With the assurance that Project Phoenix wouldn't be stopped, Melvin Qvite excused himself to turn to other business with Horizon Labs's jobs and/or legal status, leaving Bennie with Mr. Wallace and Judy. A part of him was curious about the rabbit Animalian, as many of the news reports had indicated that uplifted animals had gained a great deal of natural intelligence and those that had frequent contact with people got an even bigger boost to their intelligence as they seemed to remember things humans had said and talked on while they were mundane animals. He'd also seen reports that transformed humans also didn't lose their intelligence or anything like that. That was a reason why he ultimately accepted the idea being an Animalian to get his legs back.
"So... will the process be a long one?" Bennie asked after a few moments.
"It shouldn't be," Judy assured him, "as a Project Phoenix volunteer some things will be a bit different from those that simply wish to be Animalians as the dose of the Animalia Virus that you'll receive will be a bit more engineered than the standard virus."
"There's a difference?" Bennie wondered.
Mr. Wallace moved over to a wall where Bennie noticed a large white screen was hanging. He pulled a small remote from his his lab coat and a protector in the roof turned on. Bennie could hear the quick hum of the device as it turned on. Soon an image that showed two separate lines for the Animalia Virus.
"They aren't major differences, but they are there," Mr. Wallace spoke and pointed to the line on the right side of the screen, "the basic virus would only uplift an animal into an Animalian while the virus attached to the animal DNA of a Animalian would then transform humans into Animalians, however, they will also be limited to many of the abilities of that specific animal. You'd become an Animalian, but you might not regain your legs... even if the specific species used is naturally capable of regenerating limbs or other body parts..."
"Like lizards," Bennie commented.
"Like some lizards, not all are actually capable of doing that," Mr. Wallace answered, "among those that do have that ability, it's limited to their tail."
Mr. Wallace then pointed to the virus line on the other side of the screen, "the side for Project Phoenix is a bit more complex, so as to try and assure the best possible results for you and for others. It's why we did a lot of computer simulations with the virus and with animal testing before getting ready for the first human tests. We know that the Animalia Virus would produce a Animalian, but we don't want to have any more surprises. For example, with the mice that we tested, we wanted to make sure that they didn't turn into lizard Animalians if the lizard's regenerative genes were introduced, and obviously with that gene also altered so that it would affect all parts of the body in a way that wouldn't even be normal in lizards. It's like Marvel Comic's back story with Curt Conners. He wanted to give humanity that ability, but his work didn't produce a human with a lizard's ability to regrow its limbs but a anthro-lizard with a nasty temperament."
"You'll forgive me, but I don't read comics," Bennie answered.
"You've missed a lot," Mr. Wallace chuckled, "all the sorts of mad scientists in comics is ultimately what got me interested in science in the first place."
"And our testing was successful," Judy commented, "thus why with regard to Horizon's plans, we're ready to move on to human testing."
"So how will it work?" Bennie asked.
"In most cases, and with the standard virus," Judy spoke, "the transformation is handled personally and privately between the donor Animalian and the to be transformed human. How they do it is up to them. Some may have sex, though this is most common with those that are already close and likely had a relationship that went back before the animal was uplifted. Females may milk themselves and provide the milk to the person to be transformed. When that person drinks the milk, they'll become an Animalian."
"Though due to the fact that we're also trying to refine the Animalia Virus so that it doesn't remain infectious," Mr. Wallace added, "we've also begun developing a formula for the serum to be injected by a hypodermic needle. It'd carry the mixed animal DNA and the Animalia Virus and the new Animalian won't be infectious to every person they interact with after transformation... and we are pleased that our efforts to refine the virus has also had success. Many of those originally caught up in the original outbreaks are no longer infectious to others."
Bennie detected a fair amount of pride in Mr. Wallace's voice at that. However, he didn't stop there. He pressed a button on his remote and the projector changed its image, showing the image of a cream colored lizard with brown bands and spots, pinkish-brown legs, a sea greenish head with the brown stripes and spots, and a white underbelly.
"Given that you are a Project Phoenix volunteer and actually filled out a specific request with your paperwork, you will get your dose of the virus by an injection with the DNA donated from a Western Banded Gecko in a Texas zoo," Mr. Wallace continued, "which makes things a bit easier, as the species does have the ability to discard and regrow its tail... which will be transferred in the serum to be something that will affect every limb."
"So I'd get to walk again without a cane and prosthetic legs?" Bennie asked.
"That's the plan," Mr. Wallace smiled, glad to see that they had an eager volunteer.