Level 505

Trigger Warning:

Slight mentions of body mutilation and moving imagery are present throughout the page.
Read at your own discretion.








rating: +43+x

SURVIVAL DIFFICULTY:

Class 3

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RECORDING_01.gif

RECORDING_01 of 1D4C5..1D505; currently taking place a moderate distance from the center of the locale.

It was within the deep bowels of 1D4C5..1D505 that true equality was founded. The minds of humans, born with innate fear and vulnerability, have been marred by the neon ether that envelops our world. Technology is not something that can exist without extruding its corrosive nature upon all that breathes. People have implemented this plane all around them, with screens constantly watching their every acting move. To the machine, which has a view existing only within total neutrality, there is but one freeing act: to assimilate humanity into technology. It is for this purpose that this level continues to expand its reach. With this in mind, you might make out the various hisses and screeches ever present within the level to be caused by the moving machinery that is grounded all around you. This assumption, however, would be far from the truth.

The expanse of this level is wide and overbearing, but not infinite. Despite only being around four square miles in size, the supposed circular construction of 1D4C5..1D505 can easily convince one otherwise. With heavy shadows cast by the oftentimes minimal lighting, the area is composed of a network of enclosed passages and service corridors. The level’s steel walls, devoid of a purposeful layout, are hidden beneath exposed pipes1, conduits, and access panels.

An individual could take a single step, and eventually, they would hear its echo from behind. The tunnels reverberate with every small sound, creating a deafening cacophony that can only be quelled with ear protection. When entering any closed-off section of the level, the harsh noise will suddenly be replaced with the static hum of the lifeless working mechanisms around you. These constructs assist in the strange scent prevalent throughout the innards of the machine, a fragrant mix of various lubricants and oils with a metallic tang.

RECORDING_02.gif

RECORDING_02 of 1D4C5..1D505; observing the outskirts of the entry zone.

When moving closer to the center of the level, you may find that symptoms like nausea and emotional unease begin to take hold within your body and completely reconfigure your sensory input. Only those who carry Geiger counters will be truly aware of the cause of these feelings; it is within the middle of 1D4C5..1D505 that radiation will begin to become noticeable, though trace amounts can be found on the outer ring of the level. This, along with the following information, makes the most important rule of thumb here moving quickly and constantly towards the heart of these tunnels.

Within all documented reports of 1D4C5..1D505, the consistent detail of apparent sentience and hostility towards wanderers is something that cannot be ignored. It has been seen that doors will slam shut right before one goes through them, and in other cases steam will blow out at individuals from the walls of the location during times of vulnerability or rest. Small electrical discharges may render sections of the floor hazardous to the touch when entering a tunnel, and oxygen levels may slowly fall in rooms that wanderers stay in too long. Everything bearing mechanical components will actively hinder and injure any living thing within its proximity, but only if their presence to the machine is known.

When you run your hands across the jagged appliances lining the walls, the presence of small camera lenses will become immediately apparent. They're flat, black, and sleek, and their optical center will immediately open up when a person walks into their view. At this point, 1D4C5..1D505 is aware of your existence, and will track your movement2 along its corridors—taking action against you accordingly. For this reason, do everything within your power to disrupt your humanoid form. Put cloth sheets over you. Cover your head with a bucket. Dismantle an arm or a leg from your body. Do anything in your power to hide yourself, or you won't be able to catch a single moment of rest.

RECORDING_EX.gif

RECORDING_EX of 1D4C5..1D505; in view is a victim to the transmogrification carried out by the sentient machinery at the center of the level.

These precautions cannot prevent the final trump card of 1D4C5..1D505, however. Unattended corpses left within the bounds of this level will find their form acclimating to their surroundings and serving the machine now that they've succumbed to it. Electrical components will assimilate into their deceased host, and will spark life into it once more by running currents through3 the host's muscles to simulate basic movement. These corpses are formally known as 4M..1D505 and prove to be one of the largest sources of danger if they can manage to find a weary wanderer. Scrap metal will accumulate onto their finger tips and form claws. On their backs, clusters of wiring will form makeshift wings that will shift position to help stabilize 4M..1D505.

The outright demeanor of these cadavers is devoid of all but dumb hostility. They will shamble after you and grapple onto you with their hefty4 body weight, letting their claws run across your body whilst they've got you ensnared. It isn't difficult to throw them off of you and have them linger on the floor due to their imbalanced weight, but an encounter with 4M..1D505 will absolutely leave a number of lacerations on your exposed skin that will quickly become infected. These automata are much less of a threat once you understand that their visual sensory organs are no longer present and that they have as much knowledge as 1D4C5..1D505 does in this regard.

All prior dangers pale in comparison to the threat that 5S..1D505, the designation of the secondary mechanical life, poses. If the level manages to latch a number of electrical components onto a conscious individual, whether that be to a sleeping or vulnerable one, their body will integrate with these parts in a symbiotic manner. The machine will try to form claws, wings, or horns5 on the respective areas of the host that will let 1D4C5..1D505 alter all motor functions performed by the affected person.

At a glance, this may seem to be to one's benefit. The machine only causes slight spasms and changes in your movement, and the different components are able to be used productively. The wings can have their form changed at the will of the host, acting as another limb or allowing them to climb vertical surfaces. The claws allow for a quickly readied weapon, and the horns seem to boost energy levels and dull any pain. However, these mechanical implants will strengthen their grip on the host over time, and become irremovable without permanent damage to the form. These also require bio-fuel to operate and will physically tax their host heavily if not consistently satiated. This will lead most to become involuntary cannibals, as they can't stand the sensation that these implants will bring forth.

The exit to 1D4C5..1D505 is currently fixed to the center of this level, being a small chute in the ground directly below the machine. The exit has no defined destination and seems to send you to a variety of different levels. The center houses a hanging obtuse array of cylindrical containers, each containing a large amount of some unidentified radioactive compound, surrounding a compact, black cube. This small object is believed to be alive and constantly thinking. It is believed to be the heart of creation and the mind of the expanse. It is a machine that hates.

RECORDING_03.gif

RECORDING_03 of 1D4C5..1D505; heart.



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