The creation of Animalia, while it had been accidental, had proven to be a great boon for the media and the immediate economic prospects for the area around Lyre and Animalia. The Brown and Williams farms had gotten more support and attention than either had seen in years with Animalia's existence and "success." It lead to a lot of curiosity that the media was quick to catch on to and publicize on. Many reactions to Animalia might not yet be fully accepting of Animalians, which was why Animalia's city council had been putting together plans for regular webcast type releases with Abby and her friends to serve and ambassadors to the rest of the world for Animalia, but there was a lot curiosity about many of the things that went along with Animalia and all its surprises.
And while everyone was out to have a good time, Martin Brown sat in his living room with the news on to see what their coverage was and to be ready for trick or treaters. Even before Animalia, people from Lyre did come out to the farm for candy or other treats, and since Animalia had been built up on the land he owned, trick or treaters might be a bit more common. Thus he had to be ready. He had one large metal bowl filled with candy for human trick or treaters, a second bowl filled with bags of nuts (of various kinds) for herbivore Animalians, and a third bowl with bags of all natural jerky for carnivore Animalians. Martin also kept a personal rule that omnivore Animalians, the uplifted pigs and bears, would have to chose one or the other. And so far, things hadn't gone too bad in that regard.
"We'd think that Nevada, California, and perhaps even Oregon have all benefited from Animalia's existence in a way," the news reporter spoke on the screen, "It's created new jobs and ideas... shoot, it's even energized some people in a way that hasn't been seen before..."
Martin watched as the screen showed a few of the news clips from Anton and Marlysa's wedding with the Animalians that had gone done to attend it, along with the various clips of women looking at Anton with fairly attracted glances, and looking almost jealous that Marlysa had "won" him.
"I'd think the energy is based on the youth, health, and vigor just about every Animalian has seemed to display," a female reporter commented, "and with the recent wedding in Las Vegas, that was a case of a human who had already had a fairly deep fan base finding love again."
"Given the bride's stature, I can't imagine anyone not having interest," the male reporter commented.
Martin sighed and groaned a little bit. The hormone testing that had lead to the creation of the Animalia Virus had been intended to maximize growth in food animals without the negative effects that previous hormone and antibiotic therapy for food animals had. It lead to Animalians being extremely well built, including those that were once human. Abby's hip and bust measurements dwarfed her mother's after she became a mare, and just about every female Animalian was similarly built. That obviously lead to some people having more perverted thoughts, as Abby did complain to Martin and Samson that some of the boys at school seemed to look at her as some sort of sex object. Now, while Martin could accept Abby being with Samson, he didn't think Animalia should be accepted because Animalians "were sexy." Martin found that that sort of thinking hid the real reasons that Animalians should be accepted. Their Ten Edicts seemed to match just about any moral code humanity had come up with, and so far, Animalia had lived by it.
"The theme and engineering that went into the environment design was something, and might be interesting to see if Animalia runs with anything like that in their little town," the female reporter commented. "We now go live to Leslie who's in Animalia now."
The screen then switched to a live shot from outside the Great Hall in Animalia with an on site reporter who was covering many of the comings and goings as Animalians enjoyed Halloween and even kids from Lyre came in out of curiosity and probably in hope of getting some candy. The on site reporter, Leslie waved to the camera.
"Hello, Leslie," the female anchor spoke, "You're in Animalia right now, can you tell us what they're up to?"
"Well... tonight, it would appear that Animalia is in the same spirit as everyone else," Leslie reported, "Halloween. As you can see behind me they've done some extensive decorating with their public buildings to make them look the part, and that includes other buildings that are throughout the town."
"Are things as exotic as they were at the wedding in Las Vegas this past Sunday?" the male anchor asked.
"In some ways, yes," Leslie answered, "though we should keep in mind that Animalians that have fur or feathers would probably find a lot of clothing to be more of an irritant than a help, as the cloth would literally rub them the wrong way. And even with that, every Animalian has remained friendly, helpful, and even eager to share things they've learned. Many are even eager to learn more about human culture and history in many ways."
Martin watched the screen as Leslie then gestured to the Great Hall as well before she continued speaking.
"As while many are enjoying the typical Halloween festivities, Animalia has also put on a series of displays to explain aspects of human culture and why some Animalians have been given names that suit those cultures," Leslie continued, "which has been very educational for both the Animalians and for the humans of Lyre, who have also come in and out here and from everyone that I've talked with, they seem to be impressed."
"Do you think that'd be enough to curb some of the negativity that some have had towards Animalia?" the male anchor asked.
"Within the local area, definitely," Leslie answered, "and as for the rest of the country, I've been told that Animalia is presently working on ideas to help show that they are more than what they're stereotyped to be by the groups that have been negative."
Martin couldn't help but smile at that, though he couldn't stay on the couch, as he heard a knocking at the door and knew that some trick or treaters had arrived.