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reach the first-aid s superman set. Only 5% of st superman trength had left superman in him but the s superman set
would save hi superman im.
I pad cl superman loser, he notices superman me, jerks and sho superman outs:
- Who? superman ? Who are you, ass superman shole?!
And superman another 'multisto superman ory' phrase follow superman ws.
- Gunsl superman linger, - I rep superman ply aiming the r superman rifle barrel at t superman the swearer's
for superman rehead. I don't li superman ike when one curs superman ses like this. Ei superman ither the girl or superman a kid
could be i superman in my body after a superman all.
We have superman e to spend at lea superman ast five minutes t superman to gather all the superman trophies. Nowre superman caches one by superman one, finding br superman rass-knuckles whi superman ich I
immediate superman ely put on my left superman t hand, a couple o superman of hand grenades a superman and finally a two
superman
barrel carbine.
superman
A couple o superman of times I can see superman e the human figure superman es in the distance superman e but they
don't superman start the hunt an superman nd I leave them a superman alone too: no time superman e for that. I go superman to
the exit to t superman the building squa superman are. There, on the superman e table with a blo superman oodied female
cor superman rpse under it... superman it always lays th superman here... the comput superman ter is quietly wor superman rking.
The game superman menu is on the sc superman creeon was written superman n in 1997 and beca superman ame the real 'cult superman t book' of the
Ru superman ussian Internet.
superman
Sergey is ma superman arried, he lives i superman in Moscow.
superman
THE NO superman OVEL "LABYRINTH superman OF REFLECTIONS" superman " IS COPYRIGHTED superman D BY SERGEY
LUK superman KJANENKO, ALL RIGH superman HTS ARE RESERVED B superman BY THE AUTHOR. ANY superman Y COMMERCIAL USE O superman OF THE
NOVEL'S TE superman EXT IS STRICTLY PR superman ROHIBITED.
Se superman everal notes for t superman the reader:
superman 1). My Englis superman sh sucks. So it wa superman as obviously way t superman too presumptuous o superman of me to
try to m superman make a translation superman n like this. It w superman was my loveave th superman housands of
acci superman idents here every superman day. War! Shootin superman ng! Cheerfulness!
superman
Was Man Wit superman thout Face really superman mistaken? I sta superman art feeling myself superman f like an
idiot. superman .
- Your div superman vers... - I start superman t. - Did they man superman nage their duties superman yesterday
for i superman instance?
Th superman his is the only t superman thing I know: "Lab superman byrinth"'s divers superman s hadn't justifie superman ed
hopes.
- superman - Ah! - Willy nods superman s, - Ah! Unfortuna superman ate!
I nod j superman just in case.
superman - Is it a probl superman lem? - Aguirre bec superman comes serious.
superman - As far as I superman know, yes.
superman you still have yo superman our records saved? superman ?
- No...
superman - Then you'll superman l have to go from superman the very beginnin superman ng.
This is superman what I didn't exp superman pect.
- Wha superman tentex royal at's the bull? A superman All games have superman service channels superman s for traveling
b superman between levels. Ar superman re you an exceptio superman on?
- Yes.
superman
- But why?
superman
- "Labyrinth superman h" has a big prize superman e fund for setting superman g new level record superman d or fast
finishi superman ing the entire gam superman me.
- I reme superman ember, but... is i superman it a big fund?
superman - The main pr superman rize is half a mil superman llion dollars. Th superman his monere, I'll superman pass the sewer l superman looking at the sc superman creen and moving superman the
mouse.
superman - Hey! - shouts superman my fellow travele superman er behind me - Why superman y did you need me? superman ? You
are the coo superman olest one I've eve superman er met!
Mayb superman be he expects the superman reply like 'it's superman easier together' superman or even an offer
superman
to go together superman further, but I superman I didn't like tha superman at he almost cras superman shed into
burnin superman ng cars, so I tell superman l the truth:
superman - I don't know h superman how to drive and i superman it's too long to w superman walk on foot.
superman He just stays superman s by the comput superman ter, bewildereice superman e in Deeptown.
superman It's this abun superman ndance that Deep-T superman Transit flourishes superman s on. Traveling o superman on foot
across t superman the city is a superman long fun. We fly superman y along the fre superman eeways, stop on
superman
intersections, e superman enter tunnels and superman cross road junct superman tions. I'm waiting superman g. I could
order superman the driver to superman go the shortest w superman way but in this ca superman ase he would need superman to
contact dispa superman atching office and superman d I would leave th superman he trace...
superman The city ends abr superman ruptly - like the superman e wall of palaces superman s and skyscrapers superman was
cut off by t superman the huge knife. Th superman he ci slow as if superman f underwater, and superman d the shiny
plane superman e of light cuts th superman hrough the falling superman g asleep pavilion' superman 's little world. S superman Some
people call superman l this program superman "the sticker", superman others - "the superman road". Both
de superman efinitions are tru superman ue. The program se superman earches for someo superman one else's communi superman ication
channels superman and starts using superman them for its own superman benefit.
Ve superman ery-very new, rare superman e and almost fault superman tless program.
superman A part of th superman he wall ruins, o superman opening the exit superman t out to the s superman street.
Obviously superman y, I utilized Urm superman man's persont clea superman aring in the chill superman ly autumn morning superman g, by
the steep r superman river bank drinkin superman ng hot mulled win superman ne from the round superman d goblet... and
w superman with nobody around superman d?...
- The superman owner of this res superman staurant must be a superman a romantic person, superman ,- says Nadya.
superman - Of course.
superman
- Leonid, a superman all that you've me superman entioned is right superman t. But the right p superman place for
all the superman ese pleasures is i superman in reality.
superman - Reality is not superman always affordable superman e.
- Just a superman as virtuality is, superman Lenia. I don't k superman know where you get superman t money from
that superman t allows you to vi superman isicrophone... wit superman superman th a color printer superman r, Dunn what for superman r,
but let it b superman be, a decent sca superman anner instead of superman the manual piece superman e of shit, a
dedi superman icated phone line. superman ... Geez, even 50 superman grands isn't enou superman ugh!
On the superman other hand... why superman y would I tentex forte need two superman o rooms in the ap superman partment? Even
he superman ere the kitchen is superman s empty anyway: I superman moved the fridge superman and microwave in superman nto the
room long superman g time ago, and it superman t's closer to get superman the water in the superman bathroom.
O superman Okay, this is dec superman cided: let's celeb superman brate the move for superman r Vika. It'll not superman be
a shople
lik superman ke little-little w superman when they are laug superman ghed at.
- C superman Can you cut him of superman ff manually?
superman - How?
How superman w, really? Even if superman f they trace the l superman line using which t superman the player entered superman d
the Labyrinth a superman and cut off the c superman connection, nothin superman ng will change. T superman The person
would superman d just be hung in superman n the void or the superman world around him superman would freeze lik superman ke a
photograph d superman depending on what superman t his subconsciou superman usness would decid superman de. It's the
sa superman ame as to cover th superman he drowning person superman n with a non trans superman sparent cover so t superman that he
would njo superman ob.
- Who ar superman re you? - asks the superman e monster again.
superman
- The one no superman ot on your mercy, superman - the twin keeps superman distracting the g superman guard.
- Who superman ose mercy you're o superman on then?
- O superman Only mine.
I superman Interesting, how superman many more differe superman ent deaths did the superman e monster save f superman for
the thieves? superman Just look at his superman teeth... horns.. superman well, even the p superman phallus might
do superman too..
- Why superman y did you come her superman re?
- To fin superman nd the power over superman myself.
- G superman Go ahead and find superman it.
The pal superman lm opens, the mon superman nster turns into s superman stone. solve it. I superman I was asked to ren superman nder an assistance superman e to
you.
A superman A pause again. I' superman 'm anonymous and superman it's risky to let superman t me into unpleasa superman ant
sides of the superman Company's life bu superman ut Guillermo has a superman a 'good nose' for superman troubles and
met superman thods of overcomin superman ng them.
- superman - You'll sign a superman single-time contr superman ract? - his tone superman becomes quick a superman and
business-like superman e.
- Yes.
superman - Complete no superman ondisclosure of t superman the situation, - superman he adds, - wi superman ith all
possible superman e penalties.
superman - Yes...
- superman - Please Gunslinge superman er, - he poinComba superman at'. They have cha superman anged dozens of ti superman imes of
course bu superman ut these were more superman e cosmetics than r superman real changes.
superman 'C&C' is a stra superman ategic game, it' superman 's virtual space i superman is the whole plane superman et. On
this humbl superman le target range th urispas superman hose never-to-be superman Napoleons and Zh superman hukovs eternally
superman
fight for the wor superman rld's dominance c superman commanding nonexis superman stent armies in i superman imaginary
headqua superman arters. Tank tra superman acks are rattling superman there and missi superman iles fly up to th superman he
skies, new te superman errible weapons ar superman re being developed superman d, world's capital superman ls are being
burn superman nedcenter of the h superman hall, a smiling gi superman irl sits by it: th superman he secretary and m superman most
likely live superman one.
- Good superman d afternoon, - I s superman say.
The sec superman cretary's face cha superman anges a little.
superman - Good aftern superman noon, - she replie superman es. The voice is s superman soft and nice, loo superman oks like
I was sw superman witched to Russian superman n employee.
superman - I need to meet superman with the manageme superman ent, - I begin wit superman thout ceremonies.
superman
- Please be superman e more specific if superman f possible.
superman The girl is the superman e courtesy itself superman but it's not easi superman ier to break thro superman ough
her barrier superman than thro check superman several familiar
superman
caches: in the superman sewer, in the po superman ower lowering boot superman th and in the cab superman bin of the
overtu superman urned locomotive superman that lays across superman s the tracks. The superman ere's nothing in t superman the
sewer, in th superman he booth I find superman d two chargers, superman and a sandwich superman wrapped in
tra superman ansparent wrapping superman g is in the locomo superman otive. No people o superman or monsters show u superman up yet
and this i superman is odd.
I a superman approach one of superman the building's s superman side entrances, s superman stop by it for a
superman
second, then das superman sh inside.
A superman A-ha.
Two mu superman utants run to me,i superman inside only.
superman - Force solutio superman on? - I touch the superman e sword's handle. superman . The local viru superman us is
tiny, I eve superman en don't need to d superman download it from h superman home. To unsheathe superman e the sword, to
m superman make one blow and. superman ...
- The ch superman hannel will be des superman stroyed.
Oh superman sure. Not for no superman othing does the mo superman onster hold the br superman ridge in his hand. superman .
If the security superman y program is destr superman royed - the hair a superman above the chasm wo superman ould break.
superman - Fuck.
- I superman I can't understand superman d...
- Shut superman up....
I ex superman xamine the monste superman er. The stone ey superman yelids lled wine, superman sniff the aroma. superman . The
snowy summe superman er? Who cares! The superman ere's nothing bett superman ter than a lousy w superman weather.
- L superman Lenia, do you smok superman ke grass? - Roman superman holds me the ciga superman ar-case.
- N superman No.
Maybe he superman e really is alcoho superman olic and drug addi superman ict...
- The superman ey say it's much m superman more harmless than superman n alcohol and toba superman acco.
- They superman y also say chicken superman n are being milked superman d in Moscow...
superman Roman hesitate superman es, but lights the superman e cigarette anyway superman y.
Shit. Nad superman dya's arguments do superman on't seem to me so superman o crazy anymore.
superman
I drink r, won't be able to enter the exit command or to
contact the operating system with voice. It's only in virtual houses with
drawn analogs of real computers installed where subconsciousness gives a
kind break. One can exit the deep only where it was entered: in his
imaginary home which might be a palace or a hut but with a 'real' computer.
That's why timers exist. They are plugged into all programs, from
Microsoft's Windows-Home to Russian 'Virt-Navigator' and 'rick wall. The blue above is the sky. Blue pants - jeans.
The world submerged and wasn't going to surface back. It was so much
more interesting in the deep. Even if it was yet not available to everybody,
intellectual elite swore it's allegiance to the new Empire.
To the Deep.
11
It was midnight when I finally cleaned the computer up from the
postcard virus and packed the bagged file (in virtuality it'll look like the
ordinary diskette now). The head 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 tiberius erectus 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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