Object 61 - Vagrants in Saltwater
rating: +21+x


Info

These boats were brought to you by BUBBLINGBEACHBUBBLINGBEACH

This article is a bit of a tribute to the pure variety of levels out there! It's been a treat taking em all in over the past year or so, and i figure it's time i give back >B]
Most of my inspirations are linked in the article—do check them out please—but there's a couple offhand references to Pathfinder by HyliusHylius and Level 97 by CutTheBirchCutTheBirch i didn't quite state explicitly.

Beach trivia: This article's title used to be entirely lowercase.

Object Overview

Objects 61.1 through 61.12 are a collection of sailboats that individually migrate through various terrestrial and aquatic levels on their own, requiring neither crew nor captain.

Description

Object 61 or Booreson's vessels, after the late B.N.T.G. Food Dept. head Agatha Booreson, is the collective term for any one of a series of objects that meet the following criteria:

1. Object can generally be referred to as a "sailboat". Make and model vary across instances, although all resemble existing Frontrooms models.

2. Object contains no traces of animal, plant, fungal, or microbial life on any of its surfaces upon entrance to a level.

3. No preexisting records or accounts of said object exist within the surrounding area/level in which it manifests. Especially in terrestrial areas, object may alter its immediate surroundings to "explain" its position outside of water.

4. Object shows mild to significant signs of wear.

5. Object does not require the assistance of others to enter and leave any one level, and will do so of its own volition.

Any undocumented objects that match the above criteria, especially criteria 1 and 5, should be immediately photographed and reported for further investigation and/or classification to an instance of Object 61. Exploration of any Object 61 instance is highly discouraged, as any known or suspected instances of Object 61 are extremely unsafe to enter.

Object 61 instances are labelled numerically in order of their discovery. Currently, twelve instances have been documented. Object 61.1 was first recorded by Booreson in September of 1990, and each new discovery has postdated the previous by a span of two to fifty-one months.

Of particular interest are the paths that mobile instances of Object 61 take across levels. With several exceptions, the route between two levels an instance has been recorded travelling between are known to be traceable by humans by physical and/or aphysical means, albeit often with difficulty.1 While the direct usage of instances of Object 61 to traverse levels is almost certainly fatal to humans, further insight on potential traversal between levels could be gathered by continuing to track their progress across the Backrooms.

On the Sterilization Process of Object 61 Instances

Objects 61.1 through 61.12 often accrue hardier life-forms in and on their surfaces (bacteria, algae, moss, etc.) throughout the course of their stay in a single level; however, continuous species and age sampling of said life-forms across Object 61 instances suggests a total removal or sterilization of all organisms present on the object in the traversal process.
This is assumed to apply to humans as well. Any testing of this assumption is, for a variety of reasons, highly discouraged.

Instances of Object 61, upon arriving in a level, may remain in place for months or years at a time. Likewise, they may disappear unrecorded for similar timespans. Object 61 instances cannot be reliably followed once they depart a level, so it is difficult to predict their whereabouts. Generally, it is safe to assume they have resurfaced in undocumented levels or areas of known levels, having taken exits yet to be discovered.

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Object 61.1 in the cityside sector of Level 563, its most recent resting place. Upon entering terrestrial areas of levels, Object 61 instances may manifest supporting structures under or around it to "justify" its appearance, such as the pictured trailer. Waterborne instances require no such justification.


List of Instances

On Extra Notes Regarding Individual Object Appearances

Recorded observances in this table postmarked with a * come with additional information or images regarding the individual appearance in the Observance Reference section below this one.

Instance Make / Model (prod. date) Recorded Observances
61.1 Wooden Dragon-class keelboat (1929) 9/1990, Level 10
3/1991, Level 66
12/2000, Level 282
7/2020, Level 124
2/2022, Level 563
61.2 Fiberglass-wood M-16 Scow dinghy (1950) 6/1992, Level 108
1/1995, Level 204
5/1998, Level 129
4/2013, Level 532
61.3 Wooden felucca (c. 1830) 10/1993, Level 66
1/1994, Level 11
5/2001, Level 103
61.4 Pine-veneer Zephyr dinghy (1957) 1/1995, Level 240*
61.5 Acacia wa'a kaulua2 (c. 1780) 4/1999, Level 291
6/2006, Level 140
12/2011, Level 8
1/2012, Level 69
5/2022, Level 817
61.6 Danish wooden topsail schooner (c. 1720) 6/2000, Level 85
7/2008, Level 5*
9/2019, Level 84
61.7 Wooden dinghy3 (c. 2000) 3/2001, Level 4
2/2006, Level 7
8/2010, Level 17
7/2021, Level 100*
61.8 Wooden "sandbagger" sloop (c. 1860) 7/2006, Level 233
1/2009, Level 116
6/2020, Level 115
61.9 Diesel luxury sailing yacht4 2/2008, Level 172
10/2012, Level 33
1/2014, Level 130*
7/2019, Level 499*
1/2020, Level 10
61.10 Polyvinyl sailing barque (2001) 11/2013, Level 880*
9/2015, Level 134
3/2021, Level 500*
61.11 Saw-board åfjording5 (c. 1820) 12/2017, Level 826*
1/2022, Level 230*
61.12 Fiberglass C&C Mega 30 racing yacht (1977) 6/2018, Level 300
11/2021, Level 173


Observance References

Object 61.4

Image: 5/2000, Level 240

zephyr.png

The only existing photo of Object 61.4. Unlike many other Object 61 instances, 61.4 has only been documented in this one location; it remained in Lotka Lake until its disappearance on 4/2001. None of the Grandchildren of Lotka claim to have observed Object 61.4's arrival or departure, but they report that Entity 114 was unlikely to have been involved.

Object 61.6

Log: 7/2008, Level 5

Object 61.6 is found in a large foyer within the hotel's halls, complete with a number of benches, side tables, and water fountains lining the walls. The object itself is placed upon a stone pedestal and surrounded with stanchion roping and a small plaque describing some noteworthy battles fought by the Royal Danish Navy. Upon the vessel's departure, the foyer reverts to a regular section of hallway.

Of the hotel's staff, only Entity 135 could be reached for comment during the object's stay, expressing notable concern for the object's effect on hallway traffic and for what the hotel's proprietor would think if he was to come across it.

Object 61.7

Image: 8/2021, Level 100

lisa.jpg

Object 61.7 resting at the shore of Level 100, here partially flooded at the level's high tide. Generally, it is assumed that Level 100 is only entered via interaction with the resident Shadow; the appearance of 61.7, likely not due to such an interaction, suggests the existence of alternative points of entry.

Object 61.9

Log: 1/2014, Level 130

Object 61.9 is found in a large vaulted natatorium within Level 130, installed with multiple skylights. Structure is assumed to be another manifestation by the object. Object 61.9 is noted to have obtained several meter-long lacerations across its hull.

The pool water the object sits in is stained an uncharacteristic teal, and a number of dark teal stains line the water's edge. Further testing shows that both the pool water and stains contain a quantity of bodily fluid belonging to no documented life-form.

Log: 7/2019, Level 499

Object 61.9 is found in Level 499, this time having shaped the level's lower catacombs around itself into a partially-flooded cavern. The previously noted lacerations have since disappeared.

A number of reports have subsequently been filed to the M.E.G. expressing concern for a group of Amor Incrementum members trapped in the greater labyrinth, presumably due to Object 61.9's interference. As of 30 July 2019, Quick Match subregiments Rigel and Arcturus have been dispatched to Level 499 to perform emergency excavations.


Log: 8/2019, Level 499

Object 61.9 and the previously manifested cavern disappear overnight after five weeks. The area has reverted back to its labyrinthine state, freeing the trapped individuals with no fatalities.

Of the 30 people initially trapped, 28 have escaped with no lasting conditions; the remaining two have been placed into temporary emergency care. Most individuals exhibited temporary symptoms of sensory deprivation and starvation, attributing their survival to the spring and vegetation accessible from their enclosed area of the catacombs.

Object 61.10

Log: 11/2013, Level 880

Object 61.10 is discovered in a seemingly custom-made airlock on the exterior of the Reefwalker, open to the ocean but only flooded enough as to fit the vessel comfortably. This airlock and its entrance to the greater submersible disappear upon the vessel's departure, during which the airlock "breaks off" the craft and the vessel itself takes on water and sinks towards the bottom of the seafloor beyond the visibility of any witnesses present.

A number of visitors who were present during Object 61.10's years-long stay claimed the level's internal elevator occasionally displayed complaints about the object's presence.

Image: 3/2021, Level 500

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Object 61.10 at its closest to the hull of Level 500. According to on-site crew and observers, Object 61.10 did not visibly attempt to steer towards or away from the hull, instead traveling in a straight line alongside the warship while passing by.

Object 61.11

Log: 1/2018, Level 826

The last of 22 individual accounts of the presence of Object 61.11 in Level 826 is anonymously filed into M.E.G. records.
Firsthand descriptions of the object and its behaviors are identical to those of Object 61 instances in extant levels, but all make a point to mention the object's position on the edge of the level's bottomless pit, facing the hand in the center.

Log: 1/2022, Level 230

Object 61.11 is found in the "Shanty Lands" sector of Level 230 on 11 January 2022. The object itself exhibits no signs of having warped the surrounding environment to suit itself; however, it is stationed next to what is found to be a doorway to Level 18. Upon investigation the usual collection of bedrooms and classrooms are replaced by a patch of planks and sod floating on an oceanic expanse of cold seawater, further obscured by a constant dense fog.

Utilization of an instance of Object 57 produces the following projection, reproduced from the original map for screen visibility.

origin-map.png

Investigation of the body of water or the larger island could not be carried out before Object 61.11 migrated from Level 230 on 23 January 2022; it has not been found since. A search of the small floating area accessible from the doorway yielded little more than the occasional scrap of fabric and shard of glassware, dated approximately to the late 19th century.


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