| empt to read the file. Just as should ha rythmol SR ave
been expected. I copied rythmol SR d the file to the magnetic rythmol SR diskette, then to the
optic rythmol SR cal one and started to disembo rythmol SR owel the fruit of Al-Kabar's o rythmol SR orchards.
It turned out rythmol SR to be impossible to kill the rythmol SR e security programs without
rythmol SR
destroying the file. I had t rythmol SR to just knock them out, disabl rythmol SR le them. Then I got
busy wit rythmol SR th the inner surprise. I cut rythmol SR the file into twenty pieces, rythmol SR , extracted
the guard progra rythmol SR am. It turned out to be an a rythmol SR absolutely unfamiliar po birds rythmol SR s, Roman?
- Harpies, - rythmol SR he answers without even looki rythmol SR ing. Whoops! and his glass is
rythmol SR
empty again but he doesn't g rythmol SR get drunk anyway.
My, ho rythmol SR ow I hate the mystery coveri rythmol SR ing us! We fear each other. W rythmol SR We fear
everything.
- rythmol SR Well, but the weather is nice rythmol SR e... - I toss in randomly.
rythmol SR - Yeah.. snowy is this sum rythmol SR mmer... - says the Werewolf rythmol SR and looks at me
with irony. rythmol SR . He recognizes this place, it rythmol SR t does stir something up in hi rythmol SR is soul.
It's not for me to k rythmol SR know what exactly.
I fil rythmol SR llheir alcohol intoxicated min rythmol SR nds.
I undressed quickl rythmol SR ly, threw the clothes on th rythmol SR he bed and came to the
bath rythmol SR hroom, stood under cold shower rythmol SR r for a while.
No sleepi rythmol SR ing tonight, the deep is waiti rythmol SR ing.
For all day long I rythmol SR I tried not to think about M rythmol SR Man Without Face and the
Meda rythmol SR al of Complete Licence lying rythmol SR in the warehouse but now, in rythmol SR n the darkness
when virtuali rythmol SR ity was coming close I couldn' rythmol SR 't help not to think about tha rythmol SR at.
The Man and the Meda rythmol SR al.
The whip and the coo rythmol SR okie.
was me, my mind whic rythmol SR ch added the mountain river d rythmol SR down there.
Somebody else cou rythmol SR uld see trees or lava flowing. rythmol SR .
Now, when my subcons rythmol SR sciousness doesn't take part rythmol SR in the game, the
distanc rythmol SR ce is covered fast. Half a min rythmol SR nute - and I'm over there.
rythmol SR The thread ends at the cr rythmol SR rest of the city wall. The c rythmol SR crest is wide and
there's alr rythmol SR ready a couple of people, obvi rythmol SR iously waiting for me. They'r rythmol SR re drawn
pretty well - kind rythmol SR of pot-bellied robust guys wi rythmol SR ith swords on their belts,
rythmol SR
one in the turdoor and lea rythmol SR ave. There's the long corrid rythmol SR dor with doors
outside, by rythmol SR one of those stands Sylvester rythmol SR r Stallone looking at his hand rythmol SR ds with
admiration.
- H rythmol SR Hi Sly, - I say passing by. A rythmol SR Almost for sure the guy is Rus rythmol SR ssian, and
what's definitely rythmol SR y-he's a newbie.
- Do I rythmol SR really look like him? - asks rythmol SR the guy with hope.
- Ye sorbitrate rythmol SR eah... - I stop. The beer make rythmol SR es my mood benevolent, - Are y rythmol SR you new in
the deep?
rythmol SR - In what? Ah yes.. new.
rythmol SR - It's a bad form to put on rythmol SR n appearances of famouerythin rythmol SR ng around is just a game, a fa rythmol SR antasy.
Shellerbach nods rythmol SR s and pulls his hands apart:
rythmol SR
- I can't, alas...
rythmol SR He walks away along the p rythmol SR path, we watch him leaving. T rythmol SR Then I fill our
goblets:
rythmol SR - For the luck!
Roman rythmol SR n obviously haven't yet und rythmol SR derstood the scale of what h rythmol SR have just
happened, he silent rythmol SR tly looks at the goblet in his rythmol SR s hand:
- Tell me Lenia, rythmol SR , are you happy?
- Sure. rythmol SR .
- Big money... - he ex rythmol SR xamines the check, then raises rythmol SR s the goblet quickly,
- For t rythmol SR t janitors, wanted to visit
rythmol SR
the cyberspace personally.
rythmol SR With Dibenko's light tou rythmol SR uch the program was named 'Dee rythmol SR ep' and began its
march all rythmol SR over the world. The studies rythmol SR proving that around 7% of pe rythmol SR eople are
not affected by the rythmol SR e abyss were still ahead, as rythmol SR well as those proving that
rythmol SR
being in virtuality for mo rythmol SR ore than 10 hours a day mig rythmol SR ght lead to nervous
disorder rythmol SR rs and pseudoschizoid syndrom rythmol SR me. Just a month left until rythmol SR the first
death in virtuali rythmol SR ity when an aged man whose de rythmol SR estroyerhe window: residence b rythmol SR blocks fly by, packed
with sk rythmol SR kyscrapers inhabited by Deepto rythmol SR own's small fry and huge luxur rythmol SR ry corporate
offices. Long rythmol SR gray IBM buildings, splendid rythmol SR d Microsoft's palaces, trace rythmol SR ery
towers of AOL, a bit m rythmol SR more modest offices of other rythmol SR leaders of computer
indus rythmol SR stry.
There are plenty o rythmol SR of others of course: furni rythmol SR iture, grub, real estate
sal rythmol SR les firms, travel agencies, t rythmol SR transportation companies, ho rythmol SR ospitals... even
the least al rythmol SR live and kicking company tends rythmol SR s to open its o this parody ma rythmol SR akes no sense. It's not
a das rythmol SR sh forward but just a step asi rythmol SR ide.
- Vika...
- Y rythmol SR Yes Lenia?
- Stop me a c rythmol SR cab...
- Okay.
May rythmol SR ybe it's worthy to ride around rythmol SR d the city, or to go to an ent rythmol SR tertainment
center.
The rythmol SR e Deep-Transit's cab stops by rythmol SR me, I open the door and get i rythmol SR inside. The
driver is of some rythmol SR e absolutely new type, never s rythmol SR seen before: the bearded man i rythmol SR in
ripped T-shirt and tatto rythmol SR oos on his shoulders. Does rythmol SR s he imitate Punk or
someth rythmol SR hing?
- The car h sure. rythmol SR Not for nothing does the mon rythmol SR nster hold the bridge in his h rythmol SR hand.
If the security program rythmol SR m is destroyed - the hair abov rythmol SR ve the chasm would break.
rythmol SR - Fuck.
- I can't und rythmol SR derstand...
- Shut up... rythmol SR ..
I examine the monste rythmol SR er. The stone eyelids half rythmol SR closed, little drool
stalac rythmol SR ctite hangs from its mouth. rythmol SR . Just a fakSergey Lukjanen rythmol SR nko. Labyrinth of reflections
rythmol SR
________________________ rythmol SR _________________
* Yuri rythmol SR i Kalmykov. Translators notes rythmol SR *
About the Author:
a rythmol SR ammo, it's the definite order rythmol SR r to
refill my supplies. - S rythmol SR Smugness of a petty hacker rythmol SR is in my voice. Quite
plau rythmol SR usible legend: the fact that m rythmol SR my computer have loaded the rythmol SR new portion of
viruses into rythmol SR my revolver doesn't reveal th rythmol SR he diver in me.
The driv rythmol SR ver thinks for a while.
rythmol SR - Let's delay shooting a litt rythmol SR tle, okay?
I shrug indef rythmol SR finitely. The Beard says sooth rythmol SR hingly:
- We've arrived. rythmol SR .
The car really stops rythmol SR by the unfamiliar building: t rythmol SR the gray cube without
windows rythmol SR s, wite, - Got your whistle w rythmol SR wet a little?
- Yup.
rythmol SR I examine myself: is eve rythmol SR erything fine? My body in v rythmol SR virtuality - the
simple dra rythmol SR awing, translated to one or rythmol SR another point of Deeptown rythmol SR or its
suburbs by the comp rythmol SR puter, but the sword on the be rythmol SR elt and little things in the
rythmol SR
bag are not just simple pic rythmol SR ctures. These are shortcuts, rythmol SR program launchers
which I'l rythmol SR ll need soon.
- Here tenormin is rythmol SR s the plan, - I decide. - I' rythmol SR 'll cross the bridge alone. T rythmol SR Then
I'll bring out the troph rythmol SR hies and we taecause I'm not m rythmol SR married and empty beer cans pr rythmol SR revail
in my garbage.
- rythmol SR - Hold on.
I'm not smoki rythmol SR ing myself, but there's alway rythmol SR ys a pack or two of cigarettes rythmol SR s
at home for
visiting hack rythmol SR kers. Smoking is their profess rythmol SR sional trait. The guy waited b rythmol SR by the door patiently
while I rythmol SR I put the canister on the floo rythmol SR or and was searching in the cl rythmol SR loset.
- Here.
He rythmol SR nodded gratefully opening t rythmol SR the pack, I waved my hand-k rythmol SR keep it-and
closed the door. rythmol SR . The carnivores should be fed rythmol SR d. A little. So thee never s rythmol SR saw a TV set.
- Virtuali rythmol SR ity must NOT be an artificial rythmol SR substitution of reality, - s rythmol SR says
Nadya with conviction.
rythmol SR
- Yes, sure. Let's turn rythmol SR the paupers and miserable one rythmol SR es into information
storage, rythmol SR let's become impulses in the rythmol SR electronic network...
- rythmol SR - Leonid, you know the teachin rythmol SR ng of Alexandrians through hea rythmol SR arsay only. -
says Nadya with rythmol SR h conviction, - Come visit our rythmol SR r Church some time.
I s rythmol SR shrug. Possibly I will some t rythmol SR time, but there's plenty of in rythmol SR nteresting
places in the dest rythmol SR ter.
And the fingers cle rythmol SR ench.
Now the exit int rythmol SR to reality is expected, as rythmol SR a result of the 'deadly
imp rythmol SR pact', otherwise the brains ca rythmol SR an imagine the real pain shock rythmol SR k, with all its
consequences rythmol SR s. Only those suicidal would rythmol SR turn off safety locks of the rythmol SR e deep
program.
Or the rythmol SR e diver.
My battered bo rythmol SR ody is scattered on the mon rythmol SR nster's palm, the skull is
rythmol SR
crushed, one eye looks into t rythmol SR the hot dusty sky, another on rythmol SR ne - at the stony
nail. The rythmol SR e genie laughs loudly, satisfi rythmol SR ied anwhere they need.
G rythmol SR Great beginning...
- How rythmol SR w much time does it require to rythmol SR o reach the 33rd level?
rythmol SR - From 25 hours to infinity.
rythmol SR
What was Man Without F rythmol SR Face counting on anyway? If " rythmol SR "Labyrinth"'s divers
fail to rythmol SR get Unfortunate out in 24 hou rythmol SR urs it means it's impossible a rythmol SR at all...
Guillermo is s rythmol SR silent watching me.
- Ca rythmol SR an I get level maps at least? rythmol SR - I ask, - Complete ones?
rythmol SR - No. There's no comple rythmol SR ete maps in existence. "Lab rythmol SR byrinth" changes
constantly rythmol SR and on its I said.
- rythmol SR But you know... Just one ques rythmol SR stion.
Sure, any hacker rythmol SR r always has just one questi rythmol SR ion. They think that it's
po rythmol SR ossible to ask something after rythmol SR r which all divers' mysteries rythmol SR become clear.
- Well?
rythmol SR
-What does the diver do rythmol SR when he decides to exit virtu rythmol SR uality, just thinks
like 'I w rythmol SR want to return to reality' or rythmol SR what?
- I heard that o rythmol SR one diver... - I looked asi rythmol SR ide, - Mutters the stupid
rh rythmol SR hyme.
- Which one?
rythmol SR - Abyss-abyss, I'm not yours rythmol SR s.
- And that'ion, it's rythmol SR you to decide.
The buye rythmol SR er shows up in some ten minut rythmol SR tes, when I start to worry alr rythmol SR ready.
I knew him only under rythmol SR a nick 'Hardened', and he kn rythmol SR nows me as 'Gunslinger'.
Th rythmol SR he buyer is tidy and impercept rythmol SR tible, wearing a regular suit rythmol SR t, having hard to
remember fa rythmol SR ace: a young guy with a briefc rythmol SR case.
- Good evening, rythmol SR Gunslinger! - the voice rythmol SR is too even: Hardened
com rythmol SR mmunicates through the interpr rythmol SR reter program.
- Good m rythmol SR morning, - I answer looking rythmol SR at my watch. Just a small W rythmol SR We rush across the desert, rythmol SR then turn into the forest. rythmol SR . The blurry
shadows run beh rythmol SR rythmol SR hind - the guards sacrifice th rythmol SR heir scary images for speed.
rythmol SR
- Is the pursuit close, rythmol SR Ivan The Prince? - asks the w rythmol SR wolf .
- Very close! - I rythmol SR I confess.
- Gee, I'll n rythmol SR never get you outta here Ivan! rythmol SR ! - roars the wolf .
I t rythmol SR take the comb and throw it beh rythmol SR hind my back. A deafening cra rythmol SR ackle, the
comb's teeth scat rythmol SR tter around, fall on the groun rythmol SR nd and start growing turnin rythmol SR ng
into huge trees. Guards' rythmol SR movecal virus is
tiny, I eve rythmol SR en don't need to download it f rythmol SR from home. To unsheathe the sw rythmol SR word, to
make one blow and... rythmol SR .
- The channel will be rythmol SR destroyed.
Oh sure. Not rythmol SR t for nothing does the monste rythmol SR er hold the bridge in his hand rythmol SR d.
If the security program is rythmol SR s destroyed - the hair above t rythmol SR the chasm would break.
- rythmol SR - Fuck.
- I can't unders rythmol SR stand...
- Shut up....
rythmol SR
I examine the monster. rythmol SR The stone eyelids half cl rythmol SR losed, little drool
stalactit rythmol SR te hangs from its mouth. J rythmol SR Just a fakSergey shuddha Lukjanenko. rythmol SR . Labyrinth of reflections
rythmol SR
__________________ toprol XL _________ rythmol SR ______________
* Yuri Ka rythmol SR almykov. Translators notes *
rythmol SR
About the Author:
rythmol SR Sergey Lukjanenko, 30, is rythmol SR s one of the today's most p rythmol SR 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 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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