Rex Ramos had been enjoying the Spring Festival with Tyra. He was thankfully glad he wasn't dragged into wearing a king costume, even if he was a Tyrannosaurus rex. Though that didn't stop Tyra from dressing in a tavern wench costume that seemed to be rather popular at this fair. And he'd be a liar if he said he didn't like the way Tyra's corset squeezed her waist and really emphasized her bust.
Rex and Tyra were heading to where there were pigs being roasted on spits. (Understandably, this was a place where pig Animalians steered clear away from.) But before they got there, Rex felt his phone vibrate. Checking it, he saw it was Horizon Labs calling. "Excuse me, Tyra. I gotta take this," said Rex.
"Ok, I'll get you a leg," said Tyra before heading on.
Answering the phone, Rex asked, "Yes, what is it?"
"Mr. Ramos? Hi, this is Gerry," said a voice on the phone.
Rex recognized Gerry, one of the people who was working on the de-extinction projects. "Hey, Gerry. What's up?" asked Rex.
"Well, you know that pet project you wanted us to work on? The one where we're going to try and turn that girl's parrot into a Dinotopian?" asked Gerry.
"I'm not as deeply familiar with it as Jeremy is, but I'm aware of it," said Rex. Even though he had been spending a lot of time with Tyra, Heather, and Jeremy, he didn't interact with Sophie as often. That'll probably change later as the time for her conversion draws near.
"Well, we've made some major progress," said another voice that Rex recognized as Sal, "As such, we're ready to give it an official title: Project Niwrad."
"I thought we agreed on Project Cockatrice," said Gerry.
"I think we can name it after something better than a mythical venomous monster," said Sal.
"The cockatrice is a combination of avian and reptilian features, which reflects us our attempt to revert birds back into dinosaurs very well," said Gerry, "You have to admit that cockatrices looked a lot like dromaeosaurs. Their fossils could have inspired the legend of the cockatrice."
"Yes, I'm sure people will put faith in a project named after a petrifying monster," said Sal sarcastically.
"Well, it certainly has more imagination than 'Niwrad'. That's just 'Darwin' spelled backwards," said Gerry.
"Precisely," said Sal, "Darwin developed the theory of evolution and since we're trying to reverse evolution, it would make sense to use his reversed name. After all, we're likely to try this on other endeavors than just turning birds into dinosaurs."
Rex pinched the bridge of his nose with exasperation. "Please tell me you two didn't call me just so you can argue about what to name the project,"he said with an annoyed growl. And a growl of any kind from a T. Rex demanded immediate answer.
"Er, right. What we were trying to say before we got off-track was that we're finalizing the steps for the project," said Gerry.
"The hybridizing formula is just about finished, according to simulations. Though we still need to go through some test subjects before we can change the parrot," said Sal, "We are planning to start with something simple. Like turning a chicken into a-"
"Please tell me you aren't going to change it into a T. Rex," said Rex.
"No, Tyrannosaurus is not as closely related to modern birds as popular culture would lead us to believe," said Sal.
"Good, glad we're on the same page," said Rex.
"I was actually going to say Compsognathus," said Sal.
"I think that's an appropriate start," said Rex. Since the modified virus would be binding dinosaur DNA to the test birds, it wasn't clear if the end result would anthropomorphic or sapient. A dose from the normal Animalian virus would fix that, but there was no sense in risking recreating dangerous predators like Dilophosaurus or Utahraptor before they could be uplifted.
"Of course, that's only step one," said Gerry, "Since both chickens and Compsognathus are flightless, the next step would be blending flight-capable species. In this instance, a crow with Archaeopteryx."
"Good, after that, we could work on JC," said Rex.
"Actually, we've got another bird we could test before JC," said Sal.
"Yes, there's a family who wants to donate a grey parrot to Project Phoenix," said Gerry, "This parrot, Pauline, has apparently been the pet of the family's grandmother for about 30 years before the grandmother passed away. None of the family are capable of taking care of Pauline and they don't want to give her to another family. So they've given her to us for uplifting."
"Well, I'm sure JC will find her interesting, one way or another," said Rex, "Are you ready to actually start the experimenting."
"Almost," said Sal, "Very soon. We'll let everyone know when we're ready to start on the chicken.
"Good. Now if you'll excuse me, my lunch is waiting," said Rex before he hanged up.
He went on to where Tyra was waiting for him. There was a well-cooked pig's leg waiting for him on a plate. "What took you so long?" asked Tyra, nibbling on her own leg.
"Just stuff from work," said Rex as he sat down.
"Anything interesting?" asked Tyra.
"Oh, you'll see before long," said Rex before he tucked into his pork.