After the new president gave his 'sanction' for Project Phoenix, many people started traveling to Animalia. Though truthfully, they would have made the journey with or without the president's permission. Since the Animalian Virus was proven so far to be a miracle cure-all, many people were coming from all over to be healed of their otherwise incurable conditions. People came with lost limbs, failing organs, diseases as seemingly mild as diabetes to critical ones like terminal cancer. People came with body bloated with fat because of serious thyroid problems or people wasting away due to an inability to metabolize nutrients. The trip was harder for some than others, whether it was from the cost of moving to Nevada or being hooked up to machines that kept them from expiring. And it wasn't only humans. People were bringing their beloved pets who were suffering from ailments that would kill them far too soon. The registration the president ordered didn't matter to these people whether the treatment was for them or their pets.
Needless to say, Horizon Labs was getting a lot of business. Too much business. They didn't have the facility to treat so many people at once. People were forced to wait for their spot on the waiting list to come up. Horizon Lab did order the list by seriousness of ailment, with the most life-threatening conditions being put at the top. But even still, there were still too many volunteers who wanted treatment.
That was why Melvin Qvite, the owner of Horizon Labs, was speaking with Clara at her house right now. "The simple fact is, Mrs. Mayor, that our lab is too small to handle so many volunteers. Even holding the patients in the hospital while they awaited treatment would not be a long-term solution. And with our staff so occupied with treating new patients, we won't have enough time or resources to study more of the capabilities of the virus or how to mold it to enhance pure Human DNA," said Mr. Qvite, sipping from a cup of coffee.
"Remind me, why is it so important to have a strain of the virus that affects only pure humans?" asked Clara.
"Well, it's not that I wish to withdraw support for Animalia, but your community is expanding at an alarming race. There are going to be xenophobes who view your expansion as a threat to their way of life. Hopefully, it won't come to violence. Anyways, I'm sure you can see is that the problem with converting every incurable human and uplifting every ill pet on Earth is that eventually, Animalia will swell too big and the Edicts will begin to work against it," said Mr. Qvite.
Clara frowned at that. She had realized that uplifting every animal in the world would be quite impossible. There would never be enough to feed them all without having to resort to eating fellow Animalians. And while Animalia was a peaceful community, it wasn't hard to imagine that humans would look at the rate of their growth with fear and displeasure. While Animalia was working hard to appeal to global cooperation, they were still vulnerable if anyone, let alone the US Government, considers them enough of a threat to try to wipe them out. "So, you're trying to create a version of the virus that will cure humans and animals without changing them," she said.
"To maintain a healthy balance," said Mr. Qvite, "We'll still keep the strain we're using for Project Phoenix for those who want to join. But what matters right now is that we need a larger facility to accommodate new volunteers so that we can focus on developing a pure healing strain."
"Is that all?" asked Clara, "Well, you certainly have permission to expand. I'm not sure why you'd need to talk to me in person about it instead of over the phone."
"Well, I want to you look over some of the plans we've made for the expansion," said Mr. Qvite, taking some papers out of his suitcase and showing them to Clara. Clara flipped through the construction plans. Most of this didn't make of an impression on her, but she could tell it was big. "We're also planning on making a separate facility on the lake, for treatment of people who wish to become aquatic Animalians," said Mr. Qvite.
"Are you planning on doing more experiments with fish?" asked Clara.
"Potentially, though we may reach a habitation limit," said Mr. Qvite, "We could continue with uplifting freshwater fish, but I'm doubtful we can continue too far with saltwater fish for the time being. While Ran might be able to breathe air, he has to return to the water or he'll dry out and we've noticed that while he's able to swim relatively fine in non-chlorinated water, he grows gradually weaker until he's able to swim in saltwater again. And since we're in a landlocked state, we will have to put the uplifting of sea fish on hold until we can acquire another facility that's coastal and more favorable to saline-breathing fish."
"With all the money coming in from IAC tickets, magazine sales, and premium packages, we'll probably be able to afford to buy our own private island by summer," said Clara jokingly.
"Well, we are considering that, but purchasing a private island is not nearly as easy as you think," said Mr. Qvite.
Clara blinked, not expecting her joke to be an actual option. "Well, you can make your expansions here, right?" she asked.
"Oh, definitely, we just need to go through the paperwork about construction," said Mr. Qvite.
Clara grimaced. "Maybe it's because I didn't have to deal with paperwork for most of my life, but I find it such a hassle," she said.
Mr. Qvite smiled and said, "That's a perfectly human reaction."