Transparent Stained-Glass Windows
Encyclopedia
Transparent Stained-Glass Windows (Prozrachnye Vitrazhi, Прозрачные Витражи [ Russian
] ) is the third story in the Labyrinth trilogy of cyberpunk
novels written by Russia
n science fiction
writer Sergey Lukyanenko
. Originally published online, the story features two endings, both of which are included when it was printed in the Atomic Dream
anthology. Unlike the first two novels, Transparent Stained-Glass Windows is told from the point of view of a young female MVD operative who is sent to an isolated area of Deeptown, a virtual city created by Microsoft
and IBM
, to inspect the first virtual prison and locate any possible breakouts into Deeptown. She soon finds out that the prison is used by the Russia
n government to secretly conduct experiments on inmates. Throughout the story, she keeps referring to a jigsaw puzzle
she began to complete during her childhood but never finished (one piece was missing).
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
novels written by Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
writer Sergey Lukyanenko
Sergey Lukyanenko
Sergei Vasilievich Lukyanenko is a science fiction and fantasy author, writing in Russian, and is arguably the most popular contemporary Russian sci-fi writer...
. Originally published online, the story features two endings, both of which are included when it was printed in the Atomic Dream
Nuclear Dream (collection)
Nuclear Dream is a collection of various works by Sergey Lukyaninko, which was published in 2002. Most of the short stories were previously published individually, either online on in various literary magazines...
anthology. Unlike the first two novels, Transparent Stained-Glass Windows is told from the point of view of a young female MVD operative who is sent to an isolated area of Deeptown, a virtual city created by Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
and IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
, to inspect the first virtual prison and locate any possible breakouts into Deeptown. She soon finds out that the prison is used by the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n government to secretly conduct experiments on inmates. Throughout the story, she keeps referring to a jigsaw puzzle
Jigsaw puzzle
A jigsaw puzzle is a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of numerous small, often oddly shaped, interlocking and tessellating pieces.Each piece usually has a small part of a picture on it; when complete, a jigsaw puzzle produces a complete picture...
she began to complete during her childhood but never finished (one piece was missing).
Characters
- Karina - young female in early 20s. Works as a virtual operative for MVD. Sent to investigate a possible breakout from a virtual prison.
- ChingizGenghis KhanGenghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....
- hacker-turned-businessman. Appears to be involved in the prison breakout but seems to be more concerned with stopping and exposing the experiments conducted by prison staff. After the events of the second novel, he apparently comes to terms with his acquired diver abilities.
- Anton Stekov (AKA Bastard) - one of the inmates in the virtual prison. Suspected of breaking out into Deeptown. Appears to be working with Ghingiz towards the same goal. That was why he allowed himself to be incarcerated (that and his desire to lose weight). Apparently, he was born Anton Steklov but lost his passportInternal passportAn internal passport is an identity document used in some countries to control the internal movement and residence of its people. Countries that currently have internal passports include Russia, Ukraine, China and North Korea...
. When he was issued a new one, the database lost one of the letters due to a glitch.
- PodpolkovnikPodpolkovnikPodpolkovnik is a military rank in Slavic countries which corresponds to a lieutenant colonel in English-speaking states. Usually this word is translated as lieutenant colonel, however the transliteration is also in common usage, for the sake of the historical context.The exact name of this rank...
Arkadiy Tomilin - virtual prison warden. In charge of the experiments conducted on prisoners. Curteous but suspicious of Karina. Believes she is not MVD but FSB.