Info
This page is an introductory draft. Intro available, rest WIP.
Description [Intro Available, Rest WIP]
Level 947 appears to be a series of mineshafts, clearings, and underground mining bases within a labyrinthine halite (rock salt) mine. The scale, level of functionality, and technological sophistication ranges from what appears to be a modern underground tunnel system almost bunker-like in its sophistication and stability, all the way to rotting termite-infested wood supports holding up openings you have to duck to walk into lit by weather copper oil lamps that faintly illuminate the hallway a soft green hue showing equipment that looks like it could be as old as the 1800s. Some of the mining bases resemble more traditional backrooms architecture: non-Euclidian in the sense that the interiors of the mining bases are always noticeably larger than they appear from the exterior, however due to the majority of mining bases being inset into the walls of the caves themselves it is hard to verify their size beyond approximation based on the entry doors. A keynote is that irrespective of the room number or office worker, the placards, room numbers, hallway markings, have since had their paint fade, their instructions be covered by rust, or in other cases seemingly manually removed from the walls, desks, etc. This implies someone or something seems to specifically target any object or sign that gives something an official name or title, and either dismantles it or applies some unknown corrosive process to it so it essentially becomes unable to be read.
All indoor sections of level 947 are covered with a faint mixture of typical dust and fine rock salt particles, meaning if someone moves around or touches anything in 947 it leaves a footprint/fingerprint/etc. Documents, though scarce, are present and often contain seemingly nonsensical word-salad, however upon removing any of these documents from an interior section of 947 the ink will immediately fade away until the document is blank but will revert to their original contents if placed back within one of 947’s interior sections even if not from the area the document originated from. It should be noted that despite this, vandalized or disabled signs/posters/title cards/documents/etc never show any evidence of physical disturbance in a manner that would indicate a person or entity tampered with it even during the ink disappearance process. Some explorers speculate the documents are printed in a form of UV ink only visible under the specific wavelength of light emitted by the fluorescent lights in space. For some anomalous do not appear to work outside of level 947 even when powered, and no attempts to recreate the light’s hue have proven successful leading many to abandon the theory yet others swear by its validity.
The wear and tear on the vehicles, equipment, and tool markings present throughout the walls all indicate that at one point level 947 was functioning no differently than a typical modern halite mine, but at some point production was abandoned. Given the positioning of many vehicles and the condition of most of the equipment, it seems the mine had only been open and functioning at full capacity for a handful of weeks before its eventual shutdown and abandonment. The air throughout the level is dry, stagnant with floating salt micro-particles, and smells faintly like what many explorers describe as a combination of sulfur, ozone, and rotting meat. The typical architecture of 947 is a series of large tunnels connecting points of interest from worksites to office locations, often being roughly 30-feet in height and 50 feet in width.
Phenomena
Some anomalies have been associated with level 947, such as the inconsistent audio physics present in its hallways. Audio typically behaves how you would expect in such large open rooms, there is plenty of echo and reverberation. However, on occasion it should be noted that echos seem to go on for an uncannily long time, or in other cases a strong echo is seemingly cut off by absolute silence with no visible or audible explanation. In some cases it is specific to a geographic location such as a hallway where sound doesn’t echo or the interior of an office room where the sound echoes for several minutes straight, in other cases it appears to be temporary events not dissimilar conceptually from a weather system but for audio physics.
Though the anomalous fixed locations are certainly a point of curiosity amongst wonders, the temporary sound warping has fueled speculation amongst survivors that there is a level of autonomy or awareness present within the level itself as some have said it seems to occur if certain topics or phrases are used though a definitive list of what those are has yet to be compiled and even then explorers have generally found a weak correlation between the subject of their conversations and the presence of temporary environmental audio distortions. These claims are by no means unfounded either. Veteran explorers of level 947 noted several anomalous phenomena that take place hinting at the environment being conscious and active, however this information is generally hidden from new explorers as “The cave is alive and reacting to you in real time” tends to discourage exploration that would otherwise lead to critical data the veteran explorers use to best navigate within and around what they call the “Environment’s personal preferences”. This has lead to a bit of a hierarchy within 947: Those with sufficient experience and knowledge of the environment are able to navigate it relatively safely whereas those without said knowledge and experience tend to succumb to various accidents or tragedies at a rate that would warrant superstition from even the most robust skeptic.
The environment in level 947 displays a variety of anomalous tendencies that can pose a significant threat to an explorer. When traversing 947, individuals and groups may on occasion notice previously open paths may become blocked through various forms of obstruction rather it be cave ins or the terrain shifting so the hallway now leads somewhere else. All over the walls, if one were to pay close attention, you would see the scuffs and scratches indicating the walls not only move, but in some cases seemingly do so frequently enough to incur visible residue from the process. Doors that once led to office spaces or closets now might lead back outside into the cave tunnels or into completely new locations. Hallways that were once expansive and connected many areas may shrink to a tunnel the size of a crawl space and only lead to a dead end.
Veteran survivors point to the idea that these changes do not occur randomly. In fact, over repeated expeditions explorers have become increasingly certain that not only is the environment of level 947 alive and conscious, it is actively changing itself in response to their activities and more specifically their attention. An odd correlation explorers noted that frequently traversed paths often become easier to navigate and are subject to less structural alterations than less frequently traveled areas of the level which are far more likely to collapse or become blocked off. As a result, entire sections of level 947 appear to have formed around the habits of previous explorers which has in turn created strange pockets of stable navigable space surrounded by increasingly volatile and unstable corridors.
Due to the environment shifting in response to focus, level 947 has developed a reputation among veteran explorers as being an environment defined by a behavioral ecology. That is to say: Survival within the confines of level 947 is not determined solely by your survival skills, navigation skills, etc. Instead, long-term survival and continued safe travel in the space requires the explorer to acknowledge the environment is alive, that their attention plays a role in its processes, and then actively take steps not to do anything that they think would anger the environment as it is known amongst veteran wonders to be temperamental. Its inconsistencies in preferences, though perhaps relatable to explorers on a human level, create immense hazards for those traversing as something that caused no problems the day before might profoundly upset the environment the very next day. Because of this, veteran explorers often avoid discussing the sentience, preferences, and instability of level 947 with other explorers as those explorers will often to into less traveled spaces or make mistakes that offend the environment leading to their death which gives veteran explorers valuable data on rules of conduct and safe paths throughout the level.
Explorers discuss how the traversal of the space is daunting initially, but begrudgingly becomes easier with time and practice. Some say that they navigate based on which routes feel most familiar, others claim landmarks that previously didn’t exist will sometimes seemingly appear out of thin air only to disappear once you’ve read the instructions on how to get back to the nearest base. However, explorers who are some combination of daring and reckless try to navigate new areas in hopes of finding useful artifacts or documents that outline information about the ecology/environment which on occasion subverts the typical word-salad they are often filled with. These explorers who frequently wander and explore the area in a more chaotic manner talk about the environment becoming increasingly hostile. In some cases, routes could collapse, rooms would suddenly shift to lead elsewhere or have their contents rearranged, and in other cases entire sections of the level are simply gone without a trace including everyone and everything within it.
Theory
The true origin of the level is unknown. Rather it is a separate dimension, a location within our dimension, somewhere in between, or something else entirely: Explorers can only at best speculate that it may be a distorted reflection of institutional systems; a living mine so efficient at corporate logic it optimized the people who ran it out of the equation. What is clear, however, is that level 947 acts far less like an inert leftover structure and more more like a slow-moving system that observes and gradually shapes itself in response to its inhabitants. Rather the previous people who inhabited the mine were disposed of by the labyrinth or the explorers abandoned it after the first few anomalous incidents is unknown. If there was evidence of a struggle or abandonment, the halite labyrinth as long since composted the evidence.