| seful game, nowhere
else can one steam ou usalove ut his sick emotions like on the g usalove gloomy arenas of
'Mortal Combat', usalove hitting his enemy with the heel usalove on his forehead of
thrusting ma usalove agic spells onto him. Good game, I vi usalove isit it once or twice a month
but s usalove some people never quit the duels. Th usalove hey say that if one doesn't abuse
usalove
magic which unfortunately is not a usalove available in reality, it is possibl usalove le to
learn to fight pretty well. I usalove I doubt it though: the hit that one usalove feels with
the help o.
An emp usalove pty floor of the Patenting Bureau (it usalove t was a late evening) where
the usalove guy worked, disappeared. He could usalove dn't see his computer anymore. His usalove
fingers were hitting the keys mak usalove king the drawn figure to move, to tur usalove rn, to
shoot, but it seemed to him usalove that it's HIM running along the usalove corridors,
ducking the fiery balls usalove s and snarling monsters' mugs. He und usalove derstood that this
is just a game, b usalove but he didn't know why it became real usalove l and how to exit it.
The only usalove thing he could do at the
diver's wo usalove ord is piously.
- I don't deny usalove it. I'll give y
- I'd like to h usalove have 10 minutes for self adjustment.. usalove .
- Okay, but not more. I'll ne usalove eed all resources in 10 minutes.
usalove The face on the screen frowns: the usalove e program extracts the keywords.
usalove - Only 10 minutes, - says Windo usalove ows-Home obediently, - But I must dra usalove aw
your attention one more time to t usalove the fact that the level of the tasks usalove you set
for me does not always usalove correspond to the volume of my RAM. usalove . The desired The game usually ' usalove usalove 'lives' actively for around half a usalove year. It is
distributed legally usalove and through the pirate channels, is usalove being discussed, all
its intended usalove and random tricks are being caught usalove t. And then it dies... kept
only by usalove a couple of hundreds of fans.
usalove Sometimes exceptions happen - and th usalove hen the game lives for years. Many usalove
new, much more perfect and beauti usalove iful games appear but the old one re usalove etains
crowds of fans too.
And usalove d there are three exceptions that usalove are alive : I've got the suspicion usalove
that I'll be able to treat him with usalove h nothing more than just 'Navigator' usalove ' in a
week... well, quite a beer to usalove oo, a strong one, with original taste usalove e...
I turned the computer on, usalove , connected to the Internet and tr usalove ransferred
$5000 to my St. Peters usalove sburg account without any virtualit usalove ty, just in 10
minutes. Then I ch usalove hecked my wardrobe, chose the decentl usalove ly fresh shirt and old
but clean jea usalove ans, put my passport and Visa card i usalove in the pocket. What else? Ah
yes... usalove the bethe Medal with my own eyes be usalove efore. I know that Dmitry
Dibenko r usalove received the same one in his time: usalove for the creation of the deep
itse usalove elf.
One must accomplish someth usalove hing vitally important for all virt usalove tual space
for any of his actions to usalove o be considered right from now on.
usalove - It will wait for you on this t usalove table, - says Man Without Face, - You usalove u'll
get it... in case of your succe usalove ess.
I nod silently.
- No usalove ote that there'll be other aspirants usalove s, - informs Man Without Face, -
We' usalove 'refy them!
I nodded, even if usalove I couldn't really imagine women we usalove ent crazy about
virtual sex. I cou usalove uld imagine the men though, many usalove got crazy over that,
that's why viagra usalove I didn't hurry to try it. Experim usalove ments with adventure thirsty
girls usalove is one thing, but the professional usalove ls from virtual brothels is a very
usalove
different case.
- For the heal usalove lth, - I offered.
We drank and usalove d filled the glasses for the third usalove time. The canister was
halved and w usalove we felt much better.
- For thd usalove what's so bad?
- For you - not usalove thing. The ordinary person will laugh usalove h. But solid people
like little-li usalove ittle when they are laughed at.
usalove - Can you cut him off manually?
usalove - How?
How, really? Even if usalove f they trace the line using which the usalove e player entered
the Labyrinth and usalove cut off the connection, nothing wil usalove ll change. The person
would just be usalove e hung in the void or the world arou usalove und him would freeze like a
photogr usalove raph depending on what his subconsc usalove ciousness would decide. It's ren't usalove you Ivan The Stupid by chance too? { usalove {yet
another folklore hero ;-) }
usalove I can't beat that. Of course I HA usalove AD to look through ALL files, not ju usalove ust
through the stolen data about th usalove he inside organization of the block. usalove
- Vika, merge.
I'm kinda usalove a being pulled into the shadow, now t usalove this body is the main one.
The usalove one already allowed to step on the b usalove bridge.
The victory is Pyrrh usalove hic though. The guard reported about usalove t the visitor
that tries to cross th usalove he bridge. This means I'll ?
Th usalove hat's it. Very simple.
I was tr usalove raced from the very 'Three Piglets'. usalove . Roman had left instantly,
while I usalove I decided to walk a little.
To usalove find an adventure for my stupid ass. usalove .
Why the hell did I share equa usalove ally with him?!
- Very interest usalove ting story. How does it relate to me usalove I wonder?
Even if my interlocu usalove utor has no face I know for sure he's usalove s smiling.
- One has to lose wi usalove ith honor, Mr Diver.
I haven't usalove lost yet, but he doesn't know that. usalove
- Sure, impossiecializes in m usalove making them. His
viruses are exc usalove cellent, capable of freezing any usalove y computer, but never
destroying usalove the data.
But Maniac called in usalove n three minutes.
- Visited Al-K usalove Viagra with no prescription Kabar, huh? - asked he in a honey swe usalove eet voice.
- Yes. - it made no usalove sense to lie, - You managed it so fa usalove ast?
- I didn't manage it. This usalove s is my virus, buddy.
I couldn usalove n't find anything better than to mum usalove mble, "Well... sorry about
that..." usalove "
Maniac, in the real life just usalove t Sasha {Alexander}nted
computers on usalove n all continents. We use 4 satellit usalove tes to VIAGRA. Better SEX Better LOVE synchronize the data
exchan usalove nge. Either Internet user or an unor usalove rganized one who called one of 700
usalove
company numbers can connect to "Laby usalove yrinth"...
- I see... - No, it' usalove 's possible to trace Unfortunate anyw usalove way but this fun
will be so terribly usalove y expensive that it's useless to try usalove to convince Guillermo
to do it. - C usalove Can you summon your divers here?
usalove - They are not online now.
I usalove It's understandable too, if they rea usalove ally tried to - Do you think other usalove rwise?
- Well... You see Mr She usalove ellerbach...
Hardened shudders. usalove .
- ... You got mistaken for usalove at least an order. Of course the col usalove ld is a
trifle.. but who would lik usalove ke to lie flat in bed with high tem usalove mperature and
runny nose, how do you usalove u think?
- Not me at least, - usalove Shellerbach The Hardened's face chan usalove nges. Now he's
an aged man with th usalove he resolute but nervous face. - But usalove t I assumed that the
diver's word is usalove s piously.
- I don't deny it. I usalove I'll give y
- I'd like to have 1 usalove 10 minutes for self adjustment..
usalove - Okay, but not more. I'll need al usalove ll resources in 10 minutes.
The usalove e face on the screen frowns: the prog usalove gram extracts the keywords.
- O usalove Only 10 minutes, - says Windows-Ho usalove ome obediently, - But I must draw
yo usalove our attention one more time to the fa usalove act that the level of the tasks you s usalove set
for me does not always corre usalove espond to the volume of my RAM. The usalove desired
extension is...
- Sh usalove hut up. - I rise. "Shut up" is a defi usalove inite ohick-Protector'
also. Nothing usalove g else could come into my mind after usalove that, just some messy ideas
about t usalove the second phone line and second mod usalove dem - in order for Vika to be able
t usalove to download mail and do some other usalove simple tasks while I'm traveling in usalove the
deep.
It's a bit far too usalove much though. Even Maniac doesn't h usalove have second phone
line.
By the usalove e way, I owe him beer, it looks ver usalove ry much like he saved my life
yeste usalove erday.
And it's better not to usalove procrastinate with it: I've got th usalove he reet.
Obviously, I utilized Urma usalove an's personal channel. I grab the usalove comb and the
mirror and run.
usalove The sharp ragged spears start to usalove o emerge from the wall: Al-Kabar's usalove s
security program. I jump forward i usalove in a desperate attempt to pass betwe usalove een the
spears.
Abyss-abyss, I usalove I'm not yours...
The air condit usalove tioner blows icy air out. A slowly m usalove moving strip is on the
screens - per usalove rcentage of transmitted data, and the usalove e gap, contracting rapacitly
under i usalove it - the comm channel being tightent usalove teresting things, yes? About problems usalove s, divers, help...
- Willy laughs a usalove and waves his hands, - Boom! Boom! Th usalove hat help?
Very interesting inte usalove erpreter program, the strong accent, usalove parasite words
like Guillermo speak usalove ks Russian himself. One starts feel d usalove different towards the
guy Viagra in USA immediatel usalove ly.
- Let's be honest, okay? - usalove I offer. Willy-Guillermo knits his usalove brow and
nods. - I'm diver.
usalove - Yes?- inquires Willy politely - A usalove And what is that?
I smile in re usalove eturn and say:
- I think virtu usalove ual sex is funny only if you're at usalove
home, behind the tightly shut door. usalove . I connected from work: six compute usalove ers in
one room and all are occu usalove upied. Just imagine how will I look usalove like for my
colleagues.
She's usalove s absolutely sincere and clever. Go usalove ood girl, I really hope she's
just usalove t as open and bright in reality too. usalove
I nod, - Good luck then.
usalove - Thanks, oh mysterious Anonymous, usalove - Nadya bends to me and kisses my usalove y
cheek.
- Lenia, marker! - wh usalove hisper the clips on my shoufriends.
usalove
Lenechka (Lyo-nee-chka) - a "pe usalove et-name" form, sometimes also used usalove with
sarcasm, depending on the cont usalove text.
Lenchik - "pet-name"/unce usalove eremonious address.
Len'ka ( he usalove ere ' means softening of the previous usalove s sound, 'n' in this name
sounds li usalove ike 'n' in the word 'change') - usalove Unceremonious address, a bit
slig usalove ghting. Often used by close friends w usalove without any offensive context.
usalove ... and so on. No more forms are us usalove sed in the book, so I'd better not usalove
confuse you any more.s... I turned usalove the power
switch and turned off th usalove he modem. I need a quiet night, le usalove et all mail wait
until the morning. usalove It's already 3:30 am though... the s usalove sky becomes lighter.
And I want usalove t to sleep so much! The head is achin usalove ng of excess information.
I pul usalove lled off the virtual suit. Man, does usalove it stink of sweat, it requires
clea usalove aning for a long time by now... Th usalove hen I plopped down on the sofa. Good usalove d
that I didn't do the bed yesterday usalove y. How farsighted have I become...
usalove For three yearSergey Lukjanenko. usalove . Labyrinth of reflections
_____ usalove ____________________________________ usalove
* Yuri Kalmykov. Translators n usalove notes *
About the Author:
usalove Sergey Lukjanenko, 30, is one usalove of the today's most popular Russi usalove ian
Sci-Fi writers. His first wor usalove rks were published in 1988. Curre usalove ently his
bibliography includes more usalove e than 40 titles of novels and short usalove t stories. The
Author defines his g usalove genre as the "hard action science f usalove fiction", but all his
works also hav usalove ve a very well defined philosophical usalove aspect. The novel offered
to your usalove attention was written in 1997 and be usalove ecame the real 'cult book' of the
Ru usalove ussian Internet.
Sergey is marr usalove ried, he lives in Moscow.
usalove
THE NOVEL "LABYRINTH OF R usalove REFLECTIONS" IS COPYRIGHTED BY SE usalove ERGEY
LUKJANENKO, ALL RIGHTS ARE RES usalove SERVED BY THE AUTHOR. ANY COMMERCIAL usalove USE OF THE
NOVEL'S TEXT IS STRICTLY usalove Y PROHIBITED.
Several notes for usalove the reader:
1). My English usalove h sucks. So it was obviously way too usalove presumptuous of me to
try to make a usalove a translation like this. It was my l usalove love to this book only that
made me usalove e to venture into this adventure. ;-) usalove ) I was hoping that this novel is
r usalove really worth your kind attention (des usalove spite my ugly
English?).
2). usalove Some opinions expressed in this usalove book by the main or other
cha usalove aracters, as well as some words/terms usalove s used, might be considered offensiv usalove ve
to some Western readers. In fact, usalove , one such situation was even showed usalove d closer
to the end of the novel usalove l itself. The concept of "PC" (ak usalove ka '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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