Now that a laboratory had been set up on Mieni Atoll, it was time for the Horizon scientists to begin the next experiments with Animalia Aquatica. They already did a lot of groundbreaking work with Ran and Ariel, but the results of these experiments could allow them to go in new directions.
The first two experiments wouldn't be too far out of the untried, the subjects being a sea turtle and a sea snake. Success with terrestrial versions of these reptiles had already been achieved. The experiment was mostly to see if other forms of marine life would be capable of being more active on land. But these particular specimens did have some unique traits that will make the results of the experiments more interesting.
The sea turtle selected, which will be named Topanga, wasn't just a leatherback sea turtle because it was one of the less endangered sea turtles. The leatherback turtle is one of the most unique turtle species on the planet. First of all, because it was the largest. In fact, behind the saltwater, the Nile, and Orinoco crocodiles, it is the largest reptile currently living on Earth. Topanga was a good example being six feet long and having a front flipper span of 7 feet. They were also the fastest reptile, provided they were in the water of course, being able to swim at nearly 22 mph. They could also dive down to depths as great as 4200 feet.
But the leatherback's remarkable characteristics weren't the only reason Topanga was selected. Unlike other turtles, the leatherback sea turtle didn't possess a bony shell. Rather, its carapace was covered by skin and oily flesh, which gives the leatherback its name. It also had a rather unique mouth and throat which are lined with many backwards-facing spikes. Those spikes are meant to force its prey down its throat, which was mainly jellyfish or the occasional cephalopod.
Topanga was the odd one out of her fellow test subjects in that she wasn't actually from the native region. The Pacific population of leatherback sea turtles was in such dire straits that Topanga was brought over from the Atlantic shore of Africa where her species wasn't so endangered.
By contrast, Kirana was not as rare or foreign. In fact, the banded sea krait could be found on several islands in the Indo-Pacific oceanic area. The distinct silver and black stripes made this serpent easily identifiable, along with the paddle-like tip of its tail. The banded sea krait in particular was chosen for this experiment because unlike other sea snakes, it was amphibious. Sea snakes have a specialized ribbon-like body structure that allowed them to swim through the water very efficiently. However, that same specialization made their bellies too narrow for them to slither, making them all but helpless on land. The banded sea krait has a rounder body shape which allowed it to move on land, though only at a fifth of the speed that it could in the water.
The scientist decided to start with Topanga and Kirana first before proceeding to their trickiest experiment. Topanga was easy to give a dosage of the Animalian virus. Kirana was another matter as not only was the snake harder to get a hold of, but she would bite if she was cornered and a sea snake's venom is more deadly than a cobra's. To solve this, Kirana's dosage was pumped into the water of her tank, similar to how the initial outbreak of the virus first occurred in the creek near Lyre.
The reaction to the virus did not take long to be noticed. Topanga's body was quivering as it altered. The teardrop shape of her body was compressing inwards as a distinguishable waist began to form. Her flippers flopped in the water a lot before they started to changed. The front flippers bent forward as elbows formed in the middle. The featureless tips started to split before gaining more definition. At the same time, her back flippers were becoming much longer. They also became more massive to support her growing body. Her beak clacked as it compressed, becoming more expressive and capable of speech.
Kirana's change was noticeably as well. It seemed to trigger a hyperactive spurt of energy in her as she kept swimming around her tank very quickly. But as she swam, she became increasingly larger, taking up more space and forcing her to make more turns. As she started to coil upon herself, the front of her body started to form into a torso. As have happened with land snakes, a pair of nubs appeared on her sides which were quickly lengthening. The bones inside them were quickly being defined as the elbows bend and fingers started to separate. Her pelvis started to form, making her new hips noticeable and marking where the humanoid features began and ended. Quite soon, she was reaching up with her new arms to grasp at the edge of the tank and pull herself out of the water.
The uplifted Kirana was not so different from the other snake Animalians. She had the familiar traits; a female humanoid body which included rather large breasts attached to a long snake tail instead of legs. She had some distinctive features, namely the black and silver stripes and the paddle tail particular to her species.
Topanga, on the other hand, was very distinguished from other turtle Animalians. Her arms were longer in proportion to her body, somewhat like the ape Animalians. The hands were pretty wide and large, a bit like shovels. Her new feet only had three blunt claws on them and were flipper-shaped like the other marine Animalians. Her torso was where she really deviated from the other turtles. While the other turtles' shells were removable, Topanga's clear was not. In fact, it was hard to tell that she had a shell. Her front was covered in armor-like scales with large, bare breasts, similar to the crocodile Animalians. However, her back was a lot thicker, harder, and distinctly armored. She was also rather massive, her torso having not lost much mass while her legs extended her height. By the looks of her, she had to be at least 6 and a half feet tall and probably still weight over 1000 pounds.
"Well, it looks like the uplifting was a success," said the head scientist.
"Uplifting?" asked Topanga, her voice feminine though deeper in pitch.
"Yes, you two are the new members of Animalia, a community of transformed animals like yourself," said the head scientist.
Kirana looked at her new limbs and asked, "There are more like us?"
"Well, there are other turtles and snakes, but you two are the first of your species to be uplifted," said the head scientist, "And if you wouldn't mind, miss, we'd like your help with uplifting another new species."
Kirana looked interested and asked, "Who would that be?"
"Follow me and we'll show you," said the scientist. The two transformed reptiles followed the scientist. Topanga's steps were slow and ponderous as she adjusted to her new center of gravity. Kirana was able to slither reasonably well, though she was a little slower than other serpents.
Eventually, they were lead to another tank that had several rocks in it. The reason for those rocks became clear when a brownish serpentine peaked out between two of the rocks. Kirana gave a concerned look at that. Moray eels and sea kraits didn't get along too well. Both species preyed on each other, depending on the size of the eel. "Are you sure you want to change that?" asked Kirana.
"We want to see the full capabilities of our virus," said the scientist, "We've already tested it on other species of fish and they've gained the ability to breathe air. However, there might be a problem with uplifting this eel."
"And what's that?" asked Topanga.
"We've already tested with blood samples and while the virus bonds readily, we've notice one omission. The genes that correspond to the growth of legs in the other fishes are absent in the eel tests. Which means that Teela here would have a body structure similar to Kirana's if she were uplifted," said the scientist.
"So what would be the problem?" asked Kirana.
"Kirana, your breed of sea snake are the only ones capable of locomotion on land. Other sea snakes have a build like eels and would be helpless on land. Therefore, while Teela may gain the ability to breathe air, it won't do her much good if she can't move out of water," said the scientist.
"So what can you do about it?" asked Topanga.
"Well, since Kirana has demonstrated she can slither on land, we're hoping that by adding a bit of her DNA to Teela's dosage, she might develop a similar form of locomotion," said the scientist before turning to Kirana and adding, "With your permission, of course."
Kirana thought very long about this, partly because she wasn't used to thinking of anything more than basic survival instincts. Sea kraits and moray eels were natural enemies so she felt some reluctance in uplifting an eel. Though at the same time, she felt a bit of curiosity as to what an uplifted eel would be like. Perhaps she would be friendlier once she was sentient. Also, the thought of giving Teela sentience but unable to explore the land seemed a bit cruel to Kirana. "Well, I'm not completely certain," said Kirana, "But I think I might be willing to help. I need to think it over a little more."
"That's fine," said the scientist, "We'll need some time to tailor in your locomotive genes into Teela's dosage anyways."
"So, what can I do?" asked Topanga.
"Well, asides from a little testing, we don't need your help with Teela," said the scientist, "As soon as we're done, you're free to explore the atoll. In fact, both of you can explore the atoll while we work on modifying Teela's dosage."
The sea turtle and the sea snake exchanged glances at that. So far, being Animalians was confusing, but interesting. But they both felt a strong desire to explore this new world they've been introduce to. There was a lot for them to learn about their new home.