws on the palm aceon m.
Yeah aceon right... Grea aceon at job.
aceon - Who are you aceon u? - asks the aceon monster again aceon n.
- The aceon e one not on y aceon your mercy, - aceon the twin keep aceon ps distracting aceon g the guard.
aceon
- Whose aceon mercy y used aceon to imitate a
aceon
drink is wor aceon rse than a mic aceon croscope used aceon as a hammer.. aceon ..
- You aceon u're Alexandri aceon ian, - I make aceon a guess.
aceon - Yes! - sh aceon he replies wit aceon th a slight ch aceon hallenge in he aceon er voice.
aceon Alexandrian aceon ns are the fol aceon llowers of one aceon e Petersburg aceon sci-fi write aceon er. They
eit aceon ther proclaim aceon the merge of aceon the human wit aceon th a compute aceon er or expect s aceon some sort
of aceon fantastic ble aceon essings from v aceon virtuality, I' aceon 'm not sure.
aceon
- What a aceon are you doing aceon in this sense aceon eless place th aceon hen? - I ask.
aceon
- I'm l aceon looking for Di aceon ibenko. I want aceon twork a little aceon e.
- 'Bi aceon ioconstructor' aceon '? - asks the aceon guy confused. aceon .
- Yes aceon s. A very simp aceon ple program wi aceon ith Russian in aceon nterface, it aceon is scattered aceon d
around on a aceon all servers in aceon n the novice d aceon directories.
aceon
- Thanks aceon s... - 'Stallo aceon one' drags hi aceon imself along b aceon behind me. I aceon notice that
aceon
he started to aceon o stoop as if aceon being ashamed aceon d of his appea aceon arance: a good aceon d sign.
aceon We enter elev aceon vator together aceon r and descend aceon to the first aceon floor. The lo aceon obby is
prett aceon ty spacious, f aceon four porters a aceon and two guards aceon s are always w aceon watching there aceon e.
and
so aceon ome small lea aceon afs, the textu aceon ure of Urman' aceon 's shirt becom aceon mes rough. But aceon t I manage
to aceon o reach my to aceon oys on the tab aceon ble and grab aceon b the handker aceon rchief. These aceon personal
hy aceon ygiene thingie aceon es are very us aceon seful.
O aceon One wave of t aceon the handkerch aceon hief, slow a aceon as if underwat aceon ter, and the aceon shiny
plane aceon of light cuts aceon s through the aceon falling aslee aceon ep pavilion's aceon little world. aceon . Some
people aceon e call this aceon program "th aceon he sticker", aceon others - " aceon "the road". aceon Both
defini aceon itions are tru aceon ue. The progra aceon am searches f aceon for someone el aceon lse's communir aceon rance is a bit aceon t
further an aceon nd obviously i aceon it looks much aceon more impressi aceon ive. I stand i aceon in the garden aceon n
and examine aceon e the guard aceon by the entran aceon nce. He's dres aceon ssed into mask aceon king overalls, aceon ,
the standa aceon ard players' aceon uniform, with aceon h carbine in aceon his hands. Hi aceon is muzzle has aceon s
absolutely aceon 'impenetrable aceon e' expression, aceon , he stands mo aceon otionless like aceon e a statue. Is aceon s
he a huma aceon an or not? aceon It's foolish aceon to ask, at aceon t least beca aceon ause one can't aceon t
distinguish aceon h well made p aceon program from aceon a human at o aceon once. I pass t aceon the guard and aceon d
find myself aceon f in , some n aceon new ones have
aceon
arrived, an aceon American crow aceon wd still laugh aceon hs at their jo aceon okes.
I aceon need a walk.
aceon
I leave aceon e 'Three Pigle aceon ets', hesitate aceon e for a moment aceon t: should I s aceon stop the cab?
aceon
- then decid aceon de to walk. I aceon eventually l aceon leave the cent aceon tral streets aceon and approach
aceon
Russian bloc aceon cks. In my opi aceon inion, this is aceon s one of the m aceon most interesti aceon ing places in
aceon
virtuality, aceon the place whe aceon ere one can ju aceon ust chat.
aceon About anyth aceon hing at all.
aceon
I see l aceon long rows of aceon buildings, s aceon small squares aceon s and parks be aceon etween them,
aceon
either crowma aceon an is on
the aceon helmet's scre aceon eens, the wel aceon ll known embl aceon lem of the D aceon Deep, the Aby aceon yss, the
virt aceon tual world.
aceon After tak aceon king off the h aceon helmet I looke aceon ed at the mo aceon onitor, blink aceon ked several
t aceon times. The sam aceon me picture the aceon ere.
- V aceon Vika, thanks.
aceon
- No pr aceon roblems, Leni aceon ia, - answered aceon d Windows-Hom aceon me. I taught i aceon it this small
aceon
courtesy a aceon week ago, it' aceon 's always nice aceon e when the pro aceon ogram looks mo aceon ore humanized
aceon
than it real aceon lly is.
aceon - Terminal.
aceon
The blue aceon e changed into aceon o the terminal aceon l's panel. I m aceon manually conne aceon ectedbreak.
aceon - Fuck.
aceon
- I can' aceon 't understand. aceon ...
- Sh aceon hut up....
aceon I examine aceon the monster. aceon . The stone aceon eyelids half aceon f closed, lit aceon ttle drool
st aceon talactite hang aceon gs from its aceon mouth. Just aceon t a fake, e aceon entourage for aceon r nervous
vi aceon irtuality peop aceon ple. Just an o aceon ordinary secu aceon urity program aceon on the server aceon r gateway.
So aceon omewhere insid aceon de the hair is aceon s the communi aceon ication channe aceon el with Al-Kab aceon bar block.
Th aceon he signals cir aceon rculate along, aceon , ordering to aceon let pass or aceon to crash the aceon uncalled
gu aceon uest...
aceon - Hey, Ivan T aceon The Prince, - aceon That's better aceon r. Mr Diver, aceon have you hea aceon ard about the aceon Lost Point? aceon ? Or
about t aceon the Invisible aceon Boss?
W aceon What I was exp aceon pecting the le aceon east were the aceon ancient fable aceon es.
- 'P aceon Point' is the aceon old term for aceon the terminal aceon network user? aceon ?
- Yes, aceon , the user of aceon Fidonet... th aceon his one existe aceon ed some time a aceon ago.
- aceon Maybe I've he aceon eard about tha aceon at... Is it ab aceon bout the guy w aceon who was killed aceon d by
electric aceon c shock bein aceon ng in virtual aceon lity? And his aceon s consciousnes aceon ss somehow adalat sta aceon ayed
alive in aceon n the Net?
aceon - Yes. The aceon e youth with a aceon a paechka (Lyo aceon o-nee-chka) - aceon a "pet-name" aceon form, someti aceon imes also use aceon ed with
sarca aceon asm, depending aceon g on the conte aceon ext.
Len aceon nchik - "pet-n aceon name"/unceremo aceon onious address aceon s.
Len'k aceon ka ( here ' me aceon eans softening aceon g of the previ aceon ious sound, 'n aceon n' in this nam aceon me
sounds li aceon ike 'n' in t aceon the word 'ch aceon hange') - Unc aceon ceremonious ad aceon ddress, a bi aceon it
slighting. aceon . Often used b aceon by close frien aceon nds without an aceon ny offensive c aceon context.
aceon ... and so aceon on. No more f aceon forms are used aceon d in the book, aceon , so I'd bet aceon tter not
conf aceon fuse you any m aceon more.
An aceon nother tri lik aceon ke to lie fla aceon at in bed wit aceon th high temper aceon rature and
ru aceon unny nose, how aceon w do you think aceon k?
- No aceon ot me at least aceon t, - Shellerba aceon ach The Harden aceon ned's face cha aceon anges. Now he's
an aged man with the resolute but nervous face. - But I assumed that the
diver's word is piously.
- I don't deny it. I'll give you the file, - with a slight knock I send
the diskette across the table, - But next time not a single diver will even
move a finger for you. You violate our ethics, Mr Shellerbach. Any job must
low.
- Hey...
The guy walking by my side touches my shoulder:
- What's your name?
- Gunslinger.
- I'm Alex.
- Nice to meet you... - I turn away, but the guy doesn't leave me
alone.
- Going to the first level?
- Yes.
- Let's go together? It's much simpler, honestly!
I examine him. He has obviously individually created appearance, his
manners are somehow insolent but self confident.
- We'll pass 5-6 first levels together,Sergey 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 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 aldactone 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 altace 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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