With school finals still going on, there wasn't too much excitement going on, mainly because the 2021 IAC was going to be starting after finals had finished up. However, there were still after-school training courses for those high school students that had registered to compete in the sporting events. There were still some things going on that weren't tied to school or the IAC.
---
"So why are we doing a coral snake for uplifting?" asked one Horizon scientist, looking at a female coral snake in the terrarium it had arrived in.
"Partly because of their danger to humans," said his coworker, "and partly because we'd like to see how a dangerous animal who becomes an Animalian reacts to an Animalian who's mimicking their colors and/or markings."
"We should make sure that the APD are present in case the coral snake becomes aggressive towards Madame Matryoshka." said the first scientist.
"Coral snakes aren't naturally aggressive, but I see your point." said the second, making the appropriate notes.
---
The PR-MD, meanwhile was dealing with the latest immigration trend, which had been occurring since the beginning of the Pandemic in America.
"Enlighten me," said one Agent, "Why are Asians and Asian-Americans applying to Animalia in such large numbers by now?"
"Because of the myths and misconceptions about Covid." said her coworker. "One of which claims that Covid had been created in a Chinese laboratory as a biological weapon. Because of that, hate crimes against Asians have been rising at a steady rate since then."
"I get your point." said a third agent, "Only now it seems like we've gone back to the second half of the 19th century, when xenophobia was blaming Chinese people for all kinds of things even though they built over 90% of the West Coast's infrastructure."
"On the bright side," said the first, "at least Animalia can have its own 'Chinatown' to compete with San Francisco's and New York's."
"There is that." said the second agent.
---
Meanwhile, Juliet Renard-Argenté was waiting at the airport for the first group of Adult Entertainment stars that were going to undergo conversion for her own colony. While she still was opposed to the idea of her girls stripping, she wasn't as vehemently opposed to the idea as she was before. While her government were still planning on having a casino and strip club as part of their colony, they agreed to not convert several rooms in her family's mansion to do so.
Miss Fabina was accompanying her for a little while, mainly to meet the "new girls" before she went back to oversee Tani, Date, and Naya's conversions, mainly because of her initial observations on meeting them. When they met at the Lyre/Animalia International Airport, Miss Fabina had told Juliet that she had "potential" but that she didn't have to strip on stage if she didn't want to. This was surprising, but also a relief for Juliet, fearing she had tarnished her reputation with what she did that day.