Project Thylacine could not officially start until the delegates/volunteers from Australia arrive with the needed material from the International Thylacine Specimen Database. But they could start preparing for the de-extinction of the Tasmanian Tiger and the other species that were eventually to follow. They could even start a bit of preliminary work on the eventual Project Dinotopia. Creating Dinotopians won't be as simple as pouring a solution carrying the Animalian Virus on some dinosaur fossils and hoping enough DNA stuck to the runoff to be used. First, they had to figure out how Heather's theropod cocktail was able to work in the first place. Obviously, the original serum was long gone, but the scientists could analyze her reconfigured DNA, see which genes came from which species, and try to recreate the process, though not necessarily with the same result as a go.
Jeremy was not pleased with his new assignment. Not only was he pressganged into working on Project Thylacine and thus would have very little of his own time to work on his own personal project, but he was forced to work with Heather, the overbearing brute of a former art student who was the cause of all his present misery. And for some absurd reason, Sophie Albers was also in the lab.
"Explain to me why a 14-year old girl is here in an experimental laboratory?" asked Jeremy in an aggrieved tone.
"First of all, I'm 15 now," said Sophie, "And if Heather is eventually going to reform and not be considered a mental patient, she someone who can keep her morality in check who won't be having a gun pointed at her."
"And Sophie volunteered to be my 'conscience' for the day," said Heather sarcastically.
"Still, a teenager can't be just sitting around in a laboratory to make sure a certain lizard doesn't misbehave," said Jeremy.
"I am going to try and help out with the project," said Sophie, "I have a bit of a vested interest in this."
"Do you even know anything about biology or genetic engineering. Or even paleontology?" asked Jeremy disbelievingly.
"Biology has always been my best class and I've been reading up all I can about genetic engineering ever since the original Outbreak," said Sophie, "I've also been studying paleontology since Costa Rica."
"I suppose I don't have a say in the matter anyways," grumbled Jeremy, "So what is your 'vested interest' in this project, as if I couldn't guess. Do you intend to make yourself a beast like Heather?" Heather growled a bit at that.
"Actually, I've been thinking about pterodactyls," said Sophie.
"Pterodactyls?" asked Jeremy skeptically.
"Well, maybe not Pterodactylus specifically, but there are many different kinds of pterosaurs," said Sophie.
Jeremy rolled his eyes and said, "Oh Lord, don't tell me you're going to be one of those."
"I'm sorry?" asked Sophie.
"You're one of those people who don't really care about biological accuracy as a dinosaur just 'looks cool'," said Jeremy, "You can already see the results of such thinking with Heather."
"I wasn't deliberately trying to make a chimera of myself," said Heather in an annoyed tone, "For all I knew, the DNA I got off those bones wouldn't have been enough to react with the virus so I put some of each to make sure at least one of them worked."
"And you didn't stop to think that the various DNA strands would have gone into conflict inside your body and destroy you from the inside out," sneered Jeremy.
"And we're here to find out why that didn't happen," interrupted Sophie.
"So you can change yourself into an inaccurate abomination created by modern media," said Jeremy, "I know the kind of creature you're trying to become: long crest and tooth-filled beak, long tail, scaly skin, bat wings, opposable feet for snatching up prey."
"I've done enough research into pterosaurs to know what they were supposed to look like," said Sophie, "I know which traits are exclusive to particular species and which aren't present in any at all."
"She might have to settle for an amalgam look anyways," said Heather. She wouldn't normally side with Sophie, but Jeremy has been riding up her nerves with his insults. "It's possible that fossilized DNA is so broken-down that it requires different specimens to complete a DNA strand. Besides, there are a couple of pterosaurs that aren't that far from depictions, like Ludodactylus for example."
"Whatever. Let's figure out how you accomplished your affront to nature and be done with it," said Jeremy before turning back to his computer.
"Don't mind him. He's just cranky because he's being forced to work here and not wasting time on his fool's effort," said Heather.
"My work is not a waste of time!" snapped Jeremy.
"What work?" asked Sophie.
"That's none of your business!" snapped Jeremy.
"He's been trying to find a way to undo the animal transformation caused the Animalian Virus," said Heather.
"How would you know that?" snapped Jeremy.
"You're not nearly as opaque as you think you are," said Heather, "Actually, you're so transparent that I'm surprised it took them this long to find out what you've done."
"Very astute observation from a savage beast," sneered Jeremy.
"I am not savage!" protested Heather.
"You were planning on eating intelligent beings. That seems to qualify as savage to me," said Jeremy.
Heather snarled and bared her teeth. "Only if you're considered intelligent enough," she growled.
"Hey, hey, hey!" yelled Sophie, "Animosity isn't going to get you two anywhere. You're going to have to work together so you'll need to stop antagonizing each other." The guards were proving her point by the way they were aiming their guns.
Heather grumbled and said, "Waste of time anyways. Besides, she's better off as a bear."
"Who?" asked Sophie.
"His sister, Polly. The polar bear you might have seen earlier," said Heather.
"Oh, huh, she looks a lot shorter than Marcy," said Sophie.
"That's because she's only seven!" snapped Jeremy, "I might have stolen her humanity, but I won't steal her childhood too!"
"So you were trying to make her human again," said Sophie in understanding.
"Yes, I wanted to save her life, not doom her to be a freak!" snapped Jeremy, "A humanoid polar bear has no place in human society. How is she supposed to live her life when everyone thinks she's a monster?"
Sophie frowned and said, "Animalia exists so people like her have a place to belong. It might not be the normal of the human world, but no one is being considered a monster."
"Unlike me," grumbled Heather.
"It's because you went on a rampage," said Sophie, "What makes a monster isn't how they look, but how they act. And I think Polly is a lot happier as a bear than you're giving her credit for."
"She's only seven. She doesn't know how limited her future is now," said Jeremy.
"And I think you don't realize how much she has to live for. Animalia is small, but it's going to grow. By the time she's grown up, I don't think Polly's world will be as narrow as you'll think it will be," said Sophie.
There was a long pause before Heather asked, "Was that saccharine enough to make you want to gag too?"
"For once, you're almost agreeable," said Jeremy before turning to Sophie, "The world isn't a place of ideals, but of truths. And the truth is a lot less pleasant than you're leading yourself to believe."
"Ideals can become truths," said Sophie. Project Dinotopia was going to have a rocky start, especially with Jeremy and Heather's mutual hostility, but Sophie hoped she'd able to see good come from it.