level 2
Threat Index: Class 2
»⠀Unsafe
»⠀Stable
»⠀Low Entity Count
⤳ Description
Level 2 is a vast network of interconnected utility tunnels, maintenance shafts, and rusting pipes. Unlike the typically inconstant-level environments of the Backrooms, space in Level 2 does not physically shift live, lending much of the level a relative ease of navigation. The level’s architecture, which can differ from place to place, remains largely uniform in its diversity and appearance across areas.
Its layout, however, reportedly becomes more complex the farther one travels from the entrance, with corridors that run up and down and may impede travel or cause injury, especially in dark areas. Fortunately, however, there have been no reports of entities lurking around these areas, most likely due to the heat and extreme humidity.
new section of level 2
The supply of provisions and hydration is heavily limited in Level 2 despite the number of water pipes in the level. Because no machinery or boiler rooms required for these pipes to function have been discovered, and because of the humid temperatures in various areas of the level, rust, bacteria, and other pathogens can overwhelm the insides of these pipes, which may contain Almond Water.
Unknown diseases, mutated bacteria, and viruses have been discovered within these networks, meaning that the source of most epidemics in the Backrooms is usually Level 2. These pathogens typically spread through direct contact or by consuming water from pipes. These are to be avoided, whether by ingesting them or by staying away to prevent accidental exposure.
Geological activity in Level 2 is prevalent, and earthquakes occur as often as in regions on the Ring of Fire in the Frontrooms. Any powerful enough tremors can demolish and therefore render parts of the level inaccessible due to the lack of maintenance work, although most do not have enough intensity to inflict severe damage on the level’s structure. The circumstances behind these earthquakes presumably originate from cracks within Level 2’s giant concrete mass. Chunks of them may push against each other, and with these theorized crevices within, one of them may slip from stress build up, thereafter releasing an outburst of energy.
The level’s temperature varies by location, and escaping extreme areas often proves fruitless. Those with steam pipes can reach 60–100 degrees Celsius, while areas with prevalent air vents are colder. Snow may also form in certain months, but it is not known how it can enter in the first place. Exiting the level through this method is not advised, as it is rare to find a system big enough to crawl through for hours. Chipping away the concrete is also futile, as the distance between cracks within the level’s matrix can be greater than that of tectonic plates in the Frontrooms, which otherwise could be used to easily traverse through the level.
Instances of changing layouts are also common, but the anomaly has yet to be captured on video, despite many stating that they were able to touch the seemingly hallucinatory objects. Exploring Level 2 while simultaneously recording would not prevent the changes from occurring, and, more often than not, the recording would show the person filming experiencing the anomaly in real time, as attested by the cameramen themselves.
Therefore, the phenomenon is generally considered a purely geometric effect of exposure to anomalies prominent at earlier levels. The only solid corroboration of the theory, a window overlooking what appears to be the Whole, seems to be taken in a vacated attic that is partly or mostly constructed out of wood. However, no location/level has matched the description other than Level 2 itself. Although the level is mostly constructed of concrete, certain older areas are made of wood, though cobwebs cannot form, given that the environment is highly unsuitable for invertebrates.
While there are at times signs of human activity, encounters with outside parties of wanderers have currently never been confirmed. Additionally, communication devices such as radios and walkie-talkies completely malfunction on the level. The circumstances are unknown, as linear space in Level 2 does not alter drastically, nor even a slight bit, unlike Level 0. However, the possibly infinite concrete space of Level 2 is theorized to be the perpetrator.
There are no doors that can be found, and recollections of similar fixtures, such as windows, trapdoors, and scuttle doors, are mostly identified as cases of paramnesia. Exits are instead found in the level’s few crawlspaces, sometimes crowded by extensive, inoperative assemblages of wires, possibly punctured, which flood the claustrophobic stretch. Moreover, these wires still hold electrical charge and can often result in serious injury.
brightly lit area in level 2
Although still speculative, there is a possibility that Level 2 contains an anomaly that directly influences wanderers in the level. Recent Level 2 entrants have been tested to expend more energy than the average person and to produce unnatural amounts of adrenaline when the body is active (e.g., running). Furthermore, most who enter Level 2 also report either being more energetic upon arrival, but more exhausted as they exit; entities or subjects (human/animals) born in the Backrooms are not affected, however, and it seems only Earthlings experience the anomalous spasm. Escaping from entities, while easier, can increase the risk of dying from exhaustion or further attacks by entities in the long run.
⮡ㅤAdditional Information ⮢
⤳ Entities & Anomalies
While mild compared to other levels of the Backrooms, Level 2’s position as a starter location for many leaves much vulnerability, as most entrants are not accustomed to the presence of entities. Hotspots for entity activity have been mapped only with difficulty, and even finding one in the first place is made impossible by the level’s sheer size.
⮡ㅤEntities ⮢
Entities within Level 2 (i.e. Clumps, Hounds, Smilers, Skin-Stealers) have adapted to scurry headlong and mitigate the need to retain their energy like their counterparts in other levels. Uniquely for Windows, however, rather than showing a void behind them, a hollowed-out section of the level seems to lie behind the glass. The shadowy figures that appear behind them look to have a more physical form rather than being confined to the second dimension. Recognize that the reach of their contorted arms is more extended, possibly because of the level’s layout.
The Biological Pipeline
Found in certain junctions of crawlspaces, sometimes lying behind sufficiently sizable pipes to hide their openings, these organisms can often stretch up to 20–200 kilometres from their “mouth” to the ends of the digestive tract. Descriptions of their physical bodies are divisive, ranging from their internal organs using the space in the cleavages to protect them to having their “pipelines” be their entire body. However, the former bear more evidence than the latter, as inflicting serious damage either through stabbings, gunshots, and grenades has resulted in them bleeding out.
Going through these organic pipelines is often necessary and, fortunately, rarely leads to death, as the process of digestion occurs only if the things they consume do not move after a few hours. Most of their diet comes from discarded pieces of food; and weirdly, debris; waste products, such as sewage, feces (presumably), scavenged organs and viscera, etc.; including junk, especially ones made out of plastic, glass, metal, and rubber. Using entryways into their interiors can be an effective way to escape entities; however, they generally avoid these pipeline networks for fear of an uncertain detail.
As an alternative to using acids to digest their food, they secrete a base known as the DuPont–Bayer solution. This is quite likely due to their “pipeline” being constructed out of aluminium, which the solution they produce does not dissolve, to presumably reduce the weight of the digestive tract their theoretical bodies are holding up. Besides, most of what they consume may contain sharp edges that could pierce them if made of flesh instead of metal, and if an organism were to be digested, its stomach acid would be immediately neutralized by the alkaline, with the by product being their source of water and ions. The solution can dissolve an adult human within seconds.
⮡ㅤThe Clockwork Theory, a.k.a. Hallucinatory Spatial Fluctuations ⮢
Unlike Level 0 and Level 1, the geometry in Level 2 does not have a concrete category: constant or fluctuating. Most seasoned explorers believe that, despite being one of the three foundational levels, the total size of Level 2’s accessible areas (which excludes the outer regions of the level, as it is contemporarily assumed to be an expanse of pipeline networks lying in a Void-like space) can theoretically be calculated if enough manpower and more developed technology are available. This has never been attempted, however, and it remains as a theorem with conflicting accounts on the subject.
The first report of such occurrences has been lost to time, perhaps dating back to when human documentation reached the Backrooms. Individuals who experience this anomaly/hallucination are typically novices and intermediate travellers, with the reason still under speculation. Ranging from the presence of furniture or areas that are officially known to be absent from Level 2, to the level’s layout drastically shifting more frequently than that of Level 0. Details that show most often in these cases include, but are not limited to:
- Locked doors on walls and in dead ends of hallways;
- Blank windows, sometimes even placed on the floor, either looking at a concrete wall, The Void, or The Whole;
- Small chairs and coffee tables, sometimes with expensive cigars, narcotics, and/or a few already drunken alcoholic beverages on them;
- Paintings, particularly ones that depict bright, outdoor landscapes;
- Fully furnished bedrooms akin to the ones in Level 5 within the rooms that connect the main corridors of the level;
- Staircases that either directly lead to a wall or another corridor of higher elevation.
The Clockwork Theory posits that the entirety of Level 2 is a monumental clockwork with its inner mechanisms hidden behind the walls, implying machinery rather than pure concrete. The moving parts, which are the furniture and small parts of the level, rotate instantaneously and subtly to disorient wanderers. This theory does not apply to Level 0 or Level 1, as the former lacks the required space for such equipment, and the latter has significantly different rooms that cannot be altered without cutting into an edge. Digging the concrete walls deep enough to reach this theorized machinery is not possible because the instrument needed cannot fit or be brought in, given the limited space.
⮡ㅤFalse Entrances ⮢
In levels that are numerically not far from Level 2, including the ones that are known to not bear an entrance to the level, there may appear locations that seemingly lead to Level 2. Usually, signs and drawings are likewise posted near the supposed entrances, and the identities of the persons responsible for the graffiti or hand-drawn markings are unknown. The quantity of these indications, and the false entrances bearing said markings, suggests that their placement was not coincidental.
These locations might arise due to Level 2’s semblance to a utility tunnel, albeit with unconventional proportions in some areas of the level. As most levels appear to occur within commercial buildings, institutions, and industrial plants, where utility tunnels are often present, parts of their edifice may look similar to Level 2. Distinguishing the legitimate ones from these anomalies is done by turning in the direction one has entered immediately after passing through the entrance. Suppose the passageway does not disappear, replaced by an obstacle such as a wall, or reveals a whole different section that would otherwise be “behind” one upon entering. In that case, it means that it is a false entrance.
However, there are a few cases in which the entryway is a door, and one may be trapped in the corridor, still within their location, because it is automatically locked after it is closed. In levels with entity presence, it is especially advised against entering these masquerades as one may be liquidated by the entity within the corridor without an adequate weapon. These areas are relatively small and consist of a single corridor averaging approximately 20 meters.
⤳ Colonies & Outposts
Due to the nature of Level 2, no major bases have been established. Small groups tend to use explosives to carve out makeshift bunker-like living areas for temporary housing or storage.
⤳ Entrances & Exits
⮡ㅤEntrances ⮢
- Level 2 is the final level one could access by noclipping out of normal reality.
- No-clipping out of and/or entering maintenance areas of certain levels may lead to Level 2.
- A variety of factors causes Level 1 to fade into Level 2, in addition to ordinary doors and stairwells which could grant one access to Level 2.
- Entering vents that are sometimes found in Level 8 leads here.
- Removing a manhole cover in Level 11 and descending downward.
- No-clipping into the pipes in the corridors in Level 17.
- Bunkers in Level 41 may lead here.
- The green door located in Level 111 has a chance of transporting one here, including a myriad of other levels.
- Exiting through the Lobby of Level 138, though it may lead to other levels as well.
- Fire exit doors in Level 154 lead to Level 2.
- No-clipping through a painting with a setting that resembles Level 2 in Level 264.
⮡ㅤExits ⮢
- Executing certain tasks and entering parts of the level may lead to its sub-levels.
- Fire exits could lead one back to Level 1 or forward to either Level 3.
- Entering a golden door marked with the symbol “Φ” will lead one to Level Phi.
- Certain hallways of Level 2 possess a chance of leading to Level 4 or Level 27.
- Coming across a sewer tunnel leads to Level 34.
- The gradual increase of neon lighting signifies that an exit to Level 699 is near.
