The idea of using the Animalian virus to devolve birds into Dintopians arose from Sophie's desire to have her parrot JC become a Dinotopian like she was planning to. Of course, the big difference was that Sophie was wanting to become a Pterodactyl, which despite what some people may assume, birds did not evolve from. Instead, birds evolved from the theropod families of dinosaurs. It was already known that the Animalian virus can blend together the DNA of similar creatures, so the question became whether it was possible for animals to be converted into Animalian versions of their extinct relatives.
The project took a while to get started, and not just because of the unusually-late winter. Asides from tailoring the Dinotopian variant of the virus to merge bird DNA with fossilized dinosaur samples, there was a bit of debate as to what to call the project. Some were proposing to call it Project Niwrad after a reversed spelling of the man who developed the theory of evolution. Others were suggesting Project Cockatrice because of the goal to blend avian and reptilian characteristics. Eventually it was decided to call it Project Newrad, not just because the project was new and radical, but it was also an anagram for the name of Charles Darwin's great-descendant, Andrew, who was still cataloguing the species found at Mieni Atoll.
The first test was a simple one of converting a common bird (in this case, a chicken) into a dinosaur. Of course, the scientists weren't foolhardy as to attempt to change the chicken into a T. rex or a Deinonychus, especially since they weren't sure if the first dose would change the bird into a humanoid, sapient version of a dinosaur or a feral one. So the chicken was being spliced with the DNA of a smaller dinosaur, Compsognathus. Its smaller size means it wouldn't like cause any damage if it started out feral, though a guard with a tranquilizer rifle was present in case things got out of control.
Rex Ramos was in the observation room as another scientist brought the chicken, specifically a Brown Longhorn rooster, into the testing area. Rex wanted to be in the same room to watch the test, but the rooster would be scared to death by such a larger predator. And Rex couldn't deny he felt the urge to snap up the chicken. Gerry and Sal were also watching with him. "So, Compsognathus is harmless, right?" asked Gerry, "I recall that dinosaur taking down and eating someone in Jurassic Park II."
"That was a pack of Compsognathus," said Rex pointedly, "As with modern social hunters, they're at their deadliest when there's a group of them. A single Compsognathus is nothing to be worried about. Anyways, they more likely preferred insects and smaller reptiles to anything bigger than them."
"Well, one thing's for certain," said Sal, "If this works, we're going to be getting some angry letters from creationists."
Rex gave an annoyed sigh and said, "I wouldn't even mind creationists if they actually had scientific facts or concrete evidence to support their theory."
But before the conversation could continue, it was time for the actual experiment to begin. The scientist in the testing room injected the rooster with the tailored serum before quickly leaving. The rooster didn't appear to notice a difference, asides from pecking at the point where it was injected. But then, it started making spasms. It let out several squawks that showed that it was feeling much discomfort. But they weren't loud enough to mask the sound of bones crunching and popping coming from its body. It looked like it was trying to run or jump, but it was obviously have trouble coordinating its changing and growing body.
As the rooster grew, saurian features became more evident. The legs were becoming longer and scalier. The longer feathers, particularly on the wings and tail, were falling out, leaving the shorter feathers. As the tail feathers molted off, the tail could be seen stretching out. It thrashed with more energy as it extended into a lizard-like appendage. The wings were losing most of their feathers, leaving the stubs at the end exposed. The wingtips shook as the front limbs grew longer. Eventually, a trio of nubs appeared on the wingtips which grew increasingly larger. By the time claws actually appeared, it was clear they were becoming three-fingered hands.
It was the beak that was the hardest to watch. The short beak was forced to grow larger to keep up with the changing body, but it was clear that the cartilage covering it wasn't growing with it. Cracks appeared across the beak, with some blood seeping through. The cracks grew large enough to see that there was flesh underneath it, though very pink and soft. Eventually, pieces of the beak started falling off, leaving the snout that was growing more into a saurian shape as the skin on it grew scalier. As its avian squawks became more like reptilian screeches, it was easy to see that sharp teeth were working their way out of its new gums.
During the transformation, it was easy to not notice the former rooster becoming more humanoid. But it was definitely present, the growing body becoming larger than a Compsognathus would be, the torso bulking up as the shoulders grew wider. The former wings were now arms that possessed dexterous, three-fingered hands. Eventually, it became clear that the transformation was over and the new Compsognathus Animalian stood to his full height. He wasn't very tall, looking to be 4'6". The Compsognathus was looking at his new hands and asked in a slightly screechy voice, "What am I?"
Gerry spoke into the intercom, "You are now an Animalian, an uplifted animal gifted with human intelligence and understanding. But you aren't the only animal who's been changed."
"But I'm not a rooster," said the Compsognathus, "I'm not even a bird."
"That is because you've been given DNA from dinosaur fossils. You're the newest member in a growing community of Dinotopians," said Sal.
The Compsognathus lifted up his head in interest. 'There are more?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm a Dinotopian myself," said Rex, "And we can show you what the rest of them are like."
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While the rooster had been successfully transformed into a Compsognathus Animalian, there were a couple of noticeable remnants of his poultry physiology. The biggest example was that his plumage resembled that of a Brown Leghorn, even if they weren't quite as long. He also retained the spurs on his legs, which looked a bit more intimidating on dinosaur legs. And most notably, he still had his comb and wattle, though they were relatively small on his large head. The reason for this leftover features as well as his shorter size were thought to be because he was converting from bird to dinosaur more than being uplifted, leaving not much room for human DNA to blend in.
Despite the somewhat-excruciating change, the Compsognathus was adapting to his new lot in life pretty well. He decided to name himself Compy Cockatrice. His new surname was because of the more rejected of the proposed names for the project as well as that he did resemble a cockatrice quite a bit. He was enjoying the privileges his new uplifted status gave him as well as being the official mascot for Project Newrad. And with Compy's success, the way was paved for other tests. Next was a magpie that will be transformed into an Archaeopteryx.