Info
The hysterical gentleman was thirty-something, dehydrated, and emaciated. His words will haunt me for as long as I live:
"I took my Emma to the river to feed the ducks. With a slice of bread in each little hand, she tripped and tumbled into the deep water. I jumped in to save her and landed on wet carpet. Daddy's coming! Daddy's coming!"
Description:
No-clipping (sometimes spelled noclipping) is the most often experienced and least understood phenomenon in the Backrooms. So many of us have encountered it at least once.
What is no-clipping? Successful no-clipping is suddenly traveling from one place to another, unhampered by distance or physical obstacles. All manner of living creatures and physical objects can be no-clipped. In 1990s video game culture, this reality-breaking was designated "no-clipping." The term first appeared in December of 1991 with the release of Commander Keen 4: Secrets of the Oracle.
What does it feel like? Most wanderers describe it as falling through absolute darkness. Others deny sight and sensation. Of course, as in the case of astral travel, the phenomenon experience can be radically different.
Like learning to open your eyes underwater, Amy Cochrane mastered consciousness and sight during no-clipping. The world turned translucent, almost transparent, and shot by like a roller coaster, in every possible direction, while you felt that you were actually moving in slow motion. What a rush!
How does no-clipping work? Like it or not, the answer to this question is, at present, unknowable. Theorists tackling this enigma seek the truth about no-clipping within their own dogmas. Each explanation that they give is based on their personal interpretation of the Backrooms. Perhaps the mechanism for no-clipping is a transitional amalgamation of factors and processes. Maybe everyone is correct in some way.
No-clipping Diagram
(activity visualized)
M.E.G. Archives
The original term for no-clipping is teleportation, which is defined as travel between two locations without crossing the physical space between them. American (Frontrooms) author Charles Fort is credited with having coined the term in 1931. In psychical research, this paranormal transference from one place to another is called an "apport." It is often documented in poltergeist activity.
[Due to the nature of the Backrooms, these examples are subject to change.]
Categories:
Stable No-clipping:
In a Stable No-clipping, performing a certain action will consistently lead the wanderer from a known and fixed Point A to Point B. Examples:
- Level 322 can be entered by no-clipping through the floor in front of a green water cooler on Level 4.
- No-clipping into a tall, bronze mirror on Level 365 sends you to Level 148.
- If you no-clip through the painting of a desk with art supplies on Level 57, you will teleport to Level 321.
- Touching a high-school class schedule poster near the counter of the ice cream parlor on Level 89 will no-clip you to Level 52.
- No-clipping into the movie screen on Level 68 takes you to Level 94.
Unstable No-clipping:
In the prevalent form of Unstable No-clipping, wanderers will consistently arrive at a certain level from a variety of starting points:
- The only way to enter Level 330 is through a painting with a moving image on the canvas, usually depicting a house on green grass, with a blue sky and yellow sun. These paintings can usually be found in any levels that have an art gallery or museum involved, such as Level 57 or Level 321.
- Stepping into a large, gray-colored puddle on any level of the Backrooms can send you to Level 440.
- Various posters depicting a plain white room with a waving hand have been found. Waving back to the poster will no-clip you to Level 333.
- Any photo, painting, or conversation about carnivals or amusement parks can trigger a no-clip to Level 345. The effect is not as random as you might think.
In another form of Unstable No-clipping, wanderers will start from a certain location and no-clip to a random level. Examples include:
- After spending some time inside Level 227, wanderers will no-clip into a random level. The time period can range from a day to a year.
- Any attempts to no-clip from Level 81 will transport individuals to a random negative level.
- To exit Level 356, find the "Exit Hall" and enter the double doors. You will no-clip to a random level.
- In the Backrooms Remodeling Company's page on The Code, they say that "no-clipping always works, but who knows where you’ll end up doing that!"
Erratic No-clipping:
With Erratic No-clipping, the wanderer wins the "luck of the draw." The outcome is never clear, and the category is usually more annoying than dangerous. These occurrences are relatively uncommon:
- One might spontaneously teleport from a random location to another random location without warning.
- Minor time anomalies can occur. These "time-stutters" (the sequence of existence is paused, but the person cannot move) are temporary.
- Wanderers might find themselves detoured to a different level for no apparent reason.
No!-clipping:
We should be thankful that this category is extremely rare. The "No!" in No!-clipping emphasizes its tragic nature. Examples can range from:
- The wanderer becomes embedded into solid matter or partially clips into another wanderer or an entity.
- No!-clipping into a great height from the ground.
- The body is divided between two or more levels.
- No!-clipping can result in the wanderer becoming entangled in time (trapped in an eternal time loop or permanent time-stutter). The "Ghost of Level 11" is a time looping wanderer that appears suddenly, takes three steps and screams, and then disappears, repeating this identical sequence, over and over, at different locations within the same building.
NOTE:
Thus far, many wanderers are at the mercy of the phenomenon, which seems to be dependent on the environment. Nevertheless, there exists a faction of individuals who are able to trigger and control their no-clipping travels.
Frontrooms Mega-clipping
Is there a size or weight limit to no-clipping?
Start with a large amount of steel displacing seawater. The hull of a large ship will suffice. Increase the ambient voltage with a violent thunderstorm. Now place this scenario in the Bermuda Triangle. In March of 1918, the largest ship in the United States Navy, the USS Cyclops, with a length of 542 feet (165 meters) and beam of 65 feet (20 meters), vanished without a trace or an SOS, with 306 people on board. More than a century later, its fate remains unknown to the Frontrooms.
Update: Our M.E.G. Team "Epiphany" is en route to confirm rumors that the USS Cyclops is aground on a newly discovered level. Although this will solve one of the greatest maritime mysteries ever, it is secondary to the true nature of our mission.
* * * * *
In October of 1943, the USS Eldridge (DE-173), with a length of 306 feet (93 meters) and beam of 37 feet (11 meters), was involved in a bizarre Navy experiment to make warships invisible to enemy radar and magnetic detonators. Special generators were designed and installed to power a new kind of harmonic force field. Switches were thrown, and the destroyer escort just vanished into thin air! It was later learned that the Eldridge no-clipped to Norfolk, Virginia, and then teleported back to its berth in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to paranormal literature and popular movies from the Frontrooms regarding this "Philadelphia Experiment," many of the crew suffered horrible burns, and a few crewmen were found alive and partially embedded in the hull of the ship. Others were not so lucky.
Anne Dunne
M.E.G. Team "Epiphany"
Do’s and Don’ts:
Do:
- Consult knowledgeable sources about no-clipping routes and outcomes.
- Travel responsibly. No-clip like your life depends on it.
Don’t:
- No-clip when safer forms of entrance/exit are available.
- Treat no-clipping as a thrill ride.
