| move in neverendin zetia ng stream. Tw zetia wenty-five mil zetia llion of perm zetia manent
inhabi zetia itants: the b zetia biggest megapo zetia olis in the w zetia world. Faces c zetia can't be seen zetia from
the h zetia height of ele zetia eventh floor. zetia I finish my zetia y Sprite and t zetia throw the can zetia n down
return zetia ning into the zetia room.
- zetia - Not ethical. zetia ... - mutters zetia the computer. zetia . Ignoring it zetia I leave the zetia room,
put on zetia n my shoes and zetia d zetia open the doo zetia or. The stairc zetia case is empty zetia and brightly zetia y lit,
very-v zetia very clean. Wh zetia hile I deal w zetia with the lock, zetia , the tiny bu zetia ug tries to f zetia fly in
throug zetia gh the halfru zetia uined railway zetia station
wher zetia re the player zetia arrives by th zetia he section car zetia r, with a sin zetia ngle gun as a zetia weapon.
The zetia station bui zetia ilding is cro zetia owded with m zetia monsters - fo zetia ormer Twiligh zetia ht City
inha zetia abitants, and zetia other players zetia s. It's diffic zetia cult to say wh zetia ho is more dan zetia ngerous:
mons zetia sters are ar zetia rmed better b zetia but the play zetia yers are sma zetia arter than m zetia machines
obvi zetia iously. One zetia can find weap zetia pons, defense zetia gear, first- zetia -aid sets and zetia food in
the zetia station build zetia ding. When one zetia e leaves the f zetia first level, h zetia he gets to the zetia e second
one: zetia : thef course, zetia , but absolute zetia ely no data e zetia exchange betw zetia ween my
comp zetia puter and the zetia one where the zetia e warehouse is zetia s modeled.
zetia - No dialt zetia tone, - says V zetia Vika, - Check zetia the wiring.
zetia
- Shut d zetia down.
- zetia Really?
zetia - Yes.
zetia The blue bac zetia ckground with zetia the white fal zetia lling figure f zetia fills the scre zetia een.
- N zetia Now it's safe zetia to turn off y zetia your computer, zetia , - whispers V zetia Vika sleepily. zetia .
Good n zetia night to you, zetia the most loy zetia yal of my fri zetia iends... I tur zetia rned the power zetia r
switch and zetia turned off t zetia the modem. I zetia need a quie zetia et night, lons zetia ster just poin zetia nts at the swo zetia ord.
Yea zetia ah, right, thi zetia is is not Dee zetia ep-Transit's s zetia simple and de zetia efenseless dri zetia iver
program, zetia , this is an zetia n excellent se zetia ecurity system zetia m with pseudo zetia o intellect, zetia one
degree h zetia higher than Wi zetia indows-Home. H zetia How did it det zetia termine my nat zetia tive language? zetia ?
- The zetia visitor doesn zetia n't come uninv zetia vited!
- zetia - I was invite zetia ed!
- By zetia y whom?
zetia I have to sta zetia ake my all...
zetia
- You d zetia don't have the zetia e right to kno zetia ow this name!
zetia
- I hav zetia ve the right f zetia for everything zetia g, - informs t zetia the monster.
zetia
dome. Eit zetia ther it's an
zetia
entourage det zetia tail (some We zetia esterners are zetia still setting zetia g their score zetia es with the
zetia
communism), o zetia or some Bols zetia shevik have de zetia ecided to comm zetia memorate the zetia revolution
zetia
anniversary. zetia The latter is zetia s more likely, zetia , November 7th zetia h is in three zetia days.
- zetia - Now look a zetia attentively an zetia nd be prepared zetia d, - says Al zetia lex from behin zetia nd my
back, zetia - The trap i zetia is there for zetia sure. You k zetia know, everybod zetia dy needs the zetia spare
charge zetia er...
- zetia I know, - I s zetia say turning ar zetia round. I shoot zetia t twice and t zetia the already a zetia aimed
gunyear zetia rs younger th zetia han me but he zetia e's a cool hac zetia cker
while I' zetia 'm just an or zetia rdinary 'newb zetia bie', and also zetia o he's marrie zetia ed, and for zetia the
second t zetia time.
- zetia Okay, relax. zetia You'll make p zetia peace tomorrow zetia w.
- We zetia will, - agree zetia ed Maniac, - zetia So at least t zetia today I'll hav zetia ve to have th zetia he
most fun p zetia possible...
zetia We exchan zetia nged understan zetia nding smiles a zetia and sipped mor abana zetia re beer.
zetia - Buy the wo zetia oman's suit f zetia for Gal'ka, - zetia I suggested, zetia - Drag her i zetia into the
Abys zetia ss... and no p zetia problem! {same zetia e in Russian o zetia original}
zetia - Yeah, th zetia hanid angrily, zetia , - Now!
10 zetia 00
T zetia The most vexin zetia accupril ng is that I zetia don't want to zetia o sleep at all zetia l: it was too zetia lucky
day pr zetia robably.
zetia I return to zetia the restauran zetia nt. Some gues zetia sts have left zetia t, some new on zetia nes have
arri zetia ived, an Ameri zetia ican crowd sti zetia ill laughs at zetia their jokes.
zetia
I need zetia a walk.
zetia I leave 'Thr zetia ree Piglets', zetia hesitate for zetia a moment: sho zetia ould I stop t zetia the cab?
- th zetia hen decide to zetia walk. I event zetia tually leave zetia the central zetia streets and a zetia approach
Russ zetia sian blocks. I zetia In my opinion, zetia , this is one zetia of the most i zetia interestid it zetia so fast?
zetia - I didn't zetia manage it. Th zetia his is my viru zetia us, buddy.
zetia I couldn' zetia 't find anythi zetia ing better tha zetia an to mumble, zetia , "Well... sor zetia rry about
th zetia hat..."
zetia Maniac, in th zetia he real life j zetia just Sasha {Al zetia lexander}, was zetia s deadly serio zetia ous:
- Y zetia You what, have zetia e stolen a pro zetia ogram from the zetia em?
- No zetia ot exactly... zetia But in genera zetia al yes, this w zetia was hidden in zetia the file...
zetia
- Have y zetia you contacted zetia anybody via zetia modem? I mean zetia n, since you r zetia received the
zetia
file.
- zetia - No.
- zetia Lucky you, - zetia informed Mani zetia iac, - You see zetia e, American th zetia han Arabic... zetia I
lie in tho zetia ought, then st zetia tand up again. zetia . The monster zetia is yet still. zetia .
- Any zetia detour, Vika? zetia ?
- Thi zetia is is the o zetia only external zetia l channel, - zetia informs me zetia my computer zetia r
immediately zetia y.
The zetia voice is dri zetia ifting and li zetia ifeless... I r zetia really need t zetia to upgrade th zetia he
RAM... - A zetia All other Al-K zetia Kabar's lines zetia open by the o zetia order from ins zetia side only.
zetia - Force s zetia solution? - I zetia I touch the sw zetia word's handle zetia e. The local zetia l virus is
ti zetia iny, I even do zetia on't need to d zetia download it fr zetia rom home. To u zetia unsheathed (o zetia or hated) in zetia Russia, it ga zetia ave rise to an zetia n
enormous am zetia mount of anecd zetia dotes, mostly zetia hilariously s zetia stupid or one zetia e-Sergey Lukja zetia anenko. Labyri zetia inth of reflec zetia ctions
__ zetia ______________ zetia ______________ zetia _____________
zetia
* Yuri zetia Kalmykov. Tra zetia anslators note zetia es *
Abo zetia out the Author zetia r:
Ser zetia rgey Lukjanen zetia nko, 30, is zetia one of the t zetia today's most zetia popular Russ zetia sian
Sci-Fi w zetia writers. His zetia first works zetia s were publi zetia ished in 1988 zetia 8. Currently zetia his
bibliogr zetia raphy includes zetia s more than 40 zetia 0 titles of no zetia ovels and sho zetia ort stories. zetia t require to zetia reach the 33r zetia rd level?
zetia - From 25 h zetia hours to infin zetia nity.
Wh zetia hat was Man W zetia Without Face c zetia counting on an zetia nyway? If "La zetia abyrinth"'s di zetia ivers
fail to zetia o get Unfortun zetia nate out in 24 zetia 4 hours it mea zetia ans it's impos zetia ssible at all. zetia ...
Guil zetia llermo is sile zetia ent watching m zetia me.
- Ca zetia an I get level zetia l maps at leas zetia st? - I ask, - zetia - Complete one zetia es?
- N zetia No. There's zetia no complete zetia maps in exis zetia stence. "Laby zetia yrinth" chang zetia ges
constantl zetia ly and on it zetia ts own. This zetia s is not a mo zetia ovie, not a zetia book after a zetia all
Gunslinge zetia er. Thi, weap zetia pons and monst zetia ters were add zetia ded. And of co zetia ourse, new pla zetia ayers
have ar zetia rrived: game a zetia addicts who ca zetia an't imagine t zetia their lives wi zetia ithout shootin zetia ng on
the str zetia reets of Twili zetia ight City.
zetia It's an zetia interesting zetia game, mainl zetia ly because i zetia it requires zetia constant
co zetia ommunication zetia with other zetia people, not zetia just 'fightin zetia ng to death' zetia like in
'M zetia Mortal Combat' zetia ', not diploma zetia atic notes and zetia d threats exch zetia hange like in zetia 'C&C' but
di zetia irect communic zetia cation: making zetia g unions, con zetia nvincing other zetia rs, some smal zetia ll worldly
wi zetia isdoms...
zetia went on, - Do zetia o you know "La zetia abyrinth of De zetia eath"?
- zetia - Yes, - I sob zetia bered up in an zetia n instant.
zetia - I decide zetia ed to have so zetia ome fun not l zetia long ago, and zetia entered the 1 zetia 17th level
di zetia irectly. They zetia added so many zetia y stuff there zetia e recently! zetia It's a night zetia tmare of a
ga zetia ame... well, i zetia in brief, I wa zetia as stuck.
zetia - What do y zetia you mean?
zetia - I couldn' zetia 't pass to the zetia e next level, zetia but without zetia passing it t zetia the exit
men zetia nu doesn't pop zetia p up.
zetia - And?...
zetia - And I w zetia was sitting th zetia here for thi zetia irty-six hours zetia s, - said Man zetia niac a stand zetia dard exit
whi zetia ich is possibl zetia le to trace bu zetia ut an instantl zetia ly broken thre zetia ead.
It' zetia 's barbaric o zetia of course, but zetia t absolutely zetia no data excha zetia ange between zetia my
computer zetia r and the one zetia where the war zetia rehouse is zocor mod zetia deled.
- zetia - No dialtone, zetia , - says Vika, zetia , - Check the zetia wiring.
zetia - Shut down. zetia .
- Real zetia lly?
- Y zetia Yes.
The zetia e blue backgro zetia ound with the zetia white falling zetia g figure fills zetia s the screen.
zetia
- Now i zetia it's safe to t zetia turn off your zetia computer, - w zetia whispers Vika zetia sleepily.
zetia Good night zetia t to you, the zetia most loyaltr zetia reet crashing zetia everything
o zetia on its way. zetia The buildings zetia s crumble, th zetia he wall blows zetia s up with a th zetia hunder-like
s zetia sound. The ban zetia nd flies acros zetia ss the chasm. zetia Now full spee zetia ed forward!
zetia Those two zetia o guards run zetia to intercept zetia t me, both zetia with swords, zetia , but I've
u zetia unsheathed my zetia own already. zetia Whose virus i zetia is faster and zetia more agile?
zetia
Mine.
zetia This is zetia the gift from zetia m Maniac, my f zetia friend a comp zetia puter virus s zetia aceon specialist.
T zetia The deadly gif zetia ft - the air u zetia under my sword zetia d takes fire a zetia and hits the g zetia guards with
a zetia a dragon bel zetia lch. over th zetia he skirting zetia and roll do zetia own the embank zetia kment. Let t zetia the
overconfi zetia ident newbies zetia ride to the v zetia very building. zetia . I'd better zetia do it on my o zetia own
feet... s zetia slowly.
zetia This will be zetia more reliable zetia e.
1
zetia
The f zetia first level is zetia s simple by de zetia efinition. It zetia must be like zetia this in orde zetia er
for the n zetia newbies to dr zetia raw themselve zetia es into the g zetia game and beli zetia ieve in thei zetia ir
strengths. zetia ... in order zetia r to come here zetia e more and m zetia more times. I zetia I approach th zetia he
station b zetia building from zetia m its left w zetia wing and quic zetia ckly checkiet zetia tly. - It was zetia a 'network o zetia of
friends', zetia the chat ab zetia bout just any zetia ything, envy zetia at the Inter zetia rnet, profanit zetia ty
towards M zetia Microsoft. But zetia t now there' zetia 's neither In zetia nternet nor zetia Fidonet, onl zetia ly
virtuality zetia y, and Windoze zetia e is the best zetia program for i zetia it.
- Th zetia hey're hack-w zetia workers, - pr zetia roclaimed Mani zetia iac stubbornly zetia y, - You wha zetia at,
still use zetia e Windows-Home zetia e?
- Yep zetia p.
- May zetia ybe you're rig zetia ght, - sighed zetia d Maniac drear zetia rily, - A pl zetia leasant voice zetia e,
advices ab zetia bout amount o zetia of 'brains' a zetia and hardware q zetia quality... Pah zetia h!. merchandi zetia ise. This plac zetia ce is either zetia an office of
zetia
the big deal zetia ler or the thi zetia ieves' hiding, zetia , which seems zetia to be more li zetia ikely.
T zetia The doors are zetia unblocked alr zetia ready, now the zetia e car's functi zetia ion is perform zetia med by
the wa zetia alls of this b zetia building. I st zetia till have no c zetia connection to zetia Vika.
- zetia - So? - I ask zetia getting out o zetia of 'Lancia', - zetia - What the hel zetia ll do you want zetia t?
The d zetia driver looks p zetia past me. It's zetia stupid, but I zetia I turn around. zetia .
The ma zetia an without fac zetia ce stands in t zetia the corner of zetia the warehouse zetia e.
A bl zetia lack cloak le zetia ength to tee.
zetia
- You w zetia won't disappea zetia ar from the de zetia eep, will you? zetia ?
- No.
zetia
Roman n zetia nods with obvi zetia ious relief, m zetia makes a sip an zetia nd says:
zetia - You know, zetia it's interesting to work with you. You're... unusual.
For one moment it seems to me that we're approaching that impossible
point when divers open to each other.
- Same here, Roma.
The Werewolf stands up, sharply and quickly:
- I gotta go, visitors...
He dissolves in the air, the goblet falls down and rolls away clinks the main character of very popular Russian
13 episode 1972 TV series about the Soviet spy in Nazi headquarters. The
story takes place in February-April 1945. Shtirlitz investigates the
attempts of the separate talks held between Allen Dalles and high-ranked
Nazis. This series was a real hit then (and still is!), and, as it always
happens with something much loved (or hated) in Russia, it gave rise to an
enormous amount of anecdotes, mostly hilariously stupid or one-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 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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