Ling ultimately emerged from the transformation lab room that she had been lead into in what was rather odd attire to her. It wasn't outlandish or skimpy, as it was a fairly modest tee-shirt that covered her brown fur covered bosom and went down below her waist with a pair of blue jeans that did fit her waist. She was thankful to the American Humans that brought them to her, as it would at least provide her with some modesty, but it was still attire that she wasn't super familiar with, as the people on the farm where she'd lived didn't dress like that. She came out to find Hyun and his escort and bodyguard waiting for her, along with the Human scientist that had welcomed them when they brought her to Horizon.
"Hello, Mr. Hyun," Ling said slowly in Korean and noting that the unknown Human barely recognized that, and guessed that the man didn't know Korean. That might make things more difficult as she didn't know English. She knew of the language, and a part of her was perplexed as to how she knew of the language, but that didn't mean that she knew the language. "I trust I am fitting to you?"
"She is well built, sir," the North Korean soldier said to Hyun, though Ling didn't know his name, and which drew a scowl from Hyun to him.
And that Ling fully understood. It was flattering to be found attractive, even if it was by someone without tusks, but a part of her was also a bit insecure on things. As this place, while it wasn't too different with regard to its temperature, it was very different in its sights and smells. She vaguely remembered seeing other beings like her, Animalians, on the way in and at Horizon. They were all of a wide variety of species and some of which were predatory, or at least from what Ling's instincts told her was predatory. There were some that she couldn't quite determine what they were, as she'd never smelled anything like them before. Parts of the scent seemed reptilian but also avian at the same time in a odd way. All of that presently left her a bit puzzled with things to be really concerned on matters related to sex or anything like that.
"You'll do well, Ling," Hyun answered in Korean, "You are the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's first Animalian, and through you, our great leader will advance the work of the Nation."
"Of course," Ling answered with a nod.
She'd been raised on a specially built farm for the purposes for North Korea's planned Animalia program. She didn't know all the ins and outs of the project, but she knew the farm was run by Kim Jung-Un loyalists to suit his purposes and needs. And as such, Ling really didn't know much more than that, and in some ways she didn't care beyond that. In theory, if everyone got along, no one would have trouble. She had no great desire to make war on anyone, but neither did she have any great desire to overthrow her country's leader. However, she also knew she wasn't on that farm anymore, which begged the question of where she was. She'd tried to ask the Human that had brought her clothes to her, but that Human didn't know Korean.
"Though at present, you will have to go through what Doctor Stein," Hyun began and then gestured to the scientist standing beside Hyun and drawing Ling's attention, "calls "Acclimation Classes." Which means we may be here for awhile."
"You should have hotel rooms, correct?" Doctor Stein asked to Hyun, noting that both Hyun and Ling had spoke in Korean, which he didn't understand
"In Lyre, yes," Hyun nodded, "though we didn't expect to stay as long as these classes will take."
"Understandable," Doctor Stein gave a nod, "though it will also mean that Ling will need to be vaccinated as well."
"Vaccinated?" Hyun asked.
"Yes, the Animalia Virus is a virus and is easily transmittable to others," Doctor Stein nodded, though he suspected that Hyun probably already knew that and that was the real purpose for Ling's uplifting.
The original outbreak had made it to nearly every news network, and even those that got word about Animalia second had got more direct contact eventually. Lyre had been fortunate that the worst the Animalia Virus caused was short term chaos with all that had happened. For as while Animalians had proven to be good neighbors and Doctor Stein was happy that some like Judy had proved to be as smart as they were, that didn't mean there weren't issues that wouldn't be problematic. Large size was one thing. Animalians that were based on modern megafauna or moderately sized sea creatures were easily larger than humans and had greater physical needs.
The Dinotopians had this even worse. Jeremy Green was so far the only Horizon employee to become a Dinotopian, but Rex had been working with Miko as part of Horizon's acclimation programs and an arrangement with a natural history museum in Japan for Miko to work in. Doctor Stein had noted that all three had to duck down and hunch over to go through doorways, and they weren't even the tallest Dinotopians. Andrew and Jen towered over them easily in terms of height. Creating space where they could live and work was not easy, and was partially why the Dinotopians had then own colony city being built near Glen Rose, Texas. Building things for them required things being built to scale and if any of the Dinotopian strains got out in an uncontrolled way and in an area that was densely populated, the short term "chaos" from the conversions would be very problematic and wouldn't be easily handled by everyone. Even Japan had found that building an apartment complex that would be of sufficient size for likely Animalian, and in Miko's case, Dinotopian, residents was slow going.
Now, thankfully, Ling wouldn't be able to spread any Dinotopian strain of the Animalia Virus. For when most animals were brought in to be uplifted, Horizon would use the standard and original strain of the Animalia Virus on hand. This would mean that Ling couldn't be used to uplift anyone into a Dinotopian, however, dinosaur sized animals did live in the modern world. True, all of them were sea creatures, and of them only the whales could be uplifted, as the rest that were comparable size were invertebrates. However, given the overall size of most large whales, the resulting Animalian would be huge. They might be able to function on land, as the Orca and Dolphin Animalians had grown legs when they were uplifted, but they would still be of great size and would be trapped in most buildings.
Whether or not North Korea had the capacity or willingness to start such chaos was an unknown at the present time, but it was something that Doctor Stein remained concerned on. The threat of the Animalia Virus used for ill purposes or modified to produce something quite different from what Horizon's own work with the Brown family and the US government in 2015-2016 that lead to Animalia. That was always on Doctor Stein's mind as something to worry about. Ling might bring about more positive change in North Korea, but at present there was no way to know how long that would take and whether or not men like Hyun or North Korea's leader could be trusted to be respectful and honest.
"It isn't like the common cold in that it's airborne," Doctor Stein spoke, "but things like sex, milk from the females, or even a blood transfusion could lead to the Animalia Virus being spread and converting those exposed to it. Under US law, Ling MUST be vaccinated so that she can't convert anyone who might not wish to be an Animalian."
"I see..." Hyun said slowly, "and the cost..."
"Has been covered, as per the arrangement between our respective Presidents," Doctor Stein answered.
Ling had watched this with some interest, though a lot of if flew over her head, mostly due to the language difference. She recognized that Doctor Stein spoke English, but about the only words she really recognized was "Animalia" and "Animalian." Some of that sat right with her as regard to what she was, an Animalian. However she stayed focused on Hyun as they got started. When Hyun turned to her, her ears perked to an alert posture.
"Before we can go to your "acclimation classes" as the people here in America call them, they will require a vaccination," Hyun spoke, returning to Korean, "as the virus used to uplift you would still be infectious."
"That would make sense, sir," Ling answered, "I do not wish to get anyone sick."
"Of course you don't," Hyun commented and then gestured for Doctor Stein to lead the way.
"If you'll come with me," Doctor Stein offered and then moved along.
Ling followed along looking to some of the photographs that were mounted along many of the walls, as well as other sights to see. There were no photos of the US President anywhere. In fact most of the photos that were hung on the walls were of nature scenes. Some were of mountain forests and slopes, some of deserts and plains, and some of dense swamps. Some of the rest were of photos of Horizon staff, including on that looked like a giant horned lizard with three toed feet, huge sharp teeth, and a long tail. Ling wasn't quite sure what it was, but it stood next to Doctor Stein and towered over the Human doctor. Ling gave a gulp at that picture and moved on. Occasionally someone came out of one of the other doors that were in the hallway, but many cleared a path as they approached, though Ling noted that they seemed fine with Doctor Stein but were more nervous with Hyun and his escort.
What followed was a lengthy day that included shots and following a bit a walking tour around some parts of Lyre and Animalia. This included registering for "strength control" classes at the Claw Coliseum, where Ling found herself nervously standing before a large Liger Animalian. Much of the last bits of the day included a visit with the Brown Farm where she met a Horse Animalian named Martin and his wife Josephine. They seemed friendly and didn't have the predatory vibe that the Liger Animalian did. He had tried to be polite and actually backed away from her and raising his hands to show that his claws weren't extended. The two Horse Animalians seemed more nervous of her than Ling would have thought, though she tried to assure them through Hyun that her tusks were not used for eating. She really didn't think her tusks would scare people that much, especially as while her tusks where long for deer, as a female they were still much smaller than those on MALE Korean Water Deer. Though, eventually things smoothed out a bit, though even then, it seemed like Martin Brown and his wife were suspicious of Hyun over something, though she couldn't imagine why. It actually made her wish she understood English as a language and thus could ask them directly.