By this point, the piscine variant of the Animalian Virus had been proven to work on most basic fish species. True, only a fraction of the fish species in the surrounding area have been uplifted which is an even tinier percentage of what was available worldwide. But it would have been rather imprudent to try and uplift a member of every species. Therefore, it was determined that Animalia Aquatica would attempt to focus on species of fish with unique characteristics. For instance, back at Lyre, the freshwater counterpart of Animalia Aquatica was planning on uplifting some fish from the Amazon river, namely a Goliath catfish, a piranha, and an electric eel.
What was going on today at the saltwater division of Animalia Aquatica was the uplifting of a ray along with two native species of Mieni Atoll. Specifically, they had chosen a Spotted Eagle Ray to uplift. Of course, the manta ray was intended to be the first ray species to be uplifted, but procuring one wasn't easy due to its large size, its preference for open water far from most islands, and their threatened status in certain parts of the globe. The eagle ray was easier to acquire and nearly as big so it would show what to expect when a manta ray was eventually caught.
The local species were also of interest. First, there was a local subspecies of tiger shark. This shark was a quarter smaller than an average tiger shark and had green skin. Though green skin is not completely unheard of for tiger sharks, this one's skin actually glowed in the dark. Obviously a product of the radiation that gave so many specimens of the reef bio-phosphorescence. The other test subject was a crystal-skinned frog. Like glass frogs, the internal organs could be seen through the skin. However, crystal-skinned frogs lacked much pigment which made their insides a lot more visible. There were...mixed feelings about uplifting the frog, but the progress of science sometimes demands that risks be taken.
They started to begin with the frog, a female that would soon be named Krysta. The tree frog was placed in the middle of a table which would give her plenty of room to grow. Administering the virus was easy. All they need was an eyedropper of contaminated water. The virus-laced water was dripped onto her back, her near-transparent skin easily allowing the water to pass into her system. It did not take long for the effects to become noticeable. The little frog quickly began to surge in size, allowing her organs to become more easily visible. It also allowed the transition of her organs to be seen. Her internal organs had started out as a typical frog layout, but as she became more humanoid, her organs rearranged and reshaped to become closer to that of a human's. When nipples appeared on her chest, they could see the breast tissue and mammary grands growing behind them as they swelled out into functional breasts. Similarly, they could see her cloaca shrink in relative size before developing into a womb with a pair of ovaries as her reproductive system changed from external fertilization to internal. While her head was less transparent the rest of her, it was still possible to see her brain expand dramatically and take on the same size and shape as a human brain. In all, Krysta's uplifting was very informative to watch, even though those who had actually seen it or will watch the recording of it may feel rather nauseated by the sight.
Krysta was quick to take notice of her mostly-visible anatomy. "Whoa, is that really what my insides look like?" she asked, poking her torso. She almost expected her hand to pass all the way through and touch her organs. She was a bit glad that she couldn't.
"Yes, we'll be happy to fill you in on your new anatomy as well as everything you need to know as an Animalian," said Harold, "But first, we have some other fish that we need to uplift. Er, would you mind terribly putting on something?" Even though as a biologist, he was familiar with the interior design of several species, seeing one openly was still a bit on the unnerving side.
Most uplifted Animalians did not have much of a sense of modesty, having lived with clothes without all their lives and only complying with such because of human norms. But perhaps since Krysta found the sigh of her own guts a little unnerving, she was ready to accept the shirt and shorts she was provided, once they showed her how to wear them that is.
After uplifting Ran and Tzan, uplifting Adam was easy. The main reason the scientists wanted to uplift Adam was because he was an interesting subspecies and they wanted to see how one of the bio-phosphorescent fish could adapt to be amphibious. The end result was a shark man that didn't look that different from Ran, asides from being a head shorter, different color with stripes, and noticeably broader at the chest than Ran.
It was Sharon the spotted eagle ray that got the most attention. Kirana watched the ray swim around in her tank and asked, "She will be getting legs, right?"
"Of course," said Harold, "If you look next to the base of her tail, you can see her pelvic fins," He pointed out the two flaps that could go unnoticed to many people.
"They don't seem very important," said Teela. She had taken to hanging out at the lab, though more out of curious observation and chatting with Kirana than anything else.
"Well, it's true that the pectoral fins create much of the motion needed for swimming and the tail provides most of the steering, but the pelvic fins are also a part of the steering structure, though they're mainly involved in reproduction," said Harold.
"So you won't need mine or Teela's DNA to let her move on land?" asked Kirana.
"No, though we might be need one of you two's DNA for uplifting the electric eel back on the mainland," said Harold.
"Obviously it should be my DNA that should be used to uplift a fellow eel," said Teela.
"Well, actually, the electric eel isn't actually an eel. It's a species of knifefish that happened to evolve in a similar way to eels. That means that it has no pelvic fins to convert into legs," said Harold, "But I'm not certain if we can use Teela's. She's already a blend of two different animal species as it is. We've still yet to fully learn the full hybridization potential of this virus."
"I suppose it would be adding a bit too much to use mine," said Teela.
"So, can we uplift Sharon now?" asked Kirana.
"Of course," said Harold before signaling to another scientist who injected the spotted eagle ray with the Animalian sample.
Watching Sharon transform was very interesting. Her small pelvic fins grew at an alarming rate before they started to form into legs. The tail became a little longer and thicker to match her changing body. Her main body was rapidly losing its disc shape as a waist became defined, follow by hips forming and widening and her rear inflating. Her breasts and forming shoulders helped complete the hourglass image. The transformation of her pectoral fins was the most interesting. They didn't grow any longer but they began to bend in a new direction as elbows formed. The tips of the fins branched into fingers before hands fully formed. But her fins didn't completely convert into arms as there was a cloak-like membrane going from her wrist down to just below her new rib cage, not unlike the flaps seen on uplifted mammalian gliders. Her head required a great amount of restructuring as her eyes were placed on top of her body and her mouth on the bottom. The head squeezed together to form a narrower shape, which was better defined by a now-distinctive neck. Eventually, her head took on a similar humanoid shape like the other uplifted fishes, with her eyes and mouth in proper positions. The narrowing of the eagle ray's head caused her nose to become slimmer and more pointed, like the beak of her namesake.
Adam and Sharon had a bit of trouble getting out of their respective tanks due to their unfamiliarity with their new limbs. But Kirana and Teela were able to help out. Before long, they were stable on their new legs. "So, this is what it's like to be out of water," said Adam.
Sharon was waving her new arms around, watching the membrane that was her fins tighten and loosen. "Will I still be able to swim with these things?" she asked.
"Oh, you should be able adapt pretty quickly," said Harold, "But I think you should take some time to explore the land above the sea." Both Adam and Sharon seemed interested in this. And along with Krysta, they'll make good new additions to Miene Atoll.