SURVIVAL DIFFICULTY:
Class 0
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One of the VR rooms in the studio.
Level 142 is the 143rd Level of the Backrooms.
Description:
Level 142 takes the appearance of an infinite VR studio named Earthjump Studios™. The studio is equipped with countless rooms each housing a singular VR headset and a designated area for VR experiences. Wanderers who enter Level 142 will appear at an empty reception area with several hallways in all directions leading to the VR rooms.
Each VR room is equipped with a periodically-refilling water cooler, as well as a refrigerator with frozen food. Each room contains two stools and a table with a VR headset on top of it. The model is consistent across all rooms and the headsets never seem to run out of power. In addition, each room is equipped with air conditioning and a designated area marked in white for VR experiences. There are large cubbies on the side of the rooms for the storage of personal belongings and clothes. While inside the level, wanderers will feel a compelling urge to use the headsets; this urge intensifies the longer the wanderer stays in the level.
When donning the headsets, wanderers will find that there is only one playable program available, simply titled "Earth", which is a fully immersive VR program based on a replica of Earth. While in the program, wanderers have reported realistically fabricated sensations, such as touch, smell, and even taste. Wanderers have reported being able to feel objects inside the program, such as grass, without touching them in real life. The air conditioning in the rooms is automatic and controlled by the program, adjusting to the temperature of the wanderer's location. It also exhibits the ability to mimic wind.
Pain is also emulated in the program, as well as several other uncomfortable sensations such as hunger and thirst. While sustaining injury in the program will cause considerable distress, removing the headset will alleviate it immediately. Thirst and hunger can be satiated by eating and drinking food and water inside the program — but will not provide nutrients to the wanderer's real body. Therefore, it is imperative to take frequent breaks and remove the headset from time to time to avoid accidentally dying of thirst or hunger while in the program.
There have been several instances of wanderers dying in this level due to failing to remove the headset in time. The nostalgic effect of the program and the perfect replicas of places that wanderers hold close often cause wanderers to resist returning to reality. Many have reported voices, often described as "familiar, yet unrecognizable," attempting to convince them to stay. Several wanderers have stated that the voices remind them of childhood friends, yet when they are asked to describe them, they find that they cannot remember what their friends' voices sounded like.
When entering the program for the first time, wanderers will always appear in a replica of the place that they visited most frequently during their time on Earth. For most people, this is their house. Every object inside will be in the exact spot that they were in at the moment that the wanderer entered the Backrooms. Perishable food will be fresh as long as they were fresh at that moment, and time as a whole will have seemed to have been paused, resuming again from that instance in time no matter how long it has been in the real world. Many wanderers have stated that upon further exploration, especially in areas that they had not visited during their time on Earth, objects start to become replaced with a static void. It seems as if the program cannot replicate areas or objects that exist in the real world that the wanderer has no memory of.
While objects and structures may remain, the program is completely devoid of people. There is the occasional animal, and trees still dot the landscape, but there have been no reported instances of human encounters within the program. Other wanderers using the program seem to be sent to a different version, each specifically tailored to that person and what the world was like when they left it. Cars are empty and often left in the middle of the street, and machinery that would otherwise break down without human supervision seem to continue on their own.
For an unknown reason, all headsets will display an empty menu with "Earth" noticeably absent when operated by wanderers who had been born in the Backrooms. The program can only be accessed by those who retain memories of Earth and were transported to the Backrooms.
While the VR headsets can be removed at any time by pulling them off the wanderer's head (which also immediately exits the program,) crying will also exit the program once the wanderer's tears come in contact with the screen of the headset. The screen will display a static black background which cannot be removed until the wanderer takes off the headset and puts it back on again, upon which the program will continue to function normally.
Overall, wanderers are encouraged to avoid using any of the VR headsets during their stay in this level. It is strongly recommended to only use this level for supplies of food, water, and other materials, as there is no guarantee that a wanderer who activates the program will be able to or even want to ever exit it.
Bases, Outposts and Communities
There are no bases, outposts, or communities on this level. The M.E.G. has determined that long-term residence in this level significantly increases the risk of death due to the program.
Entrances And Exits:
Entrances
Finding an electronic device showcasing a childhood song, show, video game, movie, or otherwise on Level 18 has a high chance of causing you to enter Level 142.
Electronic stores on Level 11, especially VR studios, are a common way to enter Level 142.
Exits
Behind the reception counter, there is a door labelled "Staff Only" which, when opened, will most likely lead to the reception area of a random electronic store on Level 11. Occasionally, this doorway will instead lead to the interior variant of Level 168.