Phenomenon 9 - "The Blue Consumption"

The Blue Consumption is a central Phenomenon that occurs in the Backrooms, linked to the unnumbered level The Blue Channel. It includes a whole process that goes from the destruction of one level to the creation of another.

Stages

The Phenomenon includes three different stages. They are as follows:

The Disintegration

The first stage of the Phenomenon is the Disintegration. During this Phase, the Blue Channel will begin to eat away at the edges of the level, gaining mass and ground. The edges of the level will begin to crumble and disintegrate into the Channel. The speed of this process depends on the size of the level. The larger it is, the faster the Disintegration.

Infinite levels will not begin to disintegrate from its edges like other levels (for obvious reasons) and will instead see "pockets" of the Blue Channel tearing it apart in multiple places, corrupting and expanding the Channel from within at a faster rate than normal. Entities and Humans will also be disintegrated with the level itself.

Note: Any employee in a level affected by the Disintegration has to noclip out of it as soon as possible and notify a superior of the opportunity.

Example - The Decay Zone

The Decay Zone is the best known example of a level in a state of Disintegration. It is in an advanced state of decay, with the first known traces of the Phenomenon dating from 2020. "Holes" in the level lead directly into the Blue Channel, although survival appears to be possible. The level is now full of void holes, slowly being consumed from within by the Blue Channel. It is currently formally forbidden to enter without permission, as gathering information is currently not worth the effort. The location of the level in the Canal has been determined and is on the renovation list. All that remains is to find a client…

The Rearrangement

The second stage of the Blue Consumption is also the most difficult to manipulate due to the lack of material to use as a base to work with. In this state, the Blue Channel will have completely destroyed the level, and all biomass and/or inorganic matter will exist in a weightless state in a specific cluster of the Blue Channel, where the level once stood. This can be described as an incomprehensible amount of matter floating in an endless blue void, like a field of asteroids floating without moving. This matter will then remain in the same state for a random period of time¹ until enough of it starts to interact with itself. This event will trigger the next stage of the Phenomenon.

However, this type of interaction must occur with enough particles at the same time to cause a chain reaction. This is similar to the "all or nothing law" that occurs for the excitation of a human neuron². This means that if there is not enough interaction, the Rearrangement will continue because the "minimum level of excitation" will not be reached. However, if there is enough, the particles around the excitation point will stop their "dormant state" and interact with other particles following the same pattern as the first ones, and thus start the Construction phase.

Special Case - Remaining Fragments

Some decomposed level clusters have level blocks still intact in it. This can take the form of buildings, large rooms, or even large environments like parts of forests. These blocks of material are very unstable, however, and it is not advised to use them as a base of operations for remodeling.

The Construction

As mentioned above, this stage of the Blue Consumption only occurs if enough matter interacts with each other. The collision of particles will intensify as more and more matter starts to get excited and collide with other particles. The way the first interactions took place will play a major role in the shape of the level that will be created. Indeed, they will decide the basic framework of the level as :

Whether the level is inside, outside or both
Its entrances or exits with other levels
The presence of entities
The phenomena that can occur in it
The noclip properties of the said material (walls, floors…)

These are not the only parameters, but they are the most important. It is in this state that it is possible to "rearrange" these settings and reshape the level. Even if the essential aspects decided by the first collisions cannot be changed, some lesser impacts can be made to change some aspects of the future level. It is very important to note, however, that at this point the level is extremely unstable, and thus every action must be performed with extreme caution in order not to cause the collapse of the level in the process of creation, an event that could kill the entire renovation team on duty and ruin an opportunity for reconstruction.

The following devices were developed by the Remodeling Co. to manipulate the level creation during the construction phase:

Show device list

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Device list

Document owned by Backrooms Remodeling Co.

Structural Stabilizers: These devices are a modified version of the Reality Refreshers. They are used in very rare cases, when a rift appears in the level causing part of the Blue Channel to enter it, or in the case of a remodeling that is getting out of control. They provide a more powerful and rapid effect than the Refreshers, but are also more dangerous for users. Keep only as a last resort and quickly move away to avoid contact. Effects on employees vary, but generally result in more or less rapid disintegration. Use sparingly and safely.

Remolecularizer: This device is the basis for working in the Blue Channel in most cases. It allows the molecular restructuring of a defined small space within the remodeled level. It must be adjusted according to the area to be remodeled, as well as the nature of the modifications. It has the advantage of working very efficiently and reliably, although the size of the structure is limited. It allows for example to reshape buildings or gardens in order to make the area habitable. Be careful to use it only following the instructions in the manual, as an overload of the device could have disastrous consequences.

Structural Smoggers : The usefulness of these objects is the opposite of the Remolecularizer. In fact, they allow a modification of the general creation scheme of the level by altering at very high speed the iterations between the different particles. It cannot change a level into a drastically different environment (e.g., a purely interior space cannot become strictly exterior), but it can change the shape in more discrete ways, such as plains into hills or rivers into streams. Note, however, that unlike the extremely accurate Remolecularizer, Structural Smoggers can cause secondary effects on the terrain and increase the chance of rifts and Blue Channel openings appearing within the level. If this happens, use Structural Stabilizers to attempt to re-anchor the area and immediately noclip out of the level to avoid any loss of personnel.

Directive

Protocol

The most important concept when working with this Phenomenon is that it is extremely easy to destroy the level in any way. Indeed, one must not forget that the latter is still under construction, each particle interlocking with the others in a very precise way, which means that uncontrolled interference not only causes the loss of the pattern that was created at the end of the second stage, but also, in a relatively short time, a kind of "cancellation" of the links already made, which undoes the structures previously made (floors, walls, vegetation…) and expands the level, causing its collapse. The noclip in this situation is extremely complex, which means that once the destruction process has begun, it is very likely that the team responsible will lose their lives.

The survival of our employees is our priority, therefore, we ask our teams to follow the following protocol upon arrival on the field³:

Mark the entrance to the level and stabilize it with Reality Refreshers to firm it up.
Do not move away from the work area.
Depending on the nature of the work, use the Remolecularizer or Structural Smoggers (instructions for the use and restrictions are indicated in the said manuals, while generalities are noted above) without deviating from the instructions for use to avoid any adverse effects.
During the entire operation, block all holes into the Blue Channel with Reality Refreshers, as leaving them open can cause a localized or (more rarely) total collapse of the level.
Once the operation is complete, deactivate ALL Reality Refreshers to avoid overdosing while the level is anchoring and noclipping immediately afterwards via the entrance rift. Don't take your time, as the exit may become blocked over time.