Level 22

## Level 22: "Ruins Left Behind"

### Description:

Level 22 was initially nothing special. It took the appearance of a 20th-century, multi-story car park which was filled with various parked cars and shopping trolleys, all of which used to be full of building supplies and food. Due to the infrequent amount of hostile entities in Level 22, this location acted as a hub for countless groups and individual communities.

In 1987, Level 22 was declared a small micronation, becoming independent of any other faction within the other levels of The Backrooms. From then on, the micronation within Level 22 continued to grow rapidly. By 1990, most entrances to Level 22 had been closed by its inhabitants, with this group officially isolating itself and giving itself the new title of "Emstable". Documents uncovered from Level 22 have made it apparent that the name for Emstable was a mixture of the words 'embattle' and 'stable' (the latter being a synonym for 'car park')

While Emstable began negotiating trades with both the M.E.G. and the B.N.T.G. in 2002 and 2015 respectively, this independent faction would very rarely allow those who were not a part of their group into the level. Because of this, very little is known about the faction’s members, economy, political structure, or general day-to-day life. From what few studies were done, the community had a rigid caste system that divided inhabitants into “families.” These different groups would each work on different floors of Level 22. Each group would have a variety of tasks to fulfill, with each one giving a fraction of their total resources produced to the floor above, keeping whatever was left for themselves.

While it is unknown who founded Emstable, it is known that three individuals were the flagships of the empire's creation. They, as well as others, lived on the 'highest' floor of Level 22. Whilst not the actual top floor of Level 22, as such a thing exists is currently unconfirmed, it was the highest floor Emstable ever occupied. Sporting a surprisingly lavish lifestyle given the conditions and environment, they were known to have Wi-Fi, leisurely devices like a pool and football table, and were somehow able to set up functioning electric cookers for meal prepping.

For the lower floors, however, life was a lot more difficult. Floors that were around 10-15 stories from the top enjoyed easy — albeit, boring — lives. All residents on these floors had tents, shacks made of wood or the mined concrete, as well as a select few residents possessing cooking appliances like the ones on the top floor. Those that did not possess cookers lived off of the food of others, or fruits and crops which they periodically harvested.

Whilst cookers could have been easily obtainable, it is thus far unknown how wanderers in Emstable obtained crops for the first time. The generally accepted theory is that before Emstable's collapse, exits to a level in which wanderers could cultivate the plants in existed, which allowed wanderers to form a gateway between levels which proved to be convenient for farming. This theory also offers a possible suggestion as to what jobs the citizens of Emstable used to do to make a living in the level, which solidifies the theory's basis even further.

At the bottom of Emstable's empire, below the 16th floor, life was extremely impoverished and hard. Recovered diaries and notes write about how many would flee down even more floors in hopes of going to another level. Information on these lower depths is sparse, with a lot of the info being taken from found diaries or photos. Many of the population would starve at these depths, oftentimes relying on the benevolence of the floors above to be mindful and not take too much food and supplies as to leave enough for themselves. They barely had any tents or separate homes, resorting to living out in the open in sleeping bags, or frequently without anything at all.

This system was inevitably exploited by the higher floors of Level 22, demanding more from the lower floors while also giving less to those above. This led to the need for the 3rd party trade deals. These deals were ultimately unable to save Emstable from its collapse, which prompted the majority of its population to leave the level in search of a better life in other levels.

While the true reason for the fall of Emstable is unknown, it's widely accepted that the main reasons were the fault in its societal system and the slow decline of Level 22's structural integrity. Due to all the mining and scavenging of the Level's supplies and natural concrete, many of the walls, supporting pillars, ceilings, and floors began to lose stability. All of this culminated into the level's eventual collapse, which has made it so that large parts of the level are either inaccessible by conventional means, or difficult and dangerous to access in the first place.

Today, Level 22 resembles an abandoned and destroyed car park. The ground is littered with rubble and girder poles, creating an extremely unsafe walking ground. Cars and abandoned tents can occasionally be found while traversing this level. The majority of these cars are rusty and covered in dust, whilst their physical condition is oftentimes severely poor. Most cars are torn to shreds, the only remains of them being only husks of what were once 50's-era cars. The previously mentioned tents are also known to house the corpses of former inhabitants of Emstable, especially on the lower floors, who weren't able to escape when the Level was irreversibly broken.

Traversing Level 22 is extremely difficult and unsafe, which has made it so that most wanderers avoid the level due to its lack of structural integrity. The structure of Level 22 is unstable, and the stray debris can easily cause one to trip and injure themselves on the concrete, rebar, or destroyed automobiles. Apart from this, there are countless large, gaping holes within Level 22. These holes are often extremely deep, suggesting that these spots are where mining occurred. While one can theoretically climb up or down these holes to reach new areas, doing so is heavily unadvised due to the inherent risks of free form climbing, with many recorded accidental deaths occurring due to wanderers attempting to do so.

### Colonies and Outposts:

As written above, Emstable was the only active community in Level 22. None have arisen since its collapse.

### Entrances and Exits:

Due to Emstable's initial efforts to border up all entrances to Level 22, many of the old exits have been lost, or have ceased to exist. However, after the collapse of Level 22, new exits have arisen.

#### Entrances:

Level 22 can be accessed through Level 21. This is a new exit that was created due to the falling rubble and loss of structural integrity, creating holes in the floor of Level 21. Alternatively, various doors in Level 21 can lead to Level 22.

Alternatively, albeit rarely, some of the original entrances to Level 22 can be found. It can be accessed by finding glass doors within Level 1 or taking exit ramps off of Level 69.

#### Exits:

Level 22 can be exited by using the previously mentioned entrance to the level from Level 21 and by finding a trampoline park which leads to Level 23. No original exits of Level 22 that existed before the collapse have been found.