Level 150 : "Memory Foundry" (Trimmed; Open for Rewrite)

This page has been deemed outdated when compared to current-day writing standards. You can apply to rewrite it back into the main list by filling our Rewrite Application Form.

Level 150 is the 151st Level of the Backrooms. Level 150 was discovered on 05/11/2019 by the Team "Reed".

Level 150, commonly referred to as the Memory Foundry, is a green field of grass with some trees scattered around. The entire Level is illuminated by a faint blue light that gives the impression of being in a constant state of sunset, in the sky you can also see a red orb which resembles a moon. The locals, a group known as The Newcomers, call this orb “The Eye”. The red orb within the sky has unknown origins, and may be a celestial body, an Entity, or other anomalous object.

Level 150 is crossed by a narrow old asphalt road, with plants beginning to grow in its crevices. The road together with the field itself seems to extend infinitely. During the exploration carried out by the team “Reed”, it was discovered that if you walk perpendicular to the road, you will end up walking back after a period of time. This happens suddenly, surprising the affected subject and also leading to lose the memory of the last minutes. It’s speculated that the Level itself somehow redirects wanderers towards the road by altering their memory.

When walking through Level 150 a hum can be vaguely heard, at first it's a simple annoyance, but as your time spent in the Level increases, so does the intensity of the hum. The increase in intensity reaches the point of becoming "like a drill trying to get into your brain", this seems to be related to the mental disturbances produced by the Level. Staying in Level 150 long enough will start a process by which the memories of the affected subject are gradually replaced, ending in the creation of a new individual. It seems that this same property is what makes the Level devoid of entities since they “forget” its existence.

The process that has been called “Forge” causes the memories of any wanderer that enters this Level to be gradually replaced, the speed with which this happens can vary depending on the time you spend in Level 150 and how close you are to The Foundry. Although the speed with which the memories are replaced can vary, they are always changed following a specific order which is found below.

• Phase 1: During this phase all the irrelevant memories will be replaced, these do not play a relevant role in the way of being of the subject in question but can cause great confusion because decisions such as the direction taken or the plan to follow can be suddenly changed, which makes navigating Level 150 more difficult.

• Phase 2: From the second phase more deeply rooted memories begin to be replaced, they are classified as "distant memories", they are little transcendent memories that managed to stay in the subject's mind although they don't have a real weight in their personality or life. With this, the change in the subject's previous history begins, although during this phase the mental integrity can still be saved.

• Phase 3: At this point the exposure to the properties of Level 150 will have irreversible changes in the way of being of the affected subject. Phase 3 consists in the replacement of all the skills learned during the life of the affected person, this can cause conflicts in the mind of the wanderer since there is a disparity between the skills and the knowledge possessed.

• Phase 4: The knowledge that the affected wanderer has acquired will be replaced in this phase, these are generally replaced in a way that generates a synergy with their new abilities although this does not always happen. At the end of this phase, a subject will have been forged that maintains its core but will have lived a "different life".

• Phase 5: During the final stage the remaining original memories of the subject are replaced, those that make them what they are and without which they would be a completely different person. Until now, none of the subjects affected by this process has received a new name, being this the only thing maintained.

The Foundry is the place where the presumed cause of the anomalous properties of Level 150 is found, It's a building that measures approximately 47 km2 and has the appearance of a factory in a bad state with many highly rusted areas, metal waste and garbage. This building is entirely occupied by what The Newcomers call "The Machine", it's believed that this enormous mechanism is the cause of the anomalous properties of this Level.The M.E.G. team sent to explore the place discovered that in addition to occupying the building itself, "The Machine" also extends to a series of basements that are under it, currently the depth of these is unknown although it is estimated that it must be greater than 1 km.

"The machine" seems to be in constant operation, when entering The Foundry you can hear the sound of active machinery although it is not known exactly where these noises come from. All attempts to break, disassemble or enter "The Machine" have ended in failure so its modus operandi is largely unknown. Few tests have been carried out due to the danger that these entail, however, it has been confirmed that the mental effects of Level 150 come into action as soon as a wanderer enters it, the way in which "The Machine" is able to detect this is unknown but there are two theories.

-Underground Connections

The recent discovery of the basements under the foundry has led us to think that it is possible that "The Machine" not only extends downwards but in all other directions as a system of veins whose body is Level 150, this could explain the slight seismic activity present on the Level.

-The Eye

It cannot be ruled out that the red orb in the sky known as "The Eye" may be involved, The Newcomers seem to believe that it actually watches over them, some even praising it as a god. Therefore, it is theorized that the orb may somehow be connected to the machinery system "alerting" it to new subjects who have entered the Level.

The following information is classified

On 11/26/2019 3 members of the M.E.G. volunteered to test and clarify the anomalous properties of Level 150, the 3 individuals suffered severe mental alterations for which it has been decided that the information related to this operation be classified in order to safeguard confidence in our judgment as well as our public image.

Profile: Flavia Hadley STATUS: ALIVE

M.E.G. Track Mappers

Biographical information:
Flavia Hadley was the leader of the expedition sent to explore and gather information from Level 150. She used to be devoted to her duties as a member being one of the most loyal and reliable new recruits, she liked most of her peers due to her kind and energetic nature, yet she was quite stubborn which meant that she didn't have many friends.

M.E.G. Service:
Her service as part of The M.E.G. was exceptional, with most of her missions being a success.

• Operation "Tightrope" - SUCCESSFUL

• Operation "Lift Bridge" - SUCCESSFUL

• Interview 1479 - FAILED

• Exploration Level 118 - SUCCESSFUL

• Exploration Level 34 - SUCCESSFUL

Addendum:
The process of forging her mind can be observed in the following fragment recovered from the radio transmissions received during the exploration of Level 150.

Flavia: We're getting closer to … where are we headed?
M.E.G. Base: To the Foundry, don't you remember? the people of the town told you about it.
Flavia: Right … the Foundry. And who did you say you were?
M.E.G. Base: Flavia, are you okay? If you need to rest, you can tell the other team members.
Flavia: The team? They are not my team, I don't have a team … do I?

• Location: Flavia is currently one of the residents of Level 11
• Personality: Flavia has become a very outgoing person, almost too friendly by backroom standards. She is also an exceptional liar which makes her an especially dangerous individual for the unwary, so far at least 2 officers have been deceived by her.
• Behaviors: She is dedicated to collecting objects that she "likes" although she doesn't seem to have any criteria to choose them, because of this she can be seen making all kinds of exchanges for which she has acquired a certain fame. She isn't loyal to anything or anyone since she will join the group that best suits her purposes in the given situation.

Profile: Suraj C. STATUS: ALIVE

M.E.G. Trial Testers

Biographical information:
Little is known about the past life of the Ex-Operative Suraj, he wasn't very talkative and didn't interact much with other people. It seems that the only thing he really liked was reading, a rare hobby in the backrooms. He had a small collection of books although it was never known where he got them from and when the subject was insisted on, he simply changed the course of the conversation or left the place.

M.E.G. Service:
Suraj avoided field work, preferring to work in archives and logistics. Even so, he volunteered for activities outside his comfort zone if necessary.

Last mission: Exploration Level 150 - UNDETERMINED

• Location: His location is unknown since he left Base Gamma, although there are reports of him wandering around Level 9.
• Personality: Suraj has become a very confident man, showing off his abilities whenever he can, yet still effective, being quite meticulous and observant.
• Behaviors: Suraj has acquired the personality of a detective, proclaiming himself the first private detective of all the backrooms. The Machine seems to have given him great knowledge about the backrooms including levels that have not yet been cataloged by The M.E.G., after his forging he has acquired the knowledge of someone who has traveled the backrooms for years which makes him a valuable source of information, even so all the attempts for him to transmit his knowledge have been unsuccessful, in response to this Suraj has said that he doesn't work for us and that there are things that it is better not to know but that if at some point we require his services we can always hire him.

M.E.G. Support:
To date Suraj has supported The M.E.G. on twice, his intervention was crucial in solving the operations in question.

• Operation "Fast Flashes" - SUCCESSFUL

• Operation "Red ball" - SUCCESSFUL

Letter left by Suraj

My dear … uh friends, I have decided that I have already obtained everything I need from you so I am leaving! but I am not rude, no, so I have left this letter to let you guys know, I know they tried everything and I seriously appreciate their gifts but there are things that The M.E.G. really cannot know. Nor do you think that this is a declaration of war of course not, if at any time you need my help (you will need it) you can always hire me! and I will be happy to help.

- That's it I guess Suraj… oh the guards are com-

Profile: Igor Svanhildr STATUS: UNKNOWN

M.E.G. First Response

Biographical information:
Igor Svanhildr used to be quite a charismatic man, which made him quite sociable and well known. He made friends very easily and was well liked by most of them. He used to spend hours chatting with his colleagues always saying "life stories are the most valuable treasure that I can possess".
M.E.G. Service:
He did not like field missions although his performance in them was not all bad. Instead he preferred works where communication was essential.

• FR_1245 - SUCCESSFUL

• Interview 1211 - SUCCESSFUL

• FR_1329 - SUCCESSFUL

• Location: Unknown.
• Personality: Due to his early escape, little information was recovered from Igor after his forging, but what can be recovered hinted that he became severe and quick at the moment of taking action.
• Behaviors: Igor had the most dangerous change as he went from being a M.E.G. operative to an agent of The U.E.C.. After attacking his ex-teammates he escaped from the level, both Flavia and Suraj confirmed that they heard Igor saying "I must inform The Pantheon of this level" while leaving The Foundry. This is why it is theorized that he has become a member of this group, being quite loyal to them and showing great efficiency by easily taking off his former colleagues.

It can therefore be assumed that The U.E.C. has knowledge of this level and its properties, they are expected to use this level as a psycho-weapon or a way to "eliminate" those who oppose them without the need to kill them. It is a latent danger as there is the possibility that they will try to forge a member of The M.E.G.

The Newcomers

The Newcomers are a group of people who when they finished being completely forged ended up with the memories of having lived their entire lives on this level. The population is friendly and open to trade.

• Population: The town in which they live currently has a population of 73 people although this is highly variable due to the properties of Level 150.
• Location: The town can be found on the side of the road at this level, signs will appear indicating the remaining distance at 50, 30, and 10 kilometers away.
• Description: The town is made up of approximately 100 houses, although a large part are empty. These houses are made entirely of wood, so it is believed that they were built by the inhabitants themselves.

Entrances

The only known way to enter this level is to find a sign on Level 10 that says "Road at 10km" once found walking 10 kilometers in any direction will end up taking you to Level 150.
It has been discovered you can enter from an arcade machine in Level 25

Exits

There are two known exits of this level, the first and safest is through the town of The Newcomers, in this there will be a path marked as "exit" that will take you back to Level 10. The other significantly more dangerous way is through any of the doors found in The Foundry, these have a chance to lead you to Level 23 or Level 113.