Proteus Texture File

Elara touched the side of the containment unit. The Texture reached up to meet her finger through the glass. For a second, just for her, it became the exact texture of her own skin.

Elara smiled, triumphant. She ran a finger over the surface. It was glass. It was perfect, solid glass. proteus texture

She reached out. As her gauntleted fingers breached the shimmering perimeter, the Texture reacted. It didn't feel like a solid. It felt like a memory of water, then dry sand, then the sticky resistance of tree sap—all in the span of a heartbeat. Elara touched the side of the containment unit

Elara gasped and pulled back. Where the iron had been, the Texture now displayed a perfect patch of human skin, pale and warm. It was soft, yielding, terrifyingly organic. Elara smiled, triumphant

The question was a splinter. The Proteus Texture heard it.

But then, a thought scratched at the back of her mind. A doubt.