The dark, windowed door at the room’s edge creaked open. A man who wore an uneven black fedora and a similarly dark, lined suit was the first to enter. The aged man piercingly stared at him as he apprehensively took a deep breath, scanning the once-great figure before him. A golden pin embroidered his breast pocket, the letter “G” bathed in eerily shiny light that was shaded slightly by his fedora.
An entourage soon followed the man; each member wore similar suits, some in top hats that clashed with G’s bold fedora, while others opted to go hatless. G stood at the foot of the hospital bed and sighed. With two fingers, he removed his hat and moved his hand forward in a motion comparable to a bow. He placed it on the side of the bed.
“Matthew,” he muttered solemnly. The room’s ambiance was nonexistent; the rhythmic pelting of a faraway rainstorm was the only source of sound.
“Benjamin,” replied the bedridden Matthew. Slowly, he sat up, his wrinkly skin fruitlessly compelling his aged muscles to give in. His gleaming, curly white hair was perched untidily on his thin head.
“How long has it been this way?” Benjamin asked lowly, glancing down at the hospital bed.
“A month, now. But it won’t be like this for long,” replied Matthew with a slight smile. Despite his lower expression, a frown lined his forehead, and he spoke in a croaking manner.
“I’ll be with my Father before the fortnight ends,” Matthew said. Benjamin looked down upon him, now lined with a similar frown, his hands trembling.
“What will happen?” Benjamin asked. “How can we go on without you?” he waveringly added, his voice mirroring his watery eyes in their weakness. With trembling hands, he adjusted his G pin, pointing it upright.
Benjamin glanced back at the entourage of well-dressed men — who were solemn, though not nearly to Benjamin’s sorrowful level — and felt Matthew’s eyes following his gaze.
“Well, something must,” Matthew said happily. “You, of course,” he said. He moved up, followed by the sound of worn joints cracking.
“Me?” Benjamin muttered.
“You,” Matthew replied.
“I don’t understand,” Benjamin said. His eyes watered more than ever, and his hands were trembling fast, though he curled his fists and wiped his eyes.
“I was the First. I hope that in a hundred years or more, people will look back and say, ‘courtesy of the First, of course!’” Matthew said with a chuckle. “But I fear what might happen should I go—when I go, I mean. So you, Benjamin, the most loyal of them all — you shall become the First,” he said, finishing in an especially serious tone.
“You are the First,” Benjamin replied. “I... what do you mean? Not... well, you’ll be gone...” he muttered, coming closer than ever to tears.
“No,” said Matthew, “you are the First. And you must know that they cannot know.”
“What?” Benjamin replied, a sudden, crescendoing ringing finding its home in his ears. “Who can't know?”
“People. Anyone who isn’t an Impresario,” he said, glancing at the group of men who stared onward, murmuring among themselves. “There must be a figurehead— no, not a figurehead, a leader. They would grow contemptuous with just the Impresarios; and given that you, Benjamin, have served the longest and have been the most loyal I could ever ask for, the torch must pass on to you. There is no other option,” Matthew said.
“But they will know, they will have to know—” Benjamin said. “If the Group goes on for years, they’ll know the First can’t still be living—” he said quickly and shakily.
“There will come a time,” Matthew said, “that they will know and must know. But that will be long after you are gone, Benjamin. Long after your successor. Please; do as I ask. It is a dying man’s wish,” he croaked slowly.
“But what if people know? I don’t look that much like you—”
“Such things can be hidden, of course. There are things that none of us understand about these mysterious, awful corridors.”
“And what if they find out anyway?”
“Do whatever it takes,” Matthew said sternly. “But ensure that the secret is kept.”
Benjamin slowly walked backward, staring agape at the First. With a crushing swallow that somehow hushed the sound of his ears’ incessant choir, he nodded. “Of course,” he said unusually loudly, with a faint smile. His forehead remained creased with a frown, but he placed his fedora back on his head, tilting it slightly down to hide his dismay. His red ears and cheeks seemed to whiten over time as he accepted Matthew’s burden.
“Now, please, all of you, get out. The Group is my second greatest achievement; maintaining a functional family in the Backrooms is by far my first, and I would like to give them my goodbyes and affirm their recent accolades. Have you heard about what my grandson has done? Assistant to the Head of Security of the Group,” Matthew said with an exceptionally large smile. There was no trace of a frown on his face; instead, his expression, though faint, beamed with pride and contentedness.
“I have no doubt he will be the Head of Security, one day. Perhaps you, Benjamin, can send him my dearest congratulations when that day arrives. But I will not be here to see it,” he said. A lone tear made its way down Benjamin’s cheek.
“Of course.” The entourage made their way out of the room.
Benjamin lay in an insalubrious bed that was accompanied by a bleak room that he knew all too well. He glanced to his right at an empty end table and, further away, at a foundational, lined window that issued a fountain of cloudy, bright white light. The contrast obliquely permeated Benjamin’s mentality, a familiar solemnity returning to his aged mind and sending uneasy chills down his old spine.
An entourage arranged in a manner far too familiar to Benjamin entered through the pale door, penetrating his final layer of emotional defense. His eyes locked with those of the top-hatted Impresario, who wore a pin entitled “L,” the only member of the Consensus to have served long enough to witness the death of the first First. While his compatriots murmured, L stood as waveringly as Benjamin had only twenty years prior, speechless and disoriented. It was not L, through all his loyalty and fairness, that Benjamin intended to pass the torch onto. He gestured for an Impresario whose brown suit was exceptionally shabby in contrast to the appealing, smooth dark fabric that adorned the others. He did not wear a hat; straight, brown hair disorderly draped his circular head as he walked to the foot of the bed.
“Yes?” asked the shabby man, whose off-centered gold pin (V) clung to his breast pocket for dear life. Benjamin sighed.
“Robert,” he said, “I’m dying if you can’t tell.”
Robert gulped. He shakily nodded, brushing his untidy hair back, before continuing to flicker at the elderly Benjamin, who, in nearly every way, resembled the first First on his deathbed.
“You know, of course, about the first First; thus, you know that I am the second First, and that, upon my death, there must be a third First,” Benjamin muttered softly. For a moment he reflected on the solemn nature of the first First, whose mentorship had been the entire reason he was alive; a twinge of shame plunged his heart down at what he considered an egregious speech, his words rolling heavily.
“And though you may not have served for the longest period of time, Robert, I have seen that your loyalty is unending; that your intelligence, too, could sustain the Group far longer than mine could have,” Benjamin said with a pitiful laugh. No one returned it; instead, the entourage of background Impresarios murmured among themselves, eyeing Robert.
“I take it you know how things have gone since my accession. The secrecy of your position must be maintained at all costs, Robert. That is of the utmost importance. Should you fail, so too shall the Group,” Benjamin said slowly. Robert visibly shook, though he was not nearly as flushed or solemn as Benjamin had been twenty years prior.
“Robert, I might not be the best with words, but I must tell you that I know you can succeed in this role. I did, and I was the most apprehensive person to ever take it…. not that many have…. anyhow, the first First was a brilliant mentor to me. Whether I’ve been that to you or not, you are capable of being the First. The third First. But you must know that to everyone, you are nothing more than the First.” Benjamin said. He contemplated the seriousness of his words; though he did not consider them of great stature, he prayed that his tone would compensate for his lack of vernacular merit.
Robert stared agape at Benjamin. He did not speak, though the backdrop of murmurs — murmurs that he assumed regarded him — rapped against his back like chilling raindrops. His slow comprehension of Benjamin’s words had finished; now, his face was adorned with a particularly deep frown, cheeks and ears a flaming red. Benjamin heaved a heavy sigh that disoriented Robert, who was now pelted from every direction by what he assumed was contempt. He nodded, the weight of his predecessors’ burden weighing down his sweaty neck. Benjamin nodded back, as he had twenty years prior.
Benjamin waved Robert and his entourage out. His mind desperately fluttered in search of something more to say to Robert, but he realized his vain naivety only as they exited the room. Though Robert walked out at the head of the line of the Group’s most powerful, robust men, murmurs and whispers that suggested his own impotence trailed behind him.
Robert’s pale figure lay against a tiled floor that an Impresario who wore a crimson red suit deemed wholly appropriate for the circumstance; gleaming white fog seeped into the gloomy hospital closet, contrasting with its moony blue. Thick scarlet liquid escaped a wound that defaced the back of Robert’s head, painting the bleak surroundings in a sea of vermillion. Robert scoffed, which gave way to a bloody cough.
“Pathetic,” a distant Impresario in a pale, striped suit and fedora said, crossing the unabating sea of ringing that Robert tried, in vain, to free his ears from. He could not tell if the highly-accented British man was far away or if his blurred sight made it seem as such; that was the last of his concerns as he desperately flailed his immobile limbs around. Though the effort he provided was unparalleled, he only twitched occasionally. There were no restraints; Robert could not remember how this had happened to him or why he could not move at all.
In decreased clarity, Robert heard a nearby conversation. Someone chuckled; perhaps it was the Impresario known as N, who they all called Noah, in his egregious red suit, Robert thought, through an awful pain in his head.
“Get it over with,” he made out from the man in the white suit. Noah inched closer to Robert; as he neared the limp, nearly lifeless body, Robert saw a crooked grin on the man’s face. He held something metallic and black to Robert’s disoriented face, and there was a loud clicking sound…. BANG!
Bathed in bright sunlight, Noah lay back on a bed whose stature contrasted with that of the dreary hospital beds the prior Firsts found themselves dying in. Its intricate mahogany arches were supported by four oak pillars whose foundations were shaped like oversized, wooden Prince Rupert’s Drops. The fourth First did not find himself bathed in cold, thin fabric; instead, he was draped in layers of thick, grayish-rose silk.
Momentarily, Noah regretfully pondered his abrupt rise to power fifty-one years prior. Conflicted with himself, he ultimately decided — for better or for worse — that he had done the right thing. The third First, Robert, was an egregious commander. He had done nothing to benefit the Major Explorer Group, instead tied up in petty conflict with the Impresarios themselves. Noah had been a close acquaintance of the third First; nonetheless, his paranoid rule brought disdain to their once tolerable relationship.
It was Noah who proposed to the other Impresarios that Robert needed to go. There was a great outcry at his recommendation; his colorlessly suited compatriot, the Impresario A, could not have been more willing to aid and abet him, while a traditional fellow Noah vaguely remembered as Impresario L despised the idea with every fiber of his being.
Though he regretted coming to power through dubious means, Noah acknowledged that he had been the superior option in every way. Perhaps the man called L would have been fine, as well — he, however, died only three years into Noah’s term, a man of eighty-six years.
Noah’s rueful reminiscence was interrupted by the sound of an oak door at the edge of his carpeted bedroom opening. He liked this home — a shame, he thought, that he would die only two years after moving here. His term as the First had come with immense power and wealth, if the concepts existed in the Backrooms; as such, he had to move around quite constantly. For the first time, inhabiting a moderately safe wooded level in the one-hundreds, he felt at home. An all-too-familiar entourage of people stood around Noah’s intricate bed as he continued to reflect upon the achievements of his tenure. He sighed, glancing at the ring of people at the foot of his bed.
Each was adorned in greatly modern attire; the top hats of what Noah considered antiquity were long gone, and even dress suits had given way for lighter, more casual attire. Only one Impresario, at the edge of the ring, was especially formal; his golden, glimmering P stood out next to a brooch of white flowers at the breast pocket of a smooth black suit. Surprisingly, thought Noah, the man was among the youngest of this era’s Impresarios. “Come,” Noah said. Several Impresarios stepped forward; only the one in the center of the ring, X, made his way to the intricate header of the bed. “I do not assume that any of you know why I have called you here today. But almost fifty years ago I spoke to an Impresario — none of you would know him, he has been dead for years — who informed me of a sort of…. tradition,” Noah said.
“I am in no critical state, thankfully. But my advanced age is beginning to show and my duties have gradually diminished over the past few years. I do not doubt that my end will come soon; that is why you are here today,” he continued in an almost rehearsed manner. To his immense surprise, no Impresarios murmured among themselves, even during a vocal interregnum. He sighed, faraway clouds suddenly blocking the bright sunlight the room had just glimmered with.
“I am the First. But, as you each know, I am the fourth First. When the genuine First was nearing his death, he called the Impresarios of that long-gone time to his deathbed. The second First did the same; he chose incorrectly, and I work under the assumption that you understand how I earned this position,” Noah said with a frown. He stared at the Impresarios, who seemed somehow unphased.
“Oliver.”
X was adorned in a striped brown suit, tucking his well-done curly brown hair back as the fourth First spoke his name. It resounded in a desolate manner; everyone understood, though none dared to repeat it.
Noah frowned. “Upon my passing, however imminent it may or may not be, you will take the mantle.” Oliver nodded sternly.
“I understand,” he said. His eyes were locked on Noah, who seemed phased by Oliver’s lack of a reaction.
“You must know that the secrecy of your position is not only the backbone of the title but the backbone of the Group. Should it fade, so too will the Group, and so too will you. Do you understand me?” Noah asked sternly, amber eyes similarly locked onto Oliver as if engaging in some kind of mental battle.
“I understand,” Oliver said loudly and earnestly. He tucked his hair behind his large ears, blue eyes glimmering with what Noah took as some form of excitement. His prominent jaw was fixed with a pair of stern, lined lips; not a fragment of a frown could be seen anywhere.
“In your tenure, you will face plenty of challenges. How you face them will determine the remembrance of your epoch. I have no doubt that you will succeed in so many areas — my tenure has resulted in the Major Explorer Group gaining access to the Internet and expanding rapidly,” Noah said with a hint of pride. For a moment, he reflected on his triumphs, before returning to face Oliver.
“Continue that. Ensure that we only grow from here,” Noah said. He sighed.
“You may go,” he said. A faint smile comparable to that of the first First lined his face; Oliver sighted contentedness in his dark eyes, face uncreased by pessimistic daftness. “But remember, you are not the fifth First, Oliver!” announced Noah, just as Oliver backed up. He turned around.
“What?” Oliver asked with furrowed eyebrows.
“You are just the First,” Noah said with a grin. A flash of ominous challenges fleetingly sang to his mind; nonetheless, his eyes glimmered with the belief that the fifth First may solve them.
The Impresarios of the modern epoch have detested claims of conspiracy regarding the First more than the First himself has. Each profusely denies such claims whenever they encounter them. Impresario M refers to the circumstances in a rather feasible argument: “We inhabit the Backrooms. These awful, labyrinthine mazes are home to some things that I would never have believed — I still find them hard to believe — when I was in the Frontrooms. I do not know where or how he does it, but is the First’s extreme longevity that hard to believe, in a world of infinite proportions and terrible monstrosities?”[1]
Of course, M’s stance retains logic in the wider concept of the Backrooms. The notion that the First has predeceased the Impresarios — or even that he has switched in nomenclature and person over time — is absurd, when someone stops to recollect themselves on the Backroom's countless anomalies. The indisposed head of the Group is just that: incredibly long lived, according to the Head of the Department of Security.[2]
Claims of the First’s date of birth conflicted until clarification in the 1930s — he states that his date of birth was January 9, 1838; one-hundred and eighty-five years ago.[3] According to this truth, the First is the oldest confirmed human in known history, Backrooms or Frontrooms; the runner-up, Jeanne Calment (according to several recently noclipped people who claim to have studied longevity), fell short by sixty-three years.
A plethora of security protocols have been implemented on this portion of the page entitled the First. To access these part(s) of the page, please provide valid credentials. The security level is:
Adherence to Access Level Y requires at least one of the three most senior positions of the Group: Head of Department, Impresario, or the First. If prerequisites are not met, you will not be able to view the remainder of the page. If prerequisites are met, please insert valid credentials in the login box below this divider.
M.E.G. Database Login Form
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The First
The First is the designation of the Head of the Major Explorer Group. The holder of the title has power over the entirety of the Group, including the Consensus; some have dubbed the First “Head of the Consensus.” As the First is present at the majority of Consensus meetings and primarily discusses the nature of the Group with them — and the Heads of Department — such phraseology is considerably accurate. The First maintains the following powers over the Major Explorer Group:
- The ability to add,[4] or remove, any individual(s) to or from the Group;
- The ability to create or disband Department(s)[5] of the Group;
- The ability to institute a new Head of each Department at will;
- The ability to remove Heads of Department[6] at will;
- Behest over the functional arsenal (primarily the Department of Security) of the Major Explorer Group[7];
- The ability to designate a new Impresario;
- The ability to vote as an Impresario at any Consensus meetings[8];
- The ability, on his death, to create a First Designate — his successor.
The lattermost ability has been, in secrecy, exercised five times throughout Group history. The purpose of this classified biological page is to introduce the concept of multiple Firsts existing throughout time to new Impresarios, alongside any other officials who may be informed of the title’s nature. The biography will list each Impresario; the parlance of the page will refer to them as First X, the variable regarding their seniority in holding the title, though they will be named. Following the biographical section, it will introduce the reader to security protocols that maintain the secrecy of the First.
First I
Matthew Smith (b. 1838) held the title of the First from the founding of the Major Explorer Group — May 15, 1885 — to his death in August 1907. According to Matthew himself, he noclipped to the Backrooms in the early 1880s. Upon miraculously surviving every Main Nine level — notably in a time when the Internet went unutilized — he met with several fellow survivors, including his wife and son, and formed the Major Explorer Group.
His tenure saw possibly the greatest challenges of any First; the minimal communication between members of the Group led to a lack of meetings, and, until the tenure of First IV, this problem continued. His partial solution to the problem was the foundation of the Department of Security, so as to guard any members of the Group who needed to meet with other members. Though this did not eliminate the problem in its entirety, the First First’s utilization of the Department of Security ensured that the Group would be long-lived.
Aside from his primary accolade of founding the Department of Security, the First founded four other Departments and oversaw the building (and unfortunate desolation) of the Group’s first outposts. The only surviving outpost from such an era exists on Level 4, which is ironically dubbed the First.
Life
Little is known about Matthew Smith’s life in the Frontrooms. He lived in the United Kingdom during the Victorian era and was presumably an upperclassman; it is unknown if he held any titles of chivalry, political positions, or historical relevance prior to his noclipping.
Upon entering the Backrooms, Smith had an uncanny optimism to founding a life there; at the dawn of the twentieth century, he lived rather comfortably with his wife and children, shifting inhabitance on a nearly monthly basis. Bedridden at age sixty-nine of natural causes at a small Level 4 hospital. He passed the title of the First to the then Impresario V.
Notably, Smith’s grandson, Lucas Smith, held the title of Head of the Department of Security from 1927 to 1972.[9] His family is extant and consists of members of the Group.
In his advanced age, his hair whitened and his public appearances dwindled; nonetheless, in the first decade of his tenure, he was characterized by a formal, black dress suit, and, occasionally, a top hat.
First II
Benjamin Wilson held the title of the First from August 10, 1907, to his death in June 1927.
Benjamin likely noclipped around the same time as Matthew; he is known to have been a founding member of the Major Explorer Group, serving as Impresario V from May 15, 1885, to August 1907, the latter of which saw his accession. Meeting with other survivors of the Main 9 in April 1885, he was the one who proposed the name Major Explorer Group.
The tenure of the second First had notably fewer challenges than that of the First; Matthew’s exceptional handling of problems that were faced in his days eased the load for Benjamin. Nonetheless, the First II was a practical Head of the Group. His tenure saw the foundation of three crucial Departments — Research of the Creatures of the Backrooms (the term “entities” had not yet been introduced), Colonies and Outposts, and Accommodations.
Among Benjamin’s most valuable achievements was the implementation of special exploration teams and the formal beginning of the Database. While computers remained an enigma for nearly all inhabitants of the Backrooms, the second First began compiling written records of levels, entities, individuals, and more. During the tenure of First IV, these written records were added to the modern database and are to this day saved on the Internet.
Additionally, to ensure that all members of the Group could face adversity alone, he implemented heavy training protocols for the Department of Security, who carried out said protocols at every outpost and colony of the Group. The second First attempted to diplomatically commune with other Groups; problematically, he did not know where to look, ushering in an age of Major Explorer Group members who believed that they were among the only inhabitants of the Backrooms.
Life
Born in 1852, Benjamin noclipped into the Backrooms alone, as opposed to First I, who noclipped with several others. It is known that he was a New Englander from a lower-class family, though not much is known about his life in the Frontrooms; when remarking on it, he seemed exceptionally sad, only murmuring something about his younger brother.
Five years prior to the death of First I, Benjamin married a woman named Sarah Jane, who had also been a founding member of the group. During his tenure as the First, they had children. Similarly to First I, their family is extant; the majority are members of the Group. Notably, one Wilson disappeared aged six in the 1990s and was never found. Benjamin passed away aged seventy-five in the hospital wing of Level 4 outpost The First, where First I also passed away. Prior to his advanced age, Benjamin was known to dub a black fedora now owned by the incumbent First, alongside a striped black suit.
First III
Robert Carrey held the title of the First from June 29, 1927, to his assassination on September 5, 1927. His date of birth is unknown, as is all information about his life in the Frontrooms.
Carrey’s tenure was characterized by mass paranoia, random murders, and the possibility of a defunct Group. His idle, overly suspicious reign was the ultimate cause of his assassination. Carrey’s former compatriot, Impresario N, fatally shot him in September 1927, assuming the mantle of the First thereafter. During his two-month rule, approximately twenty-one officials of the Group’s various departments were dispatched at his behest. This was done through the wavy allegiance of the Department of Security, which eventually turned on him.
Though the intent behind Carrey’s countless homicides was to maintain the secrecy of his title, he achieved the opposite result. Workers at the Department of Security were incredibly confused by the First’s sudden maniacal behavior; he had been functioning perfectly sanely for forty-two years.
Life
Little to nothing is known about Carrey’s life, though he is presumed to have been an American born in the late 19th century. His stature and clothing choices mirrored his impotence as a leader; his shabby suits complemented a shabby leader.
First IV
Noah Abbott (b. 1902) held the title of the First from September 5, 1927, to June 8, 1979. He designated the fifth First several months before his death; his was the earliest designation, in accordance with the death dates of each First.
Abbott’s tenure as the fourth First was arguably the most impactful towards the Group and its future. During his incumbency, the Internet began to be understood: the bright screens present on numerous levels were an enigma until the 1960s. The Major Explorer Group’s database was implemented during this time, using written records that Abbott had widely expanded.
Additionally, he established numerous Departments — oversaw the largest growth of Group members in history — and expanded upon the ideas and actions of First II. His Department of Administration finally set the hierarchy of the Major Explorer Group in stone, expanding onto previous positions and setting in motion a mass “migration” toward the Group from many Backrooms inhabitants who were lucky enough to find an outpost.
During his tenure, the Group experienced a form of renaissance. The revamping of the database, alongside increased communication, caused the numbers of the Group to flourish; new members with new ideas gave way to new techniques and procedures that positively impacted the general population.
Abbott was the first First to face the problem of longevity claims. Upon his accession, should there have been but one First, he would be eighty-eight years old. In the earliest days of his rule, he handled these rumors with authority; nonetheless, no matter how many rumors — and people — he dismissed, Group members never seemed to stop questioning his longevity. A deus ex machina of sorts, security procedures still in place to this day (though not to the knowledge of the general populace, who are to be a) shown proof of the First’s longevity, but, for safety purposes, b) not provided with an explanation as to how he has achieved it) managed to tear at opposing theories until their belligerents dwindled.
A general synopsis[10] from the majority of Impresarios comments on the effectiveness of First IV, who, in 1977, requested that critique be devised for the benefit of his successor:
The utilization of new, unforeseen resources has impacted the Major Explorer Group in unprecedented ways. It is certain that, for years far exceeding his, and my own, the fourth First will be remembered as a leader who seamlessly benefitted the Group over a remarkable tenure.
– Impresario D
He has done a great job at… well, it’s odd, of course, because we, sadly, do not live in the Frontrooms… catching up with the rest of the world. Of course, there’s a certain slope of progress, but the fourth First has listened to recently noclipped people, implementing their ideas and whatnot… well, now we have access to the Internet, most notably, and all kinds of other advancements in each Department.
–Impresario J
I think he has done a very good job.
–Impresario O
This synopsis was provided to the then First Designate, Oliver Williams, days before Abbott’s death.
Life
Abbott was born on February 9, 1902, in the American state of South Carolina. He noclipped around the age of fifteen; associating with the Major Explorer Group after several months in the Backrooms, he swiftly rose to the position of Head of the Department of Security. In 1920, he was promoted to an Impresario position, being replaced by another Group member as Head of the Department of Security.
His role as Head of the Department of Security had a heavy impact on the course of events regarding his accession. Though the Department of Security, without Abbott’s influence, grew awfully disdainful of First III, Abbott spread extensive propaganda, ultimately resulting in him spearheading the murder of First III.
Around the time he was designated an Impresario, Abbott married one Lucy Black. Their relationship was strained at the beginning of his tenure; however, in 1940, they gave birth to a son, William Abbott, their only child. As his workload lessened in his later years, the two spent an increasing amount of time with one another. She predeceased him in April 1978, succumbing to a rare form of liver cancer. As per safety protocols (which exclude First III), Abbott’s cause of death cannot be disclosed.
First IV, from his stint as Impresario V to his death as the First, was characterized by a catalogue of crimson red suits, occasionally dubbing an equally pigmented fedora.
First V
Oliver Williams (b. 1953) has held the title of the First since June 8, 1979. He succeeded First IV, which was relatively unsurprising; he was designated several months prior to the fourth First’s death.
Williams’ tenure as the First has been an expansion of that of First IV. His decisive leadership has resulted in an expanding Group, maintaining immense power and a firm grip over a plethora of Backrooms levels. The Database has seen its greatest expansion during his tenure; the number of Group members is, as of 2023, unrivaled, resulting in a base of people who provide sufficient evidence for many previously undocumented levels existing.
Williams, notably, has made the greatest effort at debunking the myth of the First having died many years ago. The security protocols of First IV have carried on; nonetheless, further doubt has been quashed through public appearances that serve as numerous red herrings, and higher-ups have been ordered to staunchly deny any wary speculation.
Though his tenure has primarily served as an expansion to that of the fourth First, Williams has implemented various new security protocols and two new Departments: firstly, that of Database Inconsistencies, which, titularly, resolves to solve any inconsistencies the Database may contain. His second Department will be mentioned later in this portion of the page.
Williams has also maintained the Group’s hierarchy exceptionally well; appointments to the positions of Head of Department have been carefully monitored and chosen by numerous Impresarios, other Heads of Departments, and the First himself. Employment in each of the Group's departments has risen; not just through numbers, but also the general rate of work.
The current epoch’s seamless anomalies have, according to some, tripled since the twentieth century; the duty of handling these numerous anomalies has befallen the fifth First, who, in September 2011, introduced the Department of the Research, Handling, and Deletion of Anomalies[11].
Williams has notably made changes to Impresario positions; he has denounced and removed hereditary Impresario positions, of which there is only one[12] remaining. In 1984, he bestowed upon the Head of the Department of Accommodations the title of Impresario K following the passing of the previous holder; had First V not given the department leader the position, Impresario K’s son would have received the title. It is a common belief that should the final hereditary post’s holder predecease Williams, the notion of hereditary Impresarios will cease to exist in itself.
Life
Williams was born on April 1, 1953, in a small town in Oregon. Little is known about his Frontrooms life; he has remarked about living on a farm and being one of thirteen siblings, but he only lived there for fourteen years. Noclipping in 1967, he ventured through the Main Nine before coming across a Major Explorer Group outpost. Shortly thereafter, in 1971, he joined the Department of Security, eventually succeeding First I’s grandson, Lucas Smith, as the head of that department.
His meteoric rise to power in the Department of Security has been a shared trait between individual Firsts; each has been intelligent and capable, taking a reasonably powerful mantle before being promoted to the role of Impresario. For Williams, his promotion to the title of Impresario L took place in 1974. After four years of exceptional demeanor, he was declared the First Designate.
During this time, Williams married a woman whose name will not be disclosed as per his own requests. They have three children.
Williams has a proud stature and retains a similar, while complementary, wardrobe; suits of a mildly formal nature constitute its majority, each comparable to that of an office-working American.
Security Protocols
To maintain the secrecy of the title, First IV implemented various security protocols that have been expanded upon by the current holder of the title. Strict adherence to the various protocols is required by Heads of Department who are provided with the knowledge that the title of the First has had various holders, and is also a prerequisite to becoming an Impresario. Utilization of various anomalies has become commonplace; excessive implementation of these protocols (though they had not yet been established, general concepts of First III’s tenure were similar, if overimplemented) has resulted in grotesque ideals gripping the Group.
Access to security protocols pertaining to the First are explicitly prohibited to the vast majority of Group members. They are as follows:
S1: Access Control
In accordance with security protocols pertaining to the First and his office:
- Access to the First’s personal inhabitance or knowledge thereof is strictly controlled by the First and is generally provided solely to Heads of Department, his security force[13] (see §2.1), and the Impresarios;
- The office of the First is to change locale on a random basis.
S2: Individual Security
Section 2 requires[14] the First to maintain a body of security, provided at the discretion of the Department of Security, as listed below:
- A body of at least ten highly trained and equipped Department of Security employees are to be provided with the prohibited knowledge of the First’s false longevity;
- Their role (the protection of the incumbent First) is not necessarily secretive, though they are to maintain confidentiality regarding anything the First does or says;
- Should any holder of the security role attempt to harm the First in any way or spread confidential information[15] throughout the Group’s general body, they are to be punished accordingly (at the behest of the First) and be made to forget any secretive information.
S3: Information Confidentiality
In accordance with §3.6 of the general LCA, any and all information regarding the First (primarily at Consensus meetings, though other meetings are included) is to maintain the utmost confidentiality. Violation of §3 would result in expulsion from the Group, followed by either extreme punishment or memory wiping. Utilization of anomalies to mask and match the appearance of various Firsts is to be carried out at public appearances so as to pertain to confidentiality. Additionally, a vague explanation of the First’s longevity is to be published on the official page.
S4: Succession Planning
If the incumbent First meets any of the following criteria, he is required to create a First Designate to succeed him:
- Maimed or injured in any way, shape, or form;
- Sick[16] or addled, whether due to age or disease;
- Over the age of sixty-five;
- Feels generally at risk of death.
The incumbent First, if not at risk of imminent death, is advised to place his choice for First Designate in a hidden location[17]; due to this, he would be able to change his choice upon his actual death.
S5: Utilization of Anomalies
Adhering to §64.2 of the Group’s Advancement policy, Backrooms-exclusive anomalies are at the behest of Heads of Departments, Impresarios, and the First; henceforth, in accordance with §2.3 and §3 of this document, anomalies undisclosed are permitted to be used by these parties to:
- Wipe the memory of any individual;
- End the life of any member;
- Benefit the listed parties in any agreed-upon (majority rules), Consensus-approved ways.
Footnotes
- ↑ This statement was obtained at a local Department conference three months following the opening of the Department of the Research, Handling, and Deletion of Anomalies (Dec. 2011).
- ↑ Zacharias Jones; served 2005-2019.
- ↑ Biographical page; archived on the Database.
- ↑ Behest over employee number is also provided.
- ↑ Generally practiced with the consent of the Consensus.
- ↑ Generally, this is exercised to promote the Head to an Impresario position.
- ↑ This is unutilized, save for personal security.
- ↑ Additionally, the ability to overrule Consensus rulings.
- ↑ Longest tenure of any Head of Department. Succeeded by the fourth First.
- ↑ Each Impresario of that time submitted their own synopsis; these are but a few selections.
- ↑ Aids the Security Protocols of the page's later portion.
- ↑ At the beginning of the Group, there were three hereditary Impresario positions.
- ↑ While officially referred to as a "force," the patrol is generally used solely for the First's personal safety. Still, they are at his whim, as listed in the First's official jurisdiction over the Group.
- ↑ The terminology "requires" is colloquial; given his extensive control over the Major Explorer Group, changes to such a clause could be made at any moment.
- ↑ See §3
- ↑ Generally excludes small ailments such as the common cold
- ↑ A task force within the Department of Administration is prepared to find the hidden testament by any means.
Hey there! Sylas here. Thanks for reading what is undeniably my longest Backrooms work! Clocked in at around 6400 words, and was a rollercoaster to write. Totally worth it though; this is my submission to POICon, and I'll update this section with the results.
This is super unorthodox for an author section, I know, but I just want to talk about the page and why I wrote it.
I think it's commonplace knowledge that I wrote the Impresario canon. I stand by the belief that the entirety of the canon is based on solid ideas... but I never really expanded upon them. I joined the Wiki in September 2021, which was two years ago; back then, my writing was absolutely awful. After lots of writing, both on the fandom and elsewhere, it has become tolerable.
But in that time that it wasn't tolerable, I wrote a bunch of awfulness for my canon, which had and has a lot of potential. I just wanna say, I'm done being awful. This page is my proof of that :)
P.S: thank you to Scutoid for creating the Major Explorer Group theme, which this page utilizes.