| y toys on the table and grab th trandate he handkerchief. These trandate personal
hygiene thing trandate gies are very useful.
trandate One wave of the h trandate handkerchief, slow as trandate if underwater, and the trandate e shiny
plane of light trandate cuts through the fallin trandate ng asleep pavilion's lit trandate ttle world. Some
people trandate e call this program trandate "the sticker", others trandate s - "the road". Bot trandate th
definitions are true trandate e. The program searches trandate for someone else's com trandate mmunication
channels an trandate nd starts using them for trandate r its own benefit.
trandate Very-very new, rare an trandate nd almo - Happy saili trandate ing! - says admired novi trandate ice behind me. It's so n trandate nice to be an
old-timer trandate r...
I wink to t trandate the porter and nod towar trandate rds 'Stallone' in case trandate he'll be too
shy to as trandate sk for help himself and trandate leave the hotel. I rais trandate se my hand and the cab
trandate
stops immediately: this trandate s is not reality...
trandate - Deep-Transit is gla trandate ad to welcome you, Gunsl trandate linger! - says the drive trandate er.
- To "Labyrint trandate th of Death", administra trandate ative building, - I repl trandate ly.
1001
Th trandate here exist the games and trandate d The Games.
The d trandate d's books, liked to med trandate ditate and smoked grass trandate s. I surely believe in
trandate
it. His former friends trandate confess that he was c trandate cynical and lazy, a slo trandate oven and
very so-so pro trandate ofessional. In this I do trandate o believe too.
But trandate t it was him who gave ri trandate ise to the deep. Ten se trandate econd clip displayed on
trandate
the screen is harmless trandate s by itself. If shown on trandate n TV (I heard it was dar trandate red to be
done in some trandate e tricor countries), the TV wat trandate tcher won't feel anyth trandate hing and will not
beco trandate ome a movie character. D trandate Dmitry himself just wa trandate anted to create a I shou trandate ut to the driver.
trandate He stops right before trandate the burning cars and tu trandate urns around. Even throu trandate ugh
the dark glasses of trandate f the mask terror and ad trandate dmiration can be seen.
trandate
- How did you do t trandate that?
- Get out.
trandate
He obviously wait trandate ts for one more shot, trandate but I plainly point trandate at the
bodies, both s trandate shot by me and killed i trandate in the cars' explosions trandate s. Go gather the
weapo trandate ons. He won't dare to trandate try to shoot me now. trandate The speed and accura trandate acy
demonstrated by me trandate is practically impos trandate ssible for a desert, the trandate en turn into the fore trandate est. The blurry
shadow trandate ws run behind - the guar trandate rds sacrifice their scar trandate ry images for speed.
trandate - Is the pursuit clo trandate ose, Ivan The Prince? - trandate asks the wolf .
- trandate - Very close! - I confes trandate ss.
- Gee, I'll ne trandate ever get you outta here trandate Ivan! - roars the wolf trandate .
I take the comb trandate b and throw it behind my trandate y back. A deafening cra trandate ackle, the
comb's teet trandate th scatter around, fall trandate on the ground and sta trandate art growing turning
in trandate nto huge trees. Guards' trandate ' movements between the trandate em becse...}
- I d trandate dunno, - I spring down f trandate from his back, keeping m trandate my hand on his fur, -
O trandate Okay, gimme a second, I' trandate 'll grab some soda and w trandate will be right back...
trandate - Go ahead, - agree vasodilan trandate es the wolf gazing aroun trandate nd.
I half close m trandate my eyes.
Abyss-aby trandate yss, I'm not yours... le trandate et me go, abyss...
trandate I shivered slightly trandate and stood up; tiny scr trandate reens before my eyes, trandate the
desert, the chasm, trandate , the statue and the ci trandate ity in the distance is o trandate on them, very
nice draw trandate wing. Al-Kabar has good trandate designers.
The v trandate is closed, the bug
kn trandate nocks against it in the trandate last effort, a short trandate flash - and it falls on trandate n the
floor.
- S trandate Should I file the compla trandate aint to the landlord? - trandate asks Windows-Home. Now
trandate
the voice comes from s trandate silver clips on my shirt trandate t's collar.
- Go a trandate ahead - I agree. I alwa trandate ays forget to explain to trandate o the program that
th trandate he landlord is myself.
trandate
The elevator wait trandate ts for me. Usually I us trandate se the stairs... peeking trandate g inside
other apartmen trandate nts along the way. Nobod trandate dy lives there anyway.. trandate .. but now I'm in at ho trandate ome, by the keyboard. trandate I had to
type the com trandate mmand:
deep
trandate [Enter]
The mult trandate ticolor whirlwind flash trandate hes out above the deser trandate rt image. For one
more trandate second I could see th trandate he screens, the soft c trandate cushion inside the helme trandate et,
then the consciousn trandate ness began to drift. T trandate The brain tried to resi trandate ist, but no
use, the d trandate deep program affects eve trandate erybody.
But there trandate e are some people - one trandate e out of 300.000 - thos trandate se who don't lose
the l trandate link with reality comple trandate etely. Those who can s trandate surface frd arises arou trandate und the
werewolf and he trandate e ceases to move.
trandate Freezing. It's over. trandate My friend have left t trandate the game - he's at ho trandate ome
already, takes off trandate his virtual helmet, and trandate d his exact copy stands trandate s before the
dragon - w trandate with all stolen programs trandate s... in case he had any, trandate , of course.
The d trandate dragon hits him with his trandate s paw gently and it sc trandate catters down in icy
f trandate fragments. All three hea trandate ads bow down to him, sea trandate arching for the stolen a trandate apple.
I'm running trandate g away.
The apple trandate e in my pocket becomes trandate ligh
I hit the dri trandate iver with the revolver' trandate 's handle, also the wea trandate ak virus that
knocks ou trandate ut the simple programs trandate s like Deep-Transit wel trandate ll, but now there's no
trandate
effect of course.
trandate - Don't flutter, - ad trandate dvises the driver watc trandate ching how I pull the d trandate door
locks. Everything trandate is sealed completely a trandate and I submit myself. At trandate any rate, no
informati trandate ion is unnecessary.
trandate We move on, and agai trandate in I try to contact Vika trandate a - without any success trandate s. My
voice communicati trandate ion channel is blocked.
trandate
Abyss-abyss, I' m trandate marble ark going up in trandate nto the
sky. Purple sp trandate parks slide along it ba trandate ack and forth and low r trandate rumble is emitted
by t trandate the stone, sometimes ac trandate ccompanied with deep n trandate nonhuman sighs. The ark trandate k's
entrance is filled trandate with swirling red fog.
trandate
And right into t trandate this fog people are com trandate ming, slowly as if mes trandate smerized.
Maybe not a trandate all or them are real, so trandate ome of them are created trandate d by "Labyrinth"'s
syso trandate ops for more solemnity b trandate but it's impressive anyw trandate way.
I join the co trandate ommon flow.
- Hey. trandate ...
The guhow it trandate dawned upon you or to trandate invent something more a trandate amazing? Or
just lead y trandate your dissolute life and trandate smoke the grass as mu trandate uch as you want? Or
wa trandate ander along Deeptown's trandate streets all around t trandate the clock looking at trandate your
creation?
trandate I wish I knew that, but trandate t - not to be in your s trandate shoes, because you're n trandate not
more than the ord trandate dinary virtuality inhabi trandate itant, even with all yo trandate our millions
and Octium trandate m prototype as a home co trandate omputer. The Deep holds trandate you as tightly as
a trandate any provincial programm trandate mer from ime to open fi trandate ire. I change
the char trandate rger and approach the trandate e bodies. Their rifles a trandate are destroyed by the
trandate
bullets. Pity. One can' trandate 't go very far with just trandate t a gun.
I walk th trandate hrough the building: th trandate he series of empty befou trandate uled halls, blood
pools trandate s, walls covered by some trandate e desperate slogans and trandate d curses... Not a stati trandate ion
building but the Br trandate rest fortress. {The fort trandate tress on Soviet-Polish trandate border that
was one of trandate f the first to be attack trandate ked by the Nazis in the trandate morning of June 22,
1 trandate 1941} According to the trandate gam means, secondly he trandate doesn't speak
Russian trandate himself. But... who kno trandate ows how perfect interpre trandate eter programs might be?
trandate
Emotionless tones is t trandate the tradeoff of serial m trandate made and cheap ones.
trandate - Let's not play th trandate he fool, - I say. - You trandate u decided that I'm the d trandate diver?
And dragged me h trandate here for interrogation. trandate I'm afraid you'll be di trandate isappointed.
- Thi trandate is morning two hackers, trandate one of those being the trandate obvious diver, stole
t trandate the file with the te trandate echnology of the new trandate pharmaceutical product trandate t from
Al-Kabar. - ss trandate and this works
to my a trandate advantage.
By the trandate end of the 14th level I trandate I realize that I can't s trandate stand it anymore, I
get trandate t out of the deep for a trandate a moment and see that i trandate it's almost 7 am. It's trandate only
bad for computers trandate s to be shut down, the o trandate opposite is true for hum trandate mans.
The 14th le trandate evel is the city's sport trandate t center. The computer w trandate with the game
menu wa trandate as standing on the ju trandate udges' table by the hu trandate uge swimming pool where
trandate
corpses of crocodile-l trandate like amphibious monster trandate rs were lazily swaying trandate in clear
watefor any D trandate Deeptown citizen:
it's trandate s too hard to live witho trandate out virtuality if one vi trandate isited it even just once trandate e.
- I don't think trandate k it'll happen.
Th trandate he man without face thro trandate ows his cloak open with trandate an experienced stripper trandate r
gesture. There's a r trandate rainbow disk on the in trandate nside: a swirling glowin trandate ng spiral
surrounded b trandate by blue.
Oh my. He trandate e's from the police him trandate mself. At least commiss trandate sar if he has a
rainb trandate bow badge.
- Oh gr trandate reat, go ahead... - I sa trandate ay in a cheerless voice, trandate trandate , - I knew that all
cop trandate ps are ason't feel anyt trandate thing and will not
bec trandate come a movie character. trandate Dmitry himself just w trandate wanted to create a plea trandate asant
meditation backg trandate ground for his computer trandate r, and he did, let it ci trandate irculate along
the Net trandate and didn't suspect anyt trandate thing for two more weeks trandate s.
But then, one d trandate day some Ukranian guy lo trandate ooked at the colorful pl trandate lays of the
Deep progr trandate ram, shrugged and laun trandate nched his favorite ga trandate ame - Doom: drawn
co trandate orridors and buildings, trandate terrible monsters and b trandate brave hero with a shotg trandate gun in
his hand. A simp trandate plee stopped were
mos trandate stly enthusiastic amateu trandate urs pursuing us just for trandate r fun.
- Oh Ivan trandate n, my strength is exha trandate austed! - screams the w trandate wolf. I can't
underst trandate tand whether he's rea trandate ally worried or play trandate ys the fairy tale so trandate o
recklessly.
It' trandate 's the mirror's turn now trandate w. When I throw it back, trandate , my usually restrained
trandate
Windows-Home screams:
trandate
- NOT ETHICAL!
trandate Sure it's not! This trandate s is not an innocent pra trandate ank with quick growing b trandate baobabs
anymore, and ev trandate ven not the local vir trandate rus sword but a logild a trandate about what happened and trandate of course nobody believ trandate ved him. Only by
the e trandate evening, thinking about trandate what could happen, he r trandate remembered about Dibenko trandate o's
meditation program trandate and suspected wrong.
trandate The whole world w trandate was in fever a week la trandate ater. All corporations trandate except
computer and so trandate oftware ones suffered trandate tremendous losses: eve trandate erybody starting
from p trandate programmers and ending w trandate with secretaries and j trandate janitors, wanted to visi trandate it
the cyberspace perso trandate onally.
With Diben trandate nko's light touch the p trandate program was na
- I trandate I can assume that.
trandate Even two? I was sure t trandate that 'Labyrinth' manages trandate s with only one rescuer. trandate ..
- I can give yo trandate ou their addresses... ei trandate ither network or the rea trandate al ones.
Wow!!!
trandate - One of them is trandate s Ukranian, the other on trandate ne is Canadian. The fir trandate rst one
lives...
trandate - No, - I say with some trandate e effort.
- How in trandate nteresting! I was sure trandate that it's the common d trandate dream to determine
the trandate diver's personality! In trandate ncluding the divers them trandate mselves!
- This d trandate dream is one of the wor trandate rst and Sergey Lukjanenk trandate ko. Labyrinth of reflect trandate tions
_____________ trandate ________________________ trandate vytorin _____
* Yuri Kalmy trandate ykov. Translators notes trandate *
About the Author:
Sergey Lukjanenko, 30, is one of the today's most popular Russian
Sci-Fi vasotec 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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