Info
Original Backrooms concept from this post on 4chan
This entry was adapted by Mctoran.
"If you're not careful and you noclip out of reality in the wrong areas, you'll end up in the Backrooms, where it's nothing but the stink of old moist carpet, the madness of mono-yellow, the endless background noise of fluorescent lights at maximum hum-buzz, and approximately six hundred million square miles of randomly segmented empty rooms to be trapped in.
God save you if you hear something wandering around nearby, because it sure as hell has heard you…"
LEVEL
0
SURVIVAL DIFFICULTY
CLASS 1
Exit: 2/5
Somewhat Difficult to Exit
Environment: 2/5
Some Environmental Risk
Entities: 0/5
No Hostile Entities
Level 0 is most commonly the first area of The Backrooms that wanderers may find themselves in upon entering this reality.
Description:
Level 0 is an expansive non-linear space resembling the back rooms of a commercial building. No two rooms are identical, though they all share the following superficial features:
- Worn, yellowed chevron wallpaper
- Damp, stained carpet saturated with an unidentified liquid substance (not recommended to consume)
- Suspended false ceiling of 1.27m x 1.14m mineral fiber tiles
- Harshly bright, audibly buzzing fluorescent lighting fixtures emitting a baseline frequency of 120hz, powered by an untraceable unidentified source.1
Below are photographs of Level 0's common environmental features, and a recording of the fluorescent lights' hum-buzz:
Experimental attempts to measure the complete hypothetical size of level 0 have estimated it to be approximately six hundred million square miles large. However, given the unreliability of the methods used in calculating the measurement, this should be taken with a grain of salt.
The greatest danger posed by Level 0 is the stark lack of available resources; most are likely to perish of dehydration, starvation, and exhaustion before ever finding an exit, or even realizing just how far they are from home.
Though uncommon, Level 0 is known to present environmental hazards such as shifting walls, falling ceiling tiles, exploding lightbulbs, and pitfalls. One must always remain alert and aware of surroundings to avoid meeting an untimely fate from these.
Phenomena:
Nonlinearity
The concept of linear space in Level 0 is practically non-existent; it is possible to walk in a straight line only to return to the starting point, and walking in the opposite direction will reveal an entirely different set of rooms than the ones originally passed through. Due to this phenomenon, and the visual similarity between each room, consistent navigation is extremely difficult. All technology relying on wireless signal will completely malfunction within the level.
Isolation
From within Level 0, contact/communication of any form with another is completely impossible. Attempting to enter Level 0 in a group will result in the immediate separation and isolation of each individual group member, even if they are all supposedly standing in the place at the same time. Groups will be unable to reunite until after exiting Level 0. A great number of people have presumably died within these walls, yet no bodies have ever been found.
Psychological Damage
Spending an extended period of time in Level 0 may take a psychological toll, gradually chipping away at one's grip on reality. This may lead to delusions and hallucinations, such as:
- Humming from the lights increasing to a deafening volume, then abruptly silencing.
- Acute déjà vu.
- Gibberish human-like speech resembling no known language.
- Vague apparitions in peripheral vision, which immediately disappear when directly observed.
- Scraping in the walls
- The sound of footsteps and breathing not belonging to oneself
It is believed that remaining within Level 0 for long enough will eventually trigger The Wretched Cycle.
Entities:
Level 0 is completely devoid of any life besides that of its given wanderer. No organism, living or dead, is known to exist within the level at the same time as the wanderer. Any "being" supposedly encountered is not real, and should be avoided at all costs.
Entrances And Exits:
Entrances
Level 0 — and by extension, The Backrooms itself — is first accessed via bypassing the boundaries of one's native reality. Within The Backrooms, Level 0 may be accessed from other levels such as The Hub
Exits
The only way to exit Level 0 is by no-clipping into Level 1, which can happen at any time in any place — meaning most escape only by pure luck, and when least expected. As newcomers to Level 0 are often unfamiliar with the mechanics of the Backrooms, it is necessary to keep your bearings and adapt quickly to the environment in order to exit.