Dr. Veranda sat at her desk, several large monitors displaying data presented in tables and graphs. She had her eye on one specific screen. A camera feed from the containment unit in which Subject 004, designation Emperor, was housed. It was essentially a concrete box. Each wall was perfectly smooth with no gaps or breaks. There was a single metal door that had been machined perfectly with the frame, so that when it closed, there was no visible seam.
At the centre of the room, a shallow pool. In it was Subject 004. A inky black liquid in its current state. The subject would be docile until acted upon by an external stimulus.
Tapping the tablet propped up on the desk, Dr. Veranda remotely opened the single entrance and in walked a young woman. She was tall with blonde hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. In a skimpy pair of underwear she had been passed through an advance airlock whereby she would be doused with chemicals to remove any and all possible contaminants. At her feet, folded precisely, was a grey overall suit.
"Holly, if it'd make you feel more comfortable, you may put on the suit." The doctor spoke softly into the microphone.
In terms of the experiment, the suit was a formality. People generally responded better to instruction when they weren't exposing themselves. The young woman cautiously pulled on the overalls, zipping them all the way up to her neck. She looked around, taking in her new, strange surroundings. Eventually her eyes fell upon the pool of black.
"What is that?" She said apprehensively.
"Don't worry, it's just water," A straight up lie that Holly wasn't fully accepting, "all I need you to do is take a few steps forward so that you are at the edge of the pool please."
"Is there something in it?" Holly took a single step forward, arms folded and not keen on getting any closer without answers.
"No." Dr. Veranda said matter of fact. It was true, there wasn't anything in the water because Subject 004 was the water.
Holly took another two steps forward which carried her to the edge of the pool. She looked down, seeing her reflection on the surface, then looked back up at where the camera was.
Dr. Veranda checked her other monitors, looking for a change in Emperor's state that would be picked up by the myriad of sensors.
"You're doing great Holly," the doctor reassured her, "now I'm going to need you to take a step down into the pool. You can just sit on the edge and dip your feet in if you like." The lack of response from Subject 004 was temperamental at best.
Some days he'd sense the extra presence in the room and immediately drag most of his form from the pool and have them in his grasp before they'd even had a chance to stick the overalls on. Other times, like today, he'd almost seem - disinterested. This was where they'd have the test subjects actively make contact with him.
Holly didn't like the doctor's suggestion, "I'm in these overalls?" It was something Dr. Veranda had heard time and time again. A poor excuse not to do as they were told.
"That doesn't matter if they get wet. The water level will only come up to your knees. I welcome you to roll up the legs or remove it entirely, if you'd prefer." The doctor watched Holly swallow hard as she struggled to summon the courage and make a decision.
Over on one of the monitors the doctor could see a spike in Holly's heat rate and mild perspiration as a beeping sound immediately drew her attention away to another monitor. Detected neural activity within the Emperor that moved him above the stagnant baseline. His watery form was starting to congeal into a thicker substance more akin to slime.
Holly had taken to one knee, rolling up the cuffs of her legs, and was too distracted to see subject 004 begin to take shape. The tips of what could only be described as long, slender tentacles had started to amass at the rim of the pool where the young blonde was knelt. They slithered forward over the smooth grey floor and one tickled up against Holly's exposed feet. She yelped, falling onto her butt and scurrying back until she hit the metal door.
"What the fuck is that!" She yelled, eyes wide with fear. Her heart rate was certainly picking up.
Dr Veranda didn't respond, at this point there was nothing she could do for Holly. This needed to run its course. She noted only that Emperor was sluggish in his approach. For test subjects that had moved away from the pool, it was typically ferocious in its attempts to subdue and restrain them. Today however, his multiple appendages slithered lazily towards a frightened Holly.
The young blonde was fighting and pushing against the door, trying to keep herself away from the subject for as long as possible. It was inevitable that it would reach her. The first tendril touched against her foot and before she could pull it away it coiled and tightened in a blink. With a firm hold of her now the rest of its arms started to crawl up her body, attaching itself to her extremities to gain control of the young woman.
Snapping up around both her legs it rapidly reached up and took a hold of her arms, stopping her from struggling anymore than she currently was able to. With only her head left free, she shouted and screamed in panic. The rest of her body was completely restrained by Emperor and he wasn't about to give her any wiggle room.
He started to drag Holly down to the floor and back towards the pool. There, other tendrils were raised up, idly waiting for her to be drawn in close enough. The young woman grabbed and clawed at the floor, but with nothing to take a hold of her gain purchase against, it was pointless.