LOST CHILD'S STAIRCASE: LEVEL OBSERVED WITHIN THE BACKROOMS, HENCEFORTH REFERENCED TO AS LEVEL 112 N. THE PRESENT ROTWATCHER ALONG WITH JJ HAVE BEEN OBSERVED WITHIN THIS SPACE FOLLOWING SUDDEN LOCATIONAL EXCHANGE DURING DESCENDING A STAIRCASE REPEATEDLY IN PREVIOUS LEVEL.
LEVEL ISOLATION: COMMONLY OBSERVED IN CERTAIN LEVELS OF THE BACKROOMS. WANDERERS WITHIN A LEVEL POSSESSING THIS PHENOMENON WILL BE UNABLE TO ENCOUNTER OTHER WANDERERS. IN ADDITION, WANDERERS TRAVELING IN GROUPS WILL END UP SEPARATED ENTIRELY THROUGH AN UNKNOWN MECHANISM IF THEY HAPPEN TO ENTER SUCH A LEVEL. LEVEL 112 N IS OBSERVED TO BE AN EXAMPLE OF A LEVEL POSSESSING THIS PHENOMENON.
wait, what? but we're still together. so why-
THE PRESENT ROTWATCHER IS OBSERVED TO HAVE NOT SEPARATED FROM JJ, DESPITE THE AFOREMENTIONED PHENOMENON. THE MECHANISM BY WHICH THEY REMAIN TOGETHER IS CURRENTLY UNKNOWN.
huh. well, it's probably better not to question it.
LEVEL STRUCTURE CONSISTS OF LARGE STAIRCASES VERTICALLY EXTENDING IN AN INFINITE MANNER, WHOSE DESIGN RESEMBLES THOSE FOUND IN JAPANESE LARGE-SCALE TRADE-CENTERS. NO WINDOWS ARE PRESENT IN THIS LEVEL, WITH THE ONLY AVAILABLE LIGHT SOURCES BEING ARTIFICIAL IN NATURE. AS THESE LIGHT SOURCES ARE OBSERVED TO NEVER SWITCH OFF, IT IS RECOMMENDED TO BRING OCULAR SHIELDS IF REST IS REQUIRED. TEMPORAL DEVICES ARE OCCASIONALLY OBSERVED ON WALLS OF STAIRCASE LANDINGS, THE HAND THAT COUNTS SECONDS PRODUCING NOISE PRESENT THROUGHOUT THIS LEVEL.
TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY ARE KEPT AT A COMFORTABLE LEVEL, WHICN IS REINFORCED BY AIR CONDITIONING. THESE CONDITIONS, COMBINED WITH HIGH SPATIAL STABILITY, LACK OF ENTITIES, AND STABLE SUPPLY OF RESOURCES, CREATES A SUITABLE ENVIRONMENT FOR LONG-TERM STAYS WITHIN THIS LEVEL, WITH MANY EVEN PERMANENTLY SETTLING INTO BASES. HOWEVER, LONG-TERM STAYS ARE NOT RECOMMENDED FOR THOSE WISHING TO RETURN TO THE BRIGHT-STAGE DUE TO TEMPORAL PHENOMENON DESCRIBED LATER.
THE PRESENT ROTWATCHER HAS OBSERVED NUMBERS TO BE INSCRIBED INTO THE GROUND OF EACH LANDING. EACH NUMBER IS ACCOMPANIED BY A LETTER, EITHER F OR B. NUMBERS ARE OBSERVED TO INCREASE BY A SINGLE INTEGER WHEN EITHER ASCENDING OR DESCENDING, DEPENDING ON WHETHER THE LETTER IS F OR B RESPECTIVELY. IT IS UNKNOWN BY THE CURRENT ROTWATCHER AS TO WHAT THESE LETTERS REPRESENT.
oh, it's pretty simple. f's just for floor, while b's for basement. you can also see it as b for below-ground, if you want. i do.
NO UPPER LIMIT IS OBSERVED WITHIN THIS LEVEL, WITH NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN ENVIRONMENT CONDITIONS BEING NOTED. INTERIOR STRUCTURE POSSESSES LITTLE VARIATION BESIDES THOSE CONCERNING AUTOMATED DISPENSERS AND TOILETS. THIS CAN CULMINATE TO THE FORMATION OF BELIEF THAT ONE IS LOOPING THROUGH THE SAME SPACE INDEFINITELY.
EACH FLOOR IS SEALED USING A DEAD-METAL SHUTTER, WITH ATTEMPTS TO DESTROY THE SHUTTER AND EXPOSE THE REST OF THE FLOOR ALL RESULTING IN FAILURE. RED DOOR WITH TEXT PRESENT THAT READS 'FIRE EXIT' IS INSTALLED NEXT TO A SHUTTER AND ARE ABLE TO BE UTILIZED AS ENTRYWAYS TO OTHER LEVELS. NOTABLY, IF A WANDERER UTILIZES THE RED DOOR AS AN ENTRYWAY, SPEAKERS INSTALLED ON THE WALLS AND CEILINGS OF THE RESPECTIVE FLOOR WILL PLAY AN ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE CLOSING OF THE BUILDING, ALONG WITH A RENDITION OF A SONG KNOWN AS THE 'FAREWELL WALTZ'.
AUTOMATED DISPENSER MACHINES ARE OBSERVED ONCE PER TEN FLOORS, INSTALLED NEXT TO THE SHUTTERS. TWO TYPES OF THESE MACHINES ARE OBSERVED, THAT BEING FOOD AND DRINKS. LIGHTNING OUTLETS ARE INSTALLED BEHIND THE MACHINE, ALLOWING FOR LIGHTNING DEVICES ON-HAND TO BE RE-CHARGED. DRINK-DISPENSER MACHINES USUALLY SELL NOTED BRIGHT-BRANDS OF LIQUIDS, THOUGH UNNAMED BRANDS, LOCALIZED SPECIALTY PRODUCTS FROM CERTAIN PARTS OF JAPAN, OR PRODUCTS NO LONGER SOLD HAVE BEEN OBSERVED. FOOD-DISPENSER MACHINES GENERALLY CONTAINS FOOD CONSIDERED LIGHT, SUCH AS BREAD AND CANDIES, THOUGH UNUSUALLY SPECIALIZED FOOD-DISPENSERS OR THOSE THAT SELL HEATED FOODS ARE ALSO PRESENT.
THESE MACHINES WORK WITHOUT THE NEED OF DISPENSING CURRENCY, THOUGH NUMBER OF STOCK ITEMS IS LIMITED. ITEMS WITHIN DISPENSER MACHINES HAVE BEEN OBSERVED TO BE RESTOCKED ONCE THE HOUR HAND ON THE WALL-FIXED TEMPORAL DEVICE REACHES NINE. TRASH CONTAINERS ARE OBSERVED RIGHT NEXT TO THE MACHINES, WITH ANY ITEMS PRESENT INSIDE DISAPPEARING AT THE SAME TIME AS AUTOMATED DISPENSER RESTOCKING. THEREFORE, IT IS IMPORTANT TO BE MINDFUL OF IMPORTANT OBJECTS ACCIDENTALLY FALLING INTO THE CONTAINERS.
TOILET ROOMS ARE OBSERVED ON STAIRCASE LANDINGS AT LEAST THREE PER TEN FLOORS, WITH SEPARATE ROOMS BASED ON BINARY GENDER. INTERIORS OF THESE ROOMS ARE KEPT CLEAN, AND STRUCTURES WITHIN REMAIN FUNCTIONAL. RESOURCES WITHIN THESE ROOMS ARE REPLENISHED AT THE SAME TIME AS RESTOCKING OF AUTOMATED DISPENSERS.
WIRELESS NETWORK WITH SSID 'SHOPPING_WI-FI' IS OBSERVED TO BE ACCESSIBLE AT ALL TIMES, THOUGH ITS SPEED IS MOST OPTIMAL AT TIMES BETWEEN TEN AT THE LATTER-HALF OF THE BRIGHT CYCLE TO NINE IN FORMER-HALF.
VARIOUS ITEMS CAN OCCASIONALLY BE FOUND IN THE STAIRWELLS AND TOILET ROOMS ON EACH FLOOR. ITEM TYPES ARE DIVERSE, RANGING FROM PAPER MAPPING-CHARTS OF LARGE-SCALE TRADE-CENTERS TO WORN-OUT STUFFED ANIMALS. CURRENT INSTANCE DISCOVERED BY JJ IS A TEMPORAL DEVICE DESIGNED FOR BRIGHT COUSIN'S WRISTS. JJ IS OBSERVED TO HOLD UP THE DEVICE, EXAMINING IT CLOSER.
? hold on...
JJ'S GAZE IS OBSERVED TO SHIFT TO THE WALL-FIXED TEMPORAL DEVICE, STUDYING IT WITH INTENT. CLOSER INSPECTION BETWEEN BOTH TEMPORAL DEVICES REVEALS THAT THE WRIST INSTANCE'S HANDS ARE MOVING TWICE THE SPEED AS THE WALL-FIXED INSTANCE. IT IS CURRENTLY UNKNOWN WHICH TEMPORAL DEVICE INSTANCE IS PROPERLY TELLING THE TIME.
it feels like the one on the wall's telling the truth- at least, its ticking matches to what a second feels like, here.
but... but what if the wall clock's wrong? what if we're wrong? what if time's moving twice as fast in the real world, and we're the ones who are slowed down right now?
THEORIES REGARDING THIS TEMPORAL PHENOMENON SUGGEST TIME WITHIN THIS LEVEL MOVES TWICE AS FAST IN COMPARISON TO TIME WITHIN THE BRIGHT STAGE. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT REMAINING WITHIN THIS LEVEL FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME WILL LEAD TO CHRONOSMISALIGNMENT, A POSSIBLE RISK FOR THOSE WISHING TO RETURN TO THE BRIGHT STAGE. THEREFORE, CAUTION IS ADVISED IF STAYING IN THIS LEVEL LONGER THAN NECESSARY.
JJ IS NOTED TO AGREE WITH THE PRESENT ROTWATCHER'S OBSERVATIONS, THEIR HEAD NODDING AS THEY PUT ON THE TEMPORAL DEVICE ON THEIR WRIST. THEY ARE THEN STARTLED BY THE SPEAKER FIXED ON THE STAIRWELL'S WALL AS IT SUDDENLY TURNS ON. IT THEN PROCEEDED TO BROADCAST AN ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING A MISSING BRIGHT-CHILD. NOTABLY, DESCRIPTION OF JJ'S CLOTHING AND THEIR NOMENCLATURE IS INCLUDED WITHIN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.
heh. lost child, it's calling me?
JJ IS OBSERVED TO LAUGH IN RESPONSE TO BEING DESCRIBED AS A LOST BRIGHT-CHILD, THOUGH THE VOCALIZATION CONVEYS LITTLE AMUSEMENT.
lost, lost, lost... accurate way to describe our situation, isn't it?
though that's always what it felt like. even in the real world. wandering about, no real purpose.
just lost.
THE PRESENT ROTWATCHER IS UNABLE TO FORMULATE A PROPER RESPONSE TO JJ'S MUSINGS. THEY SEEM TO EXPRESS AMUSEMENT AT THIS LACK OF RESPONSE.
ah- i mean, technically, not answering's still a response in of itself. but whatever, it doesn't matter. let's just leave.
BESIDES THE RED-DOOR ENTRYWAYS, THE PRESENT ROTWATCHER HAS OBSERVED THE DEAD-METAL SHUTTER FUNCTIONS AS AN ENTRYWAY IF NO-CLIPPED INTO. PLANS TO UTILIZE THIS METHOD FOR LOCATIONAL EXCHANGE INTO A NEW LEVEL IS SUGGESTED BY THE PRESENT ROTWATCHER. JJ IS OBSERVED TO ACCEPT THIS SUGGESTION READILY.