Object 95 : "Temporal Apotheosis"

Object 95, though visually indistinguishable from an 1800s European pocket watch if observed from the front, inconspicuously hides a digital time display — referred to as Object 95.1 — inside the battery compartment in the back. This peculiar feature was initially thought to be used to check the time, but this was disproven when researchers discovered that the display ticked down, not up. Supposedly possessing some inexplicable, psychedelic aura, Object 95.1 is known to manifest a temporary feeling of intense dread, nihilism, and apocalypticism through visual hallucinations in those who gaze upon it; the duration and strength of the sensations increases as the display approaches 00:00:00:00, but the effects will quickly cease when wanderers avert their eyes.

The front of the pocket watch functions exactly like a clock, creating a faint ticking noise with every second passed. However, it has been observed that in some locations, Object 95 physically experiences time dilation, ticking faster or slower than an average clock would when velocity or gravity are altered. This phenomenon is most prevalent on Level 456, where the frequency of the ticking is seldom constant, ranging from occurring every half-second to every 2 seconds as a result of the perpetual gravity shifts. Following this observation, researchers envisioned utilizing Object 95 to enhance their understanding of how gravity functions differently in the Backrooms, but unfortunately, Object 95.1's doomsday visions have rendered this proposal impractical due to them being common distractions.

Object 95.1's countdown is still poorly understood, though it has been speculated that the pocket watch possesses the power to alter the fabric of the universe — usually in a random manner — when a countdown finishes. Wanderers in close proximity to Object 95 when a countdown finishes will allegedly be implanted with false memories; these can range from minor inconsistencies, such as the M.E.G. logo's appearance, to major discrepancies, such as the entries presented in the Backrooms database. Though the false memory is vastly stronger for those around Object 95, it has been reported that many wanderers throughout the Backrooms share the same false memory, though to a vaguer extent. As a result, researchers have hypothesized that the pocket watch is responsible for the presence of multiple examples of these incidents throughout the Backrooms, a phenomenon designated as the Mandela Effect.

Examples of the Mandela Effect Seemingly Caused By Object 95

Reports of the existence of a certain "Church of the Veiled" started appearing, likely caused by remembering the "Church of the Broken Truce" incorrectly.

EDIT: Apparently, no such "Church of the Broken Truce" exists or has ever existed.

Due to Object 95's unusual ability to implant false memories in people, multiple accounts that elaborate on how the M.E.G. came into possession of it exist, though most of these statements contradict each other. Some chronicles detail scenarios where Object 95 was stolen from The Gearmaker1, while others allege that the watch was found in Level 512. The most common, accepted account of Object 95's discovery involves a wanderer, Ella Parker, creating a paradox with her supposed future self on Level 87, resulting in The Gearmaker intervening and giving her the object. When the countdown finished, she was transported to Level 906 with no memory of ever entering Level 87, encountering Blanche, who seemed to differ in appearance from how Parker remembered her. The circumstances involving Parker's memory wipe and the lack of documentation mean that there is technically no proof that the scenario even occurred, giving truth to the theory that this "official" account is actually another false memory perpetuated by Object 95.

The information presented in the following addendum is confidential, as knowledge of the contents poses a massive risk to wanderers' safety. This decision was not made lightly, but after weeks of debate, the M.E.G. administration has affirmed that this information cannot be revealed to the public. Though it is possible for this restriction to be lifted in the future if the situation improves, Administration Security Override Credentials are currently required to view the rest of the document.

Thank you for your cooperation.

To: Overseer Kat
From: Irene Grace
Subject: Object 89 Inconsistency
08.31.2022

Sorry if this email seems unexpected, but I'd like to divert your attention to Object 89 on the database, which appears to be… your corpse. Though this page has seemingly been on the database for approximately a year and a half, I never thought much of it until I saw you alive and well yesterday. What really confused me, though, is that the page suspiciously contains emails sent in the year 2026, which is impossible considering that the current year is 2022.

Could you look into this?

Irene Grace, M.E.G. Archivist

To: Irene Grace
From: Overseer Kat
Subject: re: Object 89 Inconsistency
09.02.2022

Thanks for notifying me. I could have sworn we never greenlit an Object 89, but upon checking our greenlight logs, it appears as though a page classified as Object 89 was greenlit in March 2021. However, I don't recognize the person who greenlit the page — nor do any of my colleagues.

I'll do some more investigation before getting back to you.

Kat

To: Overseer Stretch
From: Overseer Kat
Subject: Object 95 Poses a Greater Risk Than We First Thought
09.17.2022

Sorry to bother you with an email, but I fear that the Object 89 fiasco pertains to Object 95 in the form of a false memory. I've done a bit of research and talked with several colleagues, but nobody seems to know how the page even made it onto our database, nor was anyone aware of its existence until I notified them.

However, this debacle appears to be only one part of a larger conspiracy — many pages on our database contradict each other. Are we sure that Object 95 is actually implanting false memories, or is it changing reality itself while desperately trying to fix the destruction it leaves in its wake?

For example:

• Level 98's page states that Level 103 is accessible from the diner's bathrooms. However, Level 103's page mentions no such entrance.
• Level 0 changed inexplicably one day, and its supposed previous form is even listed inside the current database page. It states that Base Alpha is situated there, but I don't remember us ever creating a base in Level 0, yet this previous iteration claims that we did.
• Object 97's page states that when we raided Backrooms Robotics, we blamed the raid on a prestigious group supposedly named The Splinter… but no such group exists to my knowledge.
• Wanderers have been claiming that we don't age in the Backrooms, and I don't understand why. Our profile on Dr. Shields seems to imply this, suggesting that he hasn't aged in the twenty-something years he's been on the run. His page even details a supposed "Pineshade Massacre" involving several "Penumbras," but I have no memory of this. I don't even know what Penumbras are — they don't even have their own page. But… you wrote the page, Stretch.
• I swear Object 95 wasn't like this before; it was just a regular watch. When Ella gave me the watch as a gift and I turned it over to Base Beta, there was nothing significant about it — I didn't even think it would necessitate its own database page considering how ordinary it looked. Now there's reports of some doomsday prophecy hijacking your brain when you look at it, but Ella and I did not experience that at all. Heck, the watch didn't even make ticking noises, nor did it run on batteries. What's going on? Is my memory seriously this atrocious?

It's all wrong, Stretch. Everything's wrong. I don't even know what to believe anymore.

Kat

This can't continue happening right under our noses… Why does this page keep changing?

Is the Mandela Effect real?
Something still seems a little… off, wouldn't you say?
Those subtle changes in this world you don't ever seem to notice.
Perhaps you're tapping into alternate versions of this world…
From multiple universes…
And just never realized it.
How does one switch from one universe to another?
One small event can transport you to another realm.
A place beyond your wildest dreams.
But what if you already exist in that realm?
Do you merge with yourself? Replace yourself?
If so, do you truly remain yourself?
Or is your body just a vessel for an unspecified clone of you to inhabit?
And if so, do you even exist… at all?
Of all the infinite universes, which one is the real you, and which ones are the clones?
Or is every rendition of you a mere clone? A shell of yourself with different personality traits?
But does it even matter what you do anymore?
If there are an infinite amount of you, it is plausible to assert that you’ve done… everything.
As a whole, you and all your parallel counterparts have taken every path to ever exist.
But once you've done everything, what more is there to do?
Do you feel fulfillment?
No matter what we do, time will still prevail — it'll kill us all eventually.
So why do we continue to achieve despite knowing this fact?
Despite knowing that in the end…
Nothing matters.
At all.

Author: Sky3 (The Skyrooms)
Vienna - Vintage pocket watch - 0598 by Jorge Royan is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
LED countdown clockfor 2008 Super Bowl(2234475078) by cogdogblog is licensed under CC0 1.0.
"A Clock Stopped" by Emily Dickinson is in the public domain.
Both images were edited by me.