Entity Number: 149
Habitat(s): Majority
Description:
Entity 149, or “Theodore Kingsley” as he calls himself, appears to be a fair-skinned, slim built male of Scottish descent in his late 50's. He is described with oil colored hair that begins to taper into a bright grey at the sides. He is always seen with a thick, well groomed handlebar mustache. Additionally, he is frequently sighted wearing a black three-piece suit with a white undershirt and pale gold-colored cravat, but has also been sighted wearing other formal clothing. Wanderers have reported that in addition to his commonly seen suit, he also wears a silver ring on the middle finger of his right hand, which features an unidentified family crest.
Theodore is always seen with a worn leather satchel slung over his body. Despite the satchel’s small exterior dimensions, it appears that the bag contains far more than meets the eye, suggesting that the bag is a type of Worn Sack. The complete contents of this satchel are unknown, as Theodore has refused to allow researchers to look through it. The known contents of the satchel are as follows:
- A thick leather-bound journal
- A small box of unbranded matches
- A well used pipe
- A block of high-quality red wax
- A handcrafted fountain pen
- A vial of squid ink
- A sketch pad
Each of these objects appear to have been made with the utmost quality, and despite their estimated age, appear to be in excellent condition. The pipe appears to be the most worn object within the satchel, suggesting a high frequency of use. Wanderers have reported that the pipe's smoke offers protection from hostile entities. A wanderer reported that when walking with Theodore through Level 5, the smoke from the pipe appeared to drive back an approaching Hound and continued to push the creature back, even as they continued to move toward it.
Multiple reports indicate that a faint soundtrack of classical music seems to play constantly in Theodore's general vicinity. It is unknown how this music is produced. The soundtrack has been reported to consist of popular pieces by a variety of composers including Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, and Tchaikovsky. There are some lesser known pieces within the soundtrack that are presumed to be Theodore's personal favorites. Theodore is able to control this music at will, apparently able to stop or change the current song at any point he wishes.
Behaviors:
Theodore is considered to be one of the more hospitable and friendly entities within the Backrooms. He is known to frequently offer food and beverages to those who seek him out and will tell them stories about his adventures throughout the Backrooms. He is known to offer these stories free of charge, but will often request that his visitors share their own stories and allow him to document them. Although Theodore is a hospitable gentleman and a kind host, he will not tolerate rudeness or disrespect towards himself or any of his guests. If guests who seek him out are disrespectful towards him, he will demand that they leave, and will refuse to interact with them again unless they display a genuine feeling of regret for their actions and offer him a meaningful apology. If he happens upon rude wanderers during his adventures who wish to hear his stories, he will likewise refuse to interact with them unless given a meaningful apology. Theodore is known to react to outright hostility (such as being attacked) with aggression, as one wanderer reported slashing at him with a knife after mistaking him for a Skin Stealer on Level 3, an action which resulted in the wanderer being struck in the face, breaking his nose. The wanderer reported that when he realized his mistake and apologized, Theodore assisted him in reaching Base Gamma so that he could seek medical attention for the injury.
Theodore appears to remember all those who have been rude or hostile to him in the past, and will still refuse to have interactions with them even years after the instance of their hostility has passed.
Biology:
Theodore appears to be a human male of average height and build. Rough estimates place him in his late 50's or early 60's, although limited physical tests have determined that he possesses the endurance, stamina, strength, and reflexes of a physically fit male in his prime. It is unknown whether or not his physical prowess is a product of anomalous properties, or if they are a product of a healthy lifestyle.
Theodore's mind is the most exceptional part of him. He has an excellent, photographic memory which allows him to keep exceptional mental records of everything he sees, hears, or reads. When questioned on the extent of this memory, Theodore proceeded to quote the entirety of Genesis to researchers, only taking a pause to catch his breath. His recitation was confirmed to be perfectly accurate to the text within the King James Version of the Bible. Theodore also claimed that his memory has allowed him to master the ability to speak, read, and write in several languages besides English, including but not limited to: Gaelic, Italian, French, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic, and Mandarin. Theodore has shown some proficiency in reading and understanding Latin, although he states that he isn't able to fluently write or speak Latin.
His apparent photographic memory has caused the M.E.G. to seek him out as a sort of backup for their important files, a request which Theodore has denied several times, stating that due to his frequent "dangerous adventures" throughout the Backrooms, he is "not the best choice for the job". He has suggested that the M.E.G reach out to his good friend Blanche for backing up information, as she "keeps such wonderfully accurate records" and "should have ample space to store them in her library."
Discovery:
Rumors about a wandering storyteller have circulated throughout the Backrooms for decades, the first emergence of the rumor being traced as far back as the late 1880s. The oldest written account of the rumor exists within the heavily worn diary of an unknown wanderer. The wanderer describes that a traveler they'd encountered on Level 11 claimed to have met a well-dressed gentleman that recounted an epic tale of his first encounter with a Scream Eater. The diary entry was dated March 10th, 1887. The first official documented encounter of Entity 149 and a wanderer was noted in a journal entry on June 23rd, 1911. The entry described a series of events in which Entity 149 recounted a story where he attempted to domesticate a female Deathmoth, but was unable due to the creature's "obstinacy". The entry notes that Entity 149 claimed that he "might've been able to accomplish the task, given a deeper persistence" but regrets that he could not as "the sting of acid makes it hard to focus." The first M.E.G. encounter with Entity 149 occurred on December 8th, 2016, after he was discovered recounting stories of his first days in the Backrooms to a group of new wanderers around a makeshift campfire not far from Base Alpha on Level 1. The first M.E.G. interview with Entity 149 was done 4 days later on December 12th, 2016. Below is the official interview log between Entity 149 and M.E.G. Officer Kayn, where Kayn sits down with Entity 149 for a luncheon on Level 11.
Interview Log: 12/12/2016
Begin Log: 13:41
Interviewer: M.E.G. Officer Kayn
Interviewee: Entity 149 - "Theodore Kingsley"
[M.E.G. Officer Kayn can be heard knocking on a door. Silence for 5 seconds. The door opens.]
Theodore: Officer Kayn! How delightful of you to make it. I'm sure you must be tired from your journey- please, come in. You're just in time for luncheon. How do you take your tea?
[Kayn enters the building and audibly shuts the door behind them.]
Kayn: Well- I'm not exactly sure. I don't normally drink tea. I guess I'll take it however you take yours.
Theodore: Understood. Please excuse me for a moment, I must retrieve the tea set and the sandwiches.
[Entity 149 walks off to a separate room. Silence for 15 seconds. Entity 149 returns carrying a small white tea set and a platter of tea sandwiches]
Theodore: Here we are, Earl Grey. Not my personal favorite, but still a quality cup of tea, and what I had on hand. Do help yourself to the sandwiches, you must be famished.
[Entity 149 pours tea from the kettle into two porcelain mugs, adding a dash of milk and 3 sugar cubes to both cups before mixing them both thoroughly with a teaspoon. Entity 149 places one mug on a small plate, placing it in front of M.E.G Officer Kayn.]
Theodore: Let me know how you find it. If it's too sweet, let me know. Feel free to add more sugar or milk to your taste.
Kayn: Thank you very much.
[Kayn can be audibly heard taking a long sip from the mug of tea.]
Kayn: Somewhat sweet- certainly not bitter. I think that third sugar cube is to blame for that. It's not an issue though, I'll manage with it.
Theodore: I will take note of that for next time. Do try the sandwiches, I do hope they'll be satisfactory. They aren't my usual dish, but they're the best I could make on short notice.
[Kayn picks up a sandwich and observes its contents for a moment.]
Kayn: If I may ask, what's in them?
Theodore: Smoked salmon sat on a bed of cream cheese and freshly plucked watercress. My traditional luncheon appetizer is cucumber sandwiches, but I've run out of cucumber.
Kayn: Oh I'm sure these will do fine- I prefer salmon over cucumber anyways.Theodore: In that case, perhaps it was fortunate that I ran out of cucumber when I did. Feel free to help yourself to them, although do eat in moderation. I would hate to have a guest get sick from eating too much during one of their visits.
Kayn: Of course- now, there was the matter of the interview.
Theodore: Ah, yes, the interview. I must say, I've been looking forward to this. I never pass up an opportunity to tell a story.
Kayn: As I've heard. You seem to be known throughout the Backrooms as a credible source of information, and a popular source of entertainment.
Theodore: I would hope that my information is considered to be credible. I pour over each and every entry I collect to ensure that they are as accurate as possible. I am also pleased to hear that people find my stories entertaining.
Kayn: The reports we've gotten from those who claim to have received information from you have never suggested otherwise. We've got at least 10 separate reports from individuals who only recently arrived in the Backrooms who claim to have gotten information on safe routes through the beginning levels from you.
Theodore: Oh yes- of course. I remember them perfectly. I try to help the newcomers as best as I can whenever I find myself on the first few levels. This place, as you know, is quite inhospitable to those who are not prepared- which is to say- the vast majority of newcomers. Giving the new wanderers a guide on safety is the courteous thing to do, especially when it could mean the difference between life and death.
[Entity 149 removes a pipe, a small box of matches, and a bit of tobacco from his interior jacket pocket. He lights the pipe, puffing on it for a few moments before allowing the smoke to billow out of his mouth and fill the room.]
Theodore: In my youth, I had always been fascinated by learning. The natural world had so many mysteries and secrets to divulge, and a young child is one of the most inquisitive creatures on God's Earth. I spent those days wandering from my home in order to explore what naive fantasies that I'd constructed for myself, although I could never bring myself to wander out of earshot from my family's estate. I suppose in those days, it nauseated me to make Mother worry. While Father endorsed my desires for adventure and exploration, Mother had doubts and held the opinion that adventure was a dangerous business and that no child so young should develop a want of leaving home. I'll admit that now, with years worth of adventure of exploration to my credit, I have often found myself longing for a taste of home. Even when our hearts crave to explore the unknown, to find the truth behind the mystery, and to see for ourselves what wonderful things are just waiting to be found, it is hard to shake the desire to return home.
[Entity 149 places his pipe down on the table in front of him. He picks up his teacup and takes a brief sip before sitting it back down.]
Theodore: Home. Bah- such a fickle concept, I say. What really is home? Is it some building with all your things in it? Your storehouse for all your worldly possessions? Is home the place where you keep your food? Where you sleep? Perhaps to you, but not to me. Home is where your heart is- where your soul desires to be. Many who come here have difficulty finding this knowledge within themselves, but some do. When I first came here, I desired home- to go back to drinking tea and reading Dickens by the hearth. It was only after much time spent wandering that I learned to accept that home was not that place, fixed and static, but was a flowing enigmatic thing. Home is where you feel comfortable, it's not a place, but a feeling in your heart.
[Entity 149 places his hand on his chest over his heart.]Theodore: Newcomers would consider the 'Frontrooms' to be their home- they are filled with the hope that they'll be able to get out someday. Not me, I have been here long enough that I no longer desire to leave. Gossip trickles back to me from time to time, I hear stories about exits- ways out of this place. I understand that some would love to return to the land before. The idea that this place is a nightmare for a great many people is not lost on me, but I could never see myself leaving. I've been here too long. The world I knew no longer exists, and this place is full of more mystery and unknowns than I could ever have hoped to explore in my lifetime. I've been here so many years, yet I've barely scratched the surface of what oddities and abnormalities it has to offer. Why should I desire to return to a benign and monotonous day-to-day existence of politics when I am free to explore, to discover, and to adventure at my leisure?
Kayn: So.. you like it here? In the Backrooms?
Theodore: My goodness, yes! I do admit, there are some things I have missed from before, but there is far more splendor here which more than makes up for what it is lacking. I consider myself to be a naturalist and a pioneer in the unknown. In my day, there were many untamed wilds in the world, but this place consists of nothing but untamed and malignant expanses- the dream of any man who would dare to call himself an adventurer. Not only do I enjoy this place, but moreover, it is my duty to go where others do not dare to go. It is my duty to tread through lands deemed too hostile for the common man, and it is my honor and privilege to lend my hand to the expansion of human knowledge.
Kayn: You seem to be very proud of your work. I have to give admiration to anyone who would willingly dive headfirst into uncertainty with little more than determination and a desire for knowledge lighting their way.
Theodore: Of course I am proud of my work. The road I have walked thus far pertains to the entirety of my life's greatest accomplishments. A man does not throw himself deep into the unknown, braving danger and anomaly for decades without coming to value his work. My work serves the betterment of more than myself, Officer Kayn. All that I have done, the information I've painstakingly cataloged throughout my years in this place- It is all for the betterment of the societies and individuals who have experienced the misfortune of finding themselves trapped within this place.
[Kayn checks their watch for the time]
Kayn: I would love to stay and ask you more about your exploits and adventures, but it appears that I've run out of time.
Theodore: Oh.. goodness me- I suppose we have been here longer than I'd thought. Oh well, at any rate, I appreciate your inquiry and curiosity. It's marvelous to see that so many people are so inquisitive these days. I would not be opposed to a follow-up to this lovely luncheon at some later date.
Kayn: I'll see if I can work it into my schedule. If it's not me, I'm sure other M.E.G. Officers would like to have a conversation with you.
[Kayn gets up from the chair and begins to walk towards the door.]
Theodore: If they would like to, they need only seek me out. It was an absolute pleasure to make your acquaintance, Officer Kayn. I do hope that your interview yielded some satisfaction. Until next time!"
Kayn: It was nice to meet you too. Thank you for the tea. Until next time.
[Kayn opens the door, shutting it behind them as they exit. Recording stops.]
End Log: 14:10
Do's and Don'ts
Do:
- Be polite.
- Share your story or information.
- Finish any food and drink provided to you.
- Ask questions about his stories.
Don't:
- Be rude
- Waste food or drink if you've asked for it.
- Leave the smoke in the middle of a story, especially on dangerous Levels