ENTITY NO. 27
THREAT LEVEL
3
Habitat:
Anywhere with entities of subhuman intelligence.
Aggression: 5/5
Hostile to all entities
Intellect: 1/5
Basic cognitive function
Danger: 4/5
Life-threatening
Description[]
A conceptual presence cannot be described as a unique entity. Its classification as an entity is debatable at best.
Conceptual Presences are a result of the temporal degradation of an entity due to error of noclip or atomic destabilisation, mostly due to environmental factors in SITU. A Conceptual Presence can be one or multiple entities that have merged together to form a glitching mess of entities. A conceptual presence can bear any appearance, but typically they cannot be comprehended by the human mind, therefore not being visible. The visible types of conceptual presences act almost like a refracting prism- light bends and shifts in their warping, translucent bodies, releasing a rapidly changing spectrum of colours. Depending on what entity (or entities) has suffered the degradation, the noises produced will be different. Conceptual Presences are quite rare due to the specificity of how they are created, but if one is near a conceptual presence (regardless of visibility) there will be noticeable changes in the environment.
A picture of a currently unknown level prior to a Conceptual Presence arriving.
The same level whilst a Conceptual Presence is in frame. Non-visible variant.
Direct contact with a Conceptual Presence will typically leave lingering effects, mostly found on the surfaces they walk on (increase in radioactive emissions). Conceptual Presences themselves, due to how most of the time their creation is a result of radioactive atomic destabilisation (also, mainly a result of error of noclip), Conceptual Presences emit radioactive isotopes perpetually (roughly 1.4 Sv/h). Thankfully, the radius of these emissions is quite small (2ft) and die off quite quickly. This is obviously quite easily mitigated.
Conceptual Presences have existed since the first error of noclip (the time of this cannot be pinpointed). The first discovered Conceptual Presence was found in Level 3, encountered in the vast tunnels network. The Presence itself was quite small, but still did not fit in the tunnels and was contorted into itself to fit. The noises it produced seemed to indicate it was in pain despite the lack of any biological matter. This presence has, obviously, degraded entirely since discovery.
Not every entity is susceptible to temporal degradation - this phenomenon has only been reported to occur in entities with subhuman intelligence. This means entities such as Smilers cannot suffer this degradation, though the reasoning for this is currently being researched. This also cannot happen to entities that are particularly resistant to radiation or are incapable of noclipping entirely.
Behaviour[]
Conceptual Presences have a remarkably short lifespan, roughly 2 weeks if not killed. This makes individual presences easy enough to deal with if you have a ranged weapon. In swarms, Conceptual Presences can aid each other even if not directly social creatures. This will also slightly decrease their life span per presence in a swarm, as the increased radioactivity can cause them to fully degrade further. Conceptual Presences are highly aggressive in nature, and will often give chase. The entity itself cannot do much physical harm with its own form and will often swarm and push Wanderers that have been targeted, making the radiation the biggest issue. The only exception to this rule is if one is caught in a large enough swarm, Conceptual Presences can become a real physical threat due to their ability to merge with one another.
Conceptual Presences are barely conscious and hardly intelligent, but they are smart enough to recognise faces and will remember wanderers if they haven't already fully degraded. Conceptual Presences hunt in a priority list, meaning until they degrade or are killed they will hunt whoever recently attacked/attempted to attack them and continue in chronological order. This can lead to a Conceptual Presence becoming confused and ceasing all action if the priority list changes too rapidly.
Upon death, a Conceptual Presence will release a large burst of lethal radiation (roughly 7 Sv) into the surrounding environment. This is the biggest contender to their danger ranking as an area wherein a large swarm of Conceptual Presences is/has been can become entirely uninhabitable for years (the short time is due to how quickly the radiation decays compared to other radioactive elements). Conceptual Presences, due to noclipping being their main way of creation, are incapable of noclipping. Instead, Conceptual Presences (if you are top of the priority list) will do their best to stalk and follow you instead. This is why noclipping, if being followed by a swarm, is the best way to escape quickly (although inefficient).
In referral to "atomic destabilisation", this causes Conceptual Presences to be in abundance in levels with high passive radioactivity. This is because in general, entities (while in some theories already being unstable/discarded beings) are extra susceptible to unstable radioactive isotopes considering their already conceptual state prior (This goes with the theory that the Backrooms itself is a dump for conceptual/unstable failures of beings, so being exposed to even more unstable matter would just make this worse and cause an overflow).
Biology[]
The interior construction of a Conceptual Presence cannot be put into any conventional description. Visible Conceptual Presences are typically composed of a non-Euclidean glass-like material, which constantly shifts in and out of itself. The interior can be seen to pulse with a glowing white, green, blue, red or yellow light. This light can be an indicator of their threat level, the quicker the pulsation correlates to the speed of the Conceptual Presence, relative to the rate of pulsation.
Invisible Conceptual Presences, from scans and tests conducted, seem to be composed of the same glass-like material, though it seems to be much more radioactive than the visible variant. This is assumed to be because the wavelengths of radiation produced are not visible to the human eye, unlike the Visible Presences (which still produce dangerous radiation, just to a much less extent). The only difference is Invisible Presences do not produce visible light regardless (the reason for this is debated). This issue of visibility makes these variants much more dangerous.
Handling[]
Dealing with any Conceptual Presence infestation is difficult due to the potentially lethal radiation emitted, especially in swarms. Because of this, it is imperative that while dealing with any Presence infestation, protective equipment and ranged weapons are employed. Conceptual Presences are remarkably weak in their resistance and durability, meaning the only difficulty with actually killing them is keeping your range, which is not easy in more cramped levels (due to how they can exist anywhere corporeal, excluding levels that do not have any entities present).
Conception[]
The human mind is a susceptible, weak thing in the Backrooms. It is easily infiltrated, in many ways. That does not exclude the rest of the body, however. Humans, are susceptible to a conceptive cycle.
A human that has become a Conceptual Presence is different to an entity, as humans do not belong in the Backrooms. Unlike entities, they are not indigenous. The cycle is foreign to them, and they are foreign to the cycle. Humans will simply die to high radiation exposure and will end up in an unintended place if error of noclip occurs, but one may become a Conceptual Presence if they end up in a level that is a dead end and survive long enough (with a few exceptions, and the time necessary to survive varies). Anomalously, any Human that has suffered conception will retain their human form, but become incorporeal.
Tests ran on humans that have suffered this fate indicate that there is no physical matter present where they are still visible, and interaction has proved impossible as any equipment passes straight through them. Despite this, scans of electrical signals show that these humans are still alive, but only figuratively. They emit no radioactive signal, and they do not decay over time.
The oldest recorded human that has become this was (estimated) roughly 19-23 years old, and would be 103 at the time of writing. It is ill advised to dwell on the states of the minds that have suffered this way.
(thanks to Qawder2011 for adding tags, forgot to when i made this :p)