After Calypso and Calliope's unexpectedly successful uplifting, much had to be explained to the two-headed anaconda, particularly why they had a hemipenis along with their female anatomy. The Horizon scientist who was in charge of overseeing their uplifting was explaining their situation to them.
"You see, you were in such poor health that we needed to improve your genetic structure in case the virus alone couldn't," said the scientist, "Two-headed animals tend to have a shorter lifespan than normal animals. So by including the DNA of such a snake that managed to live for several years, we hoped that it would stabilize you."
"But we didn't have a penis before that," said Calliope. It was easy to tell which one was hir. Shi was the left head of the snake and showed a couple of differences from hir sister. Hir arm was larger and more muscular that Calypso's as well as having a slightly larger head. Calliope's voice was also a lower contralto compared to Calypso's tenor.
"Yes, well, the DNA we used came from a specimen called "We" which in addition to being polycephalic was also hermaphroditic. The genes that kept "We" healthy for so long included its rather unusual X/Y chromosome formation. If we had tried to exclude it, the DNA strand would have fallen apart," said the scientist.
"So, what are we now?" asked Calypso, "Are we just going to keep being a science experiment?"
"Oh no, no, you're Animalian now," said the scientist, "That means you have all the freedoms and rights that entails. There is only one minor thing involving your case."
"Which is?" asked Calypso and Calliope.
"The company that we got the preserved DNA of "We" from wants exclusive rights to your image as a mascot," said the scientist.
The two heads blinked, a new sensation for them since they now had eyelids. "What does that mean?" asked Calypso.
"It means you'll have to work for their advertising department, pose for pictures, attend certain conventions and events, mostly PR-related things," said the scientist.
"Do we have to do this all the time?" asked Calliope.
"I don't think it'll be full-time," said the scientist, "You'll be free to live a normal life for most of the time. And I believe their payment for your contract is rather fair."
"Payment?" asked the twins in confusion. The scientist sighed. This was going to take a while to explain.
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During the remedial lessons, much was learned of Calypso and Calliope's personalities. Calypso was the light-hearted artiste, while Calliope was the sporty tomboy; Calypso preferred milder-spiced food, while Calliope wanted hir food extra spicy; Calypso was always well-behaved, while Calliope always looked for a way to do a minor prank; and so on.
One Australian scientist described the two personalities of Calypso and Calliope as "chalk and cheese", but it was clear that the two were inseparable, both physically and emotionally, and always came to a compromise on everything.
While learning to read, they read Ovid's Metamorphoses to learn about the original Hermaphrodite. They also read the story of Iphis, a woman who was raised as a man since birth. When she was to be married to the beautiful Ianthe, Iphis feared that if her secret was exposed, it would ruin everything. But she had fallen in love with Ianthe and so asked Hera to make her into a man which Hera granted. The twins enjoyed that story particularly as it somewhat matched their new life. So Calliope decided to rename hirself Iphis (which was a gender-neutral name anyways) while Calypso took the name Ianthe.
Physically, the conjoined anacondas were in good health. In fact, it could be said their body was an ultimate depiction of fitness. Perhaps it was because the green anaconda was one of the largest snakes in the world, but their body was particularly massive, being 6 feet tall at the shoulder and a tail that was 10 feet long. Their necks were different lengths, but they still added at least another 6 inches of height. The breasts that they developed were enormous, only surpassed by the Megafauna Animalians. The muscles that developed also seemed to give Samson a run for his money. though they were more notably thicker on Iphis's side than Ianthe's.
Internally, they possessed many of the traits found in dicephalic parapagus twins, such as: two complete hearts with shared circulatory system, two spines merged halfway down the rib cage and joined at the thorax by sections of ribs, two completely separate spinal cords which merged just above the pelvis, and a fully functional digestive system. Their internal organs that weren't duplicated were larger than the average snake Animalian to compensate for having to provide for two brains to keep alive. In addition to the modified uterus that the twins originally had, they also possessed the hybridized prostate and internalized testicles found in reptilian Animalians, making them fully capable of impregnating or being impregnated.
A study of their brains revealed the reason why Iphis exhibited more masculine qualities than Ianthe. Iphis's brain contained more testosterone than Ianthe's and since each brain controls a separate arm, the arms also reflected the level of testosterone. While Iphis's testosterone level wasn't high enough to make hir more male than female, it did explain why shi looked and behaved less femininely than Ianthe.
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Once they were sufficiently caught up on education, Iphis and Ianthe talked with Nutra Pharma Corporation regarding their employment. While the two of them didn't object to being the company's mascot (even though a cobra Animalian would have been more logical), they didn't want to have to spend all of their time doing publicity stunts. After some lengthy negotiating, it was agreed that Iphis and Ianthe would only need to work at the company's advertising department and PR office when they were needed and given enough time for themselves. However, any other events or exhibitions that the two of them would be involved with would have to be non-profit for them. And considering how handsomely Nutra Pharma was willing to pay them, they couldn't think of a reason to object.
When they learned about the upcoming IAC, Ianthe wanted to do an exhibit on what the virus was capable of (featuring themselves) while Iphis wanted to take part in the events. Fortunately it was decided to allow the exhibit, but putting it on hold when it was time for the events.
In regards for Iphis feeling physical attraction to Ianthe after their uplifting, the assumption was that they were still in the aroused state that was very common for newly-turned Animalians and Iphis simply was drawn to the closest feminine being, in this case, Ianthe. Still, whether they were actually attracted to each other or whether they preferred males, females, or both, they would have to figure that out on their own. But Animalia was a place of many opportunities, even if you were a two-headed hermaphrodite.