While Sarah and her family enjoyed dinner and Sarah then claimed her mate, Bennie was still at Horizon Labs as he was getting ready for his participation in Project Phoenix. Mr. Wallace and a rabbit Animalian named Judy had been quite helpful when he first arrived at Horizon Labs in Lyre. After they explained how things would work, Mr. Wallace and Judy put together the plan for when the first actions as part of Project Phoenix would begin. There were others that were participating and Bennie was informed that they wouldn't be ready until the next day. From there, he returned to his car and spent the night at a nearby hotel.
The next morning, Bennie found himself back at Horizon Labs and actually looking forward to participating in Project Phoenix. The plans on how it would work sounded attractive to Bennie. He felt fairly pleased to hear that he would be able to get through with Project Phoenix and that his dose would be from a hypodermic needle rather than from an Animalian's breasts, saliva, or having sex with one. It wasn't as though Animalians were necessarily ugly or anything. In their own way, they were rather attractive, but in a way he just didn't feel comfortable with how sexual Animalia's culture seemed to be, if what he'd seen of the wedding in Las Vegas was any indicator. That part put him off, but that was only part of what he'd seen of Animalia or Animalians.
The other parts that he'd seen so far countered many of concerns that he'd had. Learning that Judy was an uplifted rabbit and not a former human was a surprise, but Bennie had noted that she sounded very smart and that she had learned a lot when she was uplifted. That made him more curious about Animalia and more willing to endure whatever negatives there might be because the fact that an uplifted rabbit could become the equal of the scientists at Horizon Labs was a sign that there was more to them than what those who thought negatively about them thought.
As he returned to Horizon Labs, he found Judy waiting for him as he rolled in through the lab's main doors. She looked to him with a small smile.
"Good morning, Bennie," Judy said warmly to him, "are you ready?"
"Pretty much," Bennie answered, "eager to walk again and be able to do the things that I lost when that IED forced my lefts to be amputated."
"IED?" Judy asked.
"Improvised Explosive Device," Bennie explained, "It's a kind of bomb..."
"I've learned a lot..." Judy commented as she held the door open while Bennie rolled his wheelchair through, "but there are times when I just can't understand humanity."
"Ma'am... sometimes I don't think even humanity can understand humanity," Bennie answered, "And Animalia would hardly be the first to question why humanity has so often waged war."
Judy shrugged and moved to walk beside Bennie as he rolled his wheelchair forward.
"So, what's the plan for today?" Bennie asked.
"We'll start with meeting with some of the other Project Phoenix volunteers that are here," Judy explained, "from there, you and the other volunteers will get your doses and your transformations monitored."
"Okay," Bennie answered, "and that's all?"
"All that would be needed for you from us," Judy nodded, "from there... whether you move to Lyre or Animalia will be up to you, but Horizon Labs has promised to do as much as they could to help you."
They moved along until they came to a room that was set up sort of like a hospital waiting room, just like the lobby out front. This waiting room, however, was done up a bit more. The room wasn't too big, but it was carpeted. Black plastic magazine holders were on sections of the wall with what looked like various magazines on them. From what Bennie could see they were mostly scientific magazines but some standard news, sports, and gossip magazines. A set of plastic plants were set up in the corners of the room and there were a set of paintings on the walls that showed either mountain landscapes while another actually showed a scene from Animalia's Great Hall with various Animalians in front of the building.
Inside the room there were also three people, one woman and two men, who were seated in a series of chairs. They all looked up to see Bennie coming in with Judy close behind him.
"Are things ready?" one man asked.
"Not quite yet, but it shouldn't be too long," Judy answered, "Just had to bring in another of the Project Phoenix volunteers. We'll be back soon."
With that, Judy moved off and Bennie rolled into the room. He eventually settled down near an open spot and looked to the three people that were also there as volunteers. The woman looked fairly healthy other than that her hair looked rather patchy as though it had been falling out. One man at first looked okay, but Bennie noted that his hands shook a little. The second sat quietly but Bennie could see that he was either blind or suffering from serious eye problems as his eyes looked blank and clouded. The third looked fairly young but otherwise fairly normal.
"You're all here for Project Phoenix?" Bennie asked.
"Yeah," the woman nodded, "My name is Karen Holms... and I've been battling cancer, and not necessarily winning even with radiation and chemotherapy. Project Phoenix might give me the chance to have a new lease at life."
"I'm Michael Winner, you can call me Mike," the first man spoke and did his best to hide the shaking of his hands, "I've been battling Parkinson's disease, and Project Phoenix might allow for a cure..."
Bennie nodded and watched as the second man turned his head to whoever had spoken as he was using his hearing to pinpoint where people were.
"I'm Eugene Heirmann... I lost my sight at birth, and there is so much that I'd like to see," the second man commented, "I'd kinda like to be an eagle Animalian... to see and to fly... but above all, I'd like to see."
"Hopefully you'll get your chance," Bennie commented, "their ads do say that Project Phoenix will cure all sorts of diseases."
Eugene nodded.
"Did someone bring you... or do you live here in Lyre?" Bennie asked.
"I actually live here in Lyre," Eugene answered, "and while I haven't seen much of Animalia, I've met a few of them as they've either worked in Lyre or in Animalia. They've all been so polite to me."
"That's good," Bennie nodded and then looked to the last man, who looked like he was eighteen. The teen looked to him with a slightly nervous look, even if he was of legal age. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm Simon Truman," the third man answered, "no relation to Harry Truman."
Bennie nodded, "and you're here for Project Phoenix?"
"Yeah... because of my diabetes," Simon answered, "my family's been rather poor... hardworking, but poor none the less. What insurance we have doesn't fully cover all of my medical costs. I've been in and out of ERs for Ketoacidosis because my sugars have run so high. I've wanted to be a cop, like my mom's brother was..."
"Was?" Bennie asked nervously.
"He died last year... he was serving a traffic stop in winter when another driver hit ice and lost control," Simon said slowly, "my uncle couldn't escape the car and died after being hit by it. Mom brought me here to get my dose in the hopes that Project Phoenix will cure my diabetes and I'm not so much of a health risk that I can't do anything... I don't mind if it changes my species, if it lets me be healthy and lets me contribute, I'll do anything."
"I think we're all in that boat," Bennie commented, "Bennie Till... Iraq War vet, hoping to be able to walk again. And Project Phoenix... if it works... will open plenty of possibilities."