| Rarity | 7/10 |
| Utility | 8/10 |
| Usage and demand | 4/10 |
| Hazard level | 8/10 |
Object 42, otherwise known as Lightning in a Bottle, is, as the name implies, an electrical charge that is stored in bottles or other containers. It can be found across the majority of Levels in The Backrooms, albeit rarely.
Description
Bottled Lightning is an electric charge of an estimated one billion (1,000,000,000) joules, which can be found in several Levels of The Backrooms, stored in glass containers, such as flasks, wine bottles, and many others. Despite the fact that these containers are usually made of glass, they can contain the lightning without the container shattering into pieces. The reason as to why this occurs is as of yet unknown.
One can easily identify instances of Object 42 by their appearance. The lightning moves around the container at very high speeds, and also emits an extremely bright light. It is recommended to touch these objects only when wearing sufficient hand protection, as to prevent heat related injuries1. The lightning is normally contained by a cork stopper at the top of the container, but other methods of containment have been observed.
Opening the container in any way will release the electricity inside. When released, the Lightning searches for the closest conductor. Opening the bottle by removing the stopper yourself is highly discouraged, since the first thing the lightning will arc to will almost invariably be the person who opened it, as they are the nearest conductor.
The bottles themselves are extremely fragile despite holding all of that energy inside of them. When one is carrying Object 42, they should be extremely wary of the way in which they handle it to prevent any accidents. The danger posed by the fragility of the bottles has not deterred several people throughout The Backrooms from using the Object however, as Object 42 has seen widespread use as both a source of energy and a weapon.
There are 3 different variations of Object 42, two of which can be found naturally, and one which is artificially manufactured.
Blue lightning
The most commonly occurring variation, blue lightning variants glow a vivid shade of blue, and emit the brightest lights out of all the variants. When released, they act just like electricity would, seeking the fastest path to the nearest conductor. Shaking the container will make it temporarily glow with a bright blue light. When applied to humans the charge is most often fatal, but in some cases it is survivable.
Blue lightning variants conduct through the best conductor in the room. Because of this, they may be unpredictable when released, so caution is advised when planning to use them in any way.
Artificial lightning
An artificially manufactured imitator of Blue lightning, Artificial variations were first manufactured by Frederick 'Rust Punk' Kaiser after experimenting with several different alternatives to Blue lightning energy harvesting in order to create a safer version of Bottled Lightning. The result was the Artificial lightning variation, which is significantly less bright, powerful, and hot compared to the previously mentioned counterpart. Because of this, it has seen widespread use as an energy source due to it's relative safety, but less use as a weapon due to its reduced power.
Artificial lightning variations tend to prefer conduction through metallic objects rather than living creatures. Because of this, one can open a bottle of Artificial lightning without getting hurt as long as there is a metal conductor nearby.
Black lightning
The most dangerous version of Bottled Lightning, Black lightning variations are thankfully not as common as their Blue lightning counterpart. Pitch black in colour, yet still emitting a faint glow, they are estimated to be ten times more powerful than the Blue lightning variations. These charges have been known to behave anomalously, prioritizing conduction through living creatures when released from their containers, and have also been reported to randomly explode on some occasions, killing any living creatures that may be nearby.
As of now, Black Lightning cannot be efficiently and safely harvested as an energy source due to how dangerous and unstable it is. Should Wanderers encounter it, they are advised to stay clear and avoid it due to its unpredictable nature.
Test Logs
The following tests were conducted by Frederick Kaiser between the dates of 24/5/2018 and 8/3/2019 when first experimenting with the harvesting of Object 42, and the creation of Artificial lightning.
Test number: 1-3
Date: 24/5/2018
Objects used: Object 42, Blue lightning variation
Aim: To experiment with Object 42's conductivity.
Test setup: The lightning was released by an automated mechanical hand into a room where one rod of copper wire was connected to a wattmeter.
Results: The lightning was released, and immediately went for the wire in each test. The copper wire grew hot and glowed blue temporarily as the electrical current passed through it, but when the current reached the wattmeter, it blew up each time.
Conclusion: If it's powerful enough to break a wattmeter, I'm pretty sure we're dealing with some serious shit.
Test number: 4
Date: 17/6/2018
Objects used: Object 42, Blue lightning variation
Aim: To further experiment with Object 42's conductivity.
Test setup: The lightning was released by an automated mechanical hand into an empty room, with nothing that could constitute as a conductor inside of it.
Results: The lightning immediately flowed to the mechanical hand, causing it to sizzle and break down.
Conclusion: I may have, uh, forgotten the fact that that hand is also made of metal. This also kinda raises the question, how come it went for the copper wire in the previous tests, and not the arm?
Test number: 5
Date: 23/6/2018
Objects used: Object 42, Blue lightning variation
Aim: To further experiment with Object 42's conductivity.
Test setup: The bottle was placed sideways in the middle of an empty room. A brick was waxed to the ceiling, and it was left there until the wax melted.
Results: When the wax melted, the brick fell onto the bottle, smashing it to pieces and releasing the lightning. With nothing to conduct through, the lightning hit one of the walls instead, leaving a scorch mark and causing ozone to be created.
Conclusion: So when it has nothing to conduct through, it's just regular lightning. Neat.
Test number: 6-8
Date: 10/7/2018
Objects used: Object 42, Blue lightning variation
Aim: To test the conduction preferences of Object 42.
Test setup: In the three tests, Object 42 was placed in a room with two rods of metal, one made of aluminium, and one made of copper. In the first test, the distance between the rod of copper from the bottle was the same as the distance of the aluminium rod, but in the second and third tests, the bottle was placed closer to the aluminium and further away from the copper.
Results: In all tests, the lightning always conducted through the copper.
Conclusion: That explains the results in the previous tests then.
Test number: 9
Date: 21/7/2018
Objects used: Object 42, Blue lightning variation
Aim: To attempt the harvesting of Object 42 as an energy source.
Test setup: The lightning was released by an automated mechanical hand into a room where one rod of copper wire was attached to a specialized battery theoretically capable of holding the energy exerted by the lightning.
Results: The battery was blown up.
Conclusion: Aw fuck, right when I thought I'd struck gold…
Test number: 14
Date: 28/9/2018
Objects used: Object 42, Black lightning variation
Aim: To test the properties of a new variant of Object 42 which was recently reported throughout The Backrooms.
Test setup: The same setup as Test 1 was used.
Results: Before the automated hand could open the bottle, it burst open, burning the copper and causing the wattmeter and arm to explode.
Conclusion: Woah, now that's a force to be reckoned with.
Test number: 22
Date: 10/10/2018
Objects used: Object 42, Black lightning variation
Aim: To test the properties of a new variant of Object 42 which was recently reported throughout The Backrooms.
Test setup: The same setup as Test 1 was used, but with a silver rod instead of a copper one.
Results: Same results as Test 14.
Conclusion: So even the most durable conductor can't hold the charge from these things? What in the ever loving fuck is up with them? Side note as well, when experimenting with Black light variants, resource management should be a priority, as from what I've seen now, they're even rarer than Blue light variants, which are already rare in themselves.
Test number: 25
Date: 2/11/2018
Objects used: N/A
Aim: To attempt to artificially re-create an instance of Object 42.
Test setup: A lightning rod was set up in Level 817 during a thunderstorm, and the lightning collected was transferred to a battery.
Results: The energy was collected successfully in the battery.
Conclusion: I mean, we got the energy, but this wasn't what I wanted. I want to collect it just like the other bottles.
Test number: 26
Date: 27/11/2018
Objects used: N/A
Aim: To attempt to artificially re-create an instance of Object 42.
Test setup: Same as the previous test, but the lightning rod was wired to a glass flask instead of a battery, similar to those found in the naturally occurring bottles. A copper rod connected to a battery was in the room as a precaution.
Results: The bottle was shattered, and the lightning went into the copper rod the same way it had in previous tests.
Conclusion: Maybe I need to do it in a specialized bottle? The ones that occur naturally don't seem to be any different than normal glass.
Test number: 27
Date: 15/12/2018
Objects used: N/A
Aim: To attempt to artificially re-create an instance of Object 42.
Test setup: Same as the previous test, but the lightning rod was wired to a reinforced glass flask. A copper rod connected to a battery was in the room as a precaution.
Results: Same as previous test.
Conclusion: I don't get it, what's so special about those goddamn bottles that hold them in the first place? Maybe using them could be the solution?
Test number: 28
Date: 28/12/2018
Objects used: N/A
Aim: To attempt to artificially re-create an instance of Object 42.
Test setup: Same as the previous test, but the lightning rod was wired to a discarded bottle of naturally occurring lightning
Results: The lightning was contained successfully, producing what is now known as the 'artificial variant'.
Conclusion: I'm amazed that it worked, but disappointed at my common sense. Nevertheless, EUREKA!
Test number: 29
Date: 4/1/2019
Objects used: Object 42, Artificial lightning variation
Aim: To experiment with Object 42's conductivity.
Test setup: Identical to tests 1-3
Results: The lightning was released, and immediately went for the wire. Power was gauged at 100,000J.
Conclusion: It's definitely not as strong as the Blue lightning variation, but it's still something!
Test number: 30
Date: 15/1/2019
Objects used: Object 42, Artificial variation
Aim: To further experiment with Object 42's conductivity.
Test setup: identical to test 5
Results: When the wax melted, the brick fell onto the bottle, smashing it to pieces and releasing the lightning. With nothing to conduct through, the lightning hit one of the walls instead, leaving a scorch mark. No ozone was created.
Conclusion: Mostly similar to experiment 5, nothing's changed here.
Test number: 31-33
Date: 6/2/2019
Objects used: Object 42, Artificial variation
Aim: To test the conduction preferences of Object 42.
Test setup: Identical to tests 6-8
Results: In all tests, the lightning always conducted through the copper.
Conclusion: Nothing different here either.
Test number: 34
Date: 18/2/2019
Objects used: Object 42, Artificial lightning variation
Aim: To attempt the harvesting of Object 42 as an energy source.
Test setup: Identical to test 9.
Results: The energy was stored in its entirety successfully.
Conclusion: Success! This is going to save me so many hours of trying to barter for batteries!
Test number: 42
Date: 8/3/2019
Objects used: Object 42, Black lightning variation
Aim: The test was conducted accidentally after someone had brought an instance of the Black lightning variation into the room without knowing of its unstable properties.
Test setup: N/A
Results: The energy burst open, releasing a burst of deadly electricity into the room. However, instead of killing the people inside the room, it immediately went towards a broken clock, which was in the same room at the time of the incident. The clock was fixed instantly, and it seemed to operate much more accurately than before.
Conclusion: What the hell was that?