The surface of the creature was warm.
Not the warmth of a living thing, either, it had the warmth of the Record's architecture, the same warmth as the alcoves in the citadel, the same warmth as the shell imprints, the same warmth as the ring on his finger. It was the warmth of stored potential, of something that had been holding itself in a particular configuration for a long time and was now, deliberately, releasing that configuration.
He kept his hand flat against the surface and felt Residual Absorption engage.
Not the way it engaged with shell imprints. Shell imprints were passive, the residual aura of something already gone, waiting to be received. This was active, the creature present and conscious and choosing, the way the Hollow Hound had chosen in the Record's interior, the way
