NOTICE FROM ASSIGNED OVERSEER OF LEVEL ±1:
Currently, there is no concrete evidence of the existence of Level ±1. All the provided information is based on accounts gathered from individuals who've allegedly been subject to Level ±1's influence. Any evidence that Level ±1 exists should be provided to the current known overseer of the level. If you are found to be withholding evidence proving the existence of Level ±1, sharing this document with any unauthorized personnel or, spreading false information of Level ±1, you are at risk of expulsion from M.E.G.
Please be advised, support is not offered to every individual affected by Level ±1.
SURVIVAL DIFFICULTY:
Omega
- Hidden Documentation
- Classified Properties
- Protected Entity
The above image is a digital recreation of the appearance of Level ±1 curated by a victim of the level's effects; it is not a direct photograph.
Level ±1 is an enigmatic level of the Backrooms. Due to the level’s anomalous property of manifesting as a metaphysical space, any attempts of researching or investigating this level are difficult, if not fruitless. As such, the following information mentioned in this document are all based on witnesses and inferences, do not trust any of the information provided below.
Description
Level ±1 is a metaphysical space that is unable to be comprehended by the human mind in a cohesive manner; any and all descriptions of the level are believed to be the human brain's attempt to find recognizable patterns within the unknowable. That being said, what has been gathered of the level's environment and structural make up has been consistent across all interviewees. The locale itself seems to contain several items, though individuals on this level seem to be unable to identify any recognizable features of them aside from the item's color. The same items have been described by all people who are presumed to have been on this level, so the space would appear to be limited in size, or, at the very least, static in composition.
Whilst in this space, individuals do not exist in their body, but instead are known to exist only as a glowing orb approximately two meters in diameter. Despite this, individuals in this form retain their normal senses, despite the lack of necessary appendages needed to perceive their senses. Their movement capabilities have now been reduced to a slow hover, as their now removed limbs prevent them from performing ordinary motor actions.
Wanderers who've stepped upon Level ±1 will only be able stay there for a few minutes before being forcibly teleported back to the entry point of Level ±1 they have just accessed. A voice identified as feminine in pitch can be heard constantly during one's time on the level, which has been transcripted down below:
Elapsed time: 30 seconds.
My name lingers within your husk, I see.
Despite everything we've gone through, the plague, the fall into infinity, the burning…
You never forgot my name.
I am grateful, newcomer.
Elapsed time: 60 seconds.
I know you're scared. Not of me, but of that lurking terror in the corner—death.
But that's only because you think of it as death.
And yet, you fell victim to it long before you met me, youngling.
Elapsed time: 1 minute, 30 seconds.
Covetous you are not, I could assume.
You've always been one prone to the odd gesture of generosity.
Consider this the biggest act of generosity imaginable; there be no greater duty.
Elapsed time: 1 minute, 60 seconds.
At times, you may have felt my children.
The thousands of tiny insects under your skin, each one nipping at you for your attention.
They live underneath your skin deep within your mortal shell.
Crawling, squirming, itching for the chance to be given life.
Elapsed time: 2 minutes, 30 seconds.
You now possess no body.
I've cast you out of it, and allowed the greater soul to take it as their rightful property.
There's no reason to fret, however, this shall not be your end.
Elapsed time: 2 minutes, 60 seconds.
You've hoarded life for long enough, it's time you give that blessing to someone else.
It may finally be that you join me in my everlasting search for purity.
Without doubt, you will help me free others of their bindings.
Elapsed time: 3 minutes, 60 seconds.
Let the smoldering kindles of yourself die out.
Grant yourself peace of mind, and know that you've done more in the short time we've been together than you have your entire life.
After being subject to the effects of Level ±1, the individual will be transported back to where they were before being on this level. Though their mental state and memories seem to be altered, any injuries the individual sustained that led to their death will be healed in all aspects, though their physical form will be unchanged beyond that. Individuals who've undergone this change seem to have no recollection of their life prior to going to this level, and previous memorable events in their life will be described as nothing more than a dream. The individual's personality will be entirely transformed, nothing like what it was previously. When asking these individuals about their life, they will be able to describe it vaguely, though exact specifications are difficult for them.
As of now, eight individuals have had their experiences on Level ±1 recorded. Only three of those have been provided to you, as the rest are of no importance. If you require access to these unshared accounts, please contact [DATA EXPUNGED] for possible access to them. The following transcripts are interviews with individuals who are believed to visited Level ±1 and been affected by their effects:Interviewed: Henry Kenderson (Formerly, Allen Goodman)
Interviewer: Phillip Goodman (Former Overseer of Level ±1)
Year of Interview: 1982
Phillip Goodman: C'mon Kenderson, take a seat, we're gonna be here a little bit.
Henry Kenderson: I prefer to stand, Mr.Goodman.
Phillip Goodman: Ah, ever so formal, tha- Wait, it's on? Ah, alright. Hello, Henry Kenderson, today we're going to be asking you a series of questions regarding the paranormal occurrences that have transpired following your near death experience. It is to be stated that all of this information is going to be public to all M.E.G. operators, have you any qualms of sharing these details, let them be known.
Henry Kenderson: No, Mr.Goodman, I wouldn't be here if I did.
Phillip Goodman: Great, now, let's see… Is it file set four or five? Huh? It's eight? I don't have that one, give me a moment… It's not eight, it's two, you baboons! God, can't stand the organization around here. So, to lead this off with, can you confirm that you've not retained any memories that align with that of your current body? Are you certain that you remember almost all events in your life from a different point of view from the one you're in currently?
Henry Kenderson: That's an odd way to word that. Though, yes, I believe that this is not my native form—near certain of it. The two lines of experience within my life converge between the death of my "past" life and my close call with death more recently. Everything that happened between that point seems distant—I'm unsure why.
Phillip Goodman: Jesus, you don't even speak like Kenderson! Never would he talk like some professional meggie, much less even agree to an interview in the first place.
Henry Kenderson: Oh? Did you know him—or, me—before this whole ordeal happened?
Phillip Goodman: Know him? I made him. Got him a good deal with a small M.E.G. squad that stays out of the front line expeditions, pay was nice for doing such menial work—it was mainly maintaining paperwork and the such. How'd he even manage to die? M.E.G. hasn't even given me the full details of this…
Henry Kenderson: Brain cancer. Apparently, he had kept it secret for years while it gnawed away at his psyche. Four years, roughly. He'd recorded it in a small private web page day by day on a primitive computer supplied to him by the M.E.G. themselves. At first, he had small vocal and motor related mishappenings that were nothing more than slight embarrassments. Soon enough, though, it spiraled into forgetting how to speak efficiently, being unable to eat without help or even get out of bed in the morning. He was slumped over while looking over M.E.G. documents, still slaving away even when there was hardly anything left of him.
Phillip Goodman: Why are you speaking in the third person? He's you. Shit… How come you're still here then? The cancer can eat at its host but not its replicant? He would’ve rather have his body burn in a dumpster than have some lifeless personality take him over.
Henry Kenderson: The M.E.G. should've informed you of my apparent restoration of my body upon me being "reborn."
Phillip Goodman: No, they didn't. That's the issue with all this, they want me to question you, but won't even tell me anything.
Henry Kenderson: I apologize for that, Mr.Goodman.
Phillip Goodman: Ah, wait, there's one good question on there. It is required of me to ask you if you've heard of or come into any contact with the creature known as Amarok, as it is vital that you do no-
Henry Kenderson: Let the smoldering kindles of yourself die out.
Phillip Goodman: Excuse me? Is that a yes, or…?
Henry Kenderson: [RESPONSE REMOVED FOR READER SAFETY]
Phillip Goodman: Wow, tossed into the cinder, huh?
[END TRANSCRIPT]
Henry Kenderson was later terminated at the command of Phillip Goodman. All traces of his existence was erased, this is the only remaining evidence of his life.
Entrances And Exits
Entrances
Currently, only one method of entering Level ±1 has been found. Upon learning the existence of a creature known as Amarok, you're fated to end up on Level ±1 following your death. There are no known means to stop you from entering this level once you learn its name.
If you've been granted access to the page, you will eventually end up on Level ±1. As such, the following measures should be taken immediately:
- Obtain a sheet of paper and record all known things about your life on it. You will carry this item on you at all times to ensure you don't forget your previous life.
- It is recommended that you inform the Overseer of Level ±1 that you know this information. He'll allow you to end yourself in the most humane way available.
- If you are unable to get in contact with the Overseer of Level ±1, it is recommended that you euthanize yourself in the most painless way available. Lethal injection is the recommended route you should take.
Exits
After you've undergone the effects of Level ±1, you will be returned to where you were prior to these events taking place. This ability of the level is not to be used in order to extend one's natural life span; do so and you will be put down without question.
Death is truly a fickle thing.
Some think you go to the Frontrooms on death.
Others believe The Grave is where you end up.
However, your psyche will venture to one place and one place only.
Expand your horizon and seek me out.
Or continue your ignorance and hide in the shadows of obliteration.
