Horizon had long found that the benefits of the Animalia Virus had a habit of making conversion an attractive option, even for those that weren't furries or those interested in becoming anthropomorphic animals. The fact that it could allow for people to recover from disease or severe injury made it an attractive option. It was partially what made things like Project Phoenix fairly attractive for people who would accept gaining various features of animals if it would mean being able to walk again, having diseases that couldn't be otherwise treated cured, or overcoming some miss-formed figure as a result of something in their genetics. It was also something that had many at Horizon also looking for a way to get the Animalia Virus to work with Human DNA, which would then help those that wanted the health options that the Animalia Virus presented but not the animal features.
But the Human strain for the Animalia Virus was still in development and testing in trying to figure out why the Animalia Virus without animal DNA didn't affect Humans. Until that could be figured out, the standard Animalian conversions continued and lead to a fairly large number of requests that fit within those wanting to come in for more health and this wasn't just something that came from major injuries. Some were essentially like Lena Lizarre, aka Lizzie, who were overweight for one reason or another. For some it was just a result overeating and an inactive lifestyle. Some of it was the result of some glandular or hormonal problem that prevented them shedding weight easily. All of it presented complications for other conditions. It could make things like diabetes worse and could contribute other health issues that many didn't want.
Thus, Doctor Stein could see that as he looked over the applications for conversion that came across his desk. These applications included a standard form that informed Horizon on the statistics of the person applying for conversion along with the specific Animalian they wanted to become. There were also sections on the form that would include stated reasons for conversion. This part of the form wasn't long, but it was something that gave Horizon an idea on what to expect. Was the person applying doing so for love or to recover from injury? Were they just someone wanted to gain the curves or musculature of an Animalian? Was it because they wanted gain animal features that was something that many furries wanted? Or was there some other health reason for this? Many of them of late seemed to list health reasons related to obesity and weight as the reason for the conversion, which he noted as being similar to what had been reported on Lena/Lizzie.
"You ready for lunch, Doctor Stein?" came a female voice from the doorway.
Doctor Stein looked up to see Judy standing in the open doorway. He gave a small and friendly smile to her as he set the stack of papers down and then stood up. Judy had no formal degree, which actually counted for a good many of the Animalians like her that had been uplifted in the original outbreak, but because her burrow was actually on the Horizon grounds, she'd been able to listen on discussions that other Horizon scientists had had before Animalia. She'd likely heard him and Jeremy discussing various projects while on their own breaks outside, back when Jeremy was still Human, and Animalia wasn't seen as likely to come. It was something that was very remarkable on how quickly and completely Judy had grasped things after her uplifting. It then made for a good working relationship and he and his wife had often been more than happy to treat Judy like a family friend as well.
"Yes," Doctor Stein nodded as he stood up, "not too many people coming in for conversion today, so I was going over the list of conversion requests."
"I've got a fair number of them too," Judy nodded in agreement, "and a fair number of them seem to be looking to gain control over their weight issues."
Doctor Stein nodded at that, "those sorts of things happen... and given that Animalians tend to have very healthy bodies, conversion is a quick and easy way to get in shape."
"Yes," Judy nodded, "though it leaves me with my own questions on human behavior. Handling weight issues shouldn't be too hard with even some basic exercise. Walking, aerobics, and so on. Why are so many people wanting to convert just to be healthy? It is not as though they couldn't be healthy without conversion."
"Some of it may be time," Doctor Stein walked along as the two of them made their way through the parts of Horizon Labs that were for the staff only, "or how they perceive it. The conversion is then something that can be done quickly and, in a sense, helps them make up for lost time or different priorities."
"But many have often made time after conversion to stay in shape," Judy answered, "I know Animalians enjoy being active... but I can't believe it's purely an instinctive sort of thing. I mean... my exercise is predominantly a good brisk walk from my apartment to here. It's not like I'm going to the Claw Coliseum every day to work out."
"True... but I really can't say on what that full decision would be as to why some don't make the time," Doctor Stein sighed, "nor can I say why many of those that convert to lose weight then make time AFTER the conversion to work out. It's just one of those things that inspires change. My best guess is that there wasn't a lot of thought on health when they started out and they just gained wait and then found themselves out of shape before they knew it and were horrified. Conversion was then a quick way to lose that unwanted weight and they use the experience of having put on the weight as motivation to exercise after their conversion, so they don't put the weight back on. I really can't say more than that."
Judy nodded as they came into the breakroom. Doctor Stein moved to a refrigerator that was along the wall where their lunches were being stored.
"And there are some that simply have trouble losing weight," Doctor Stein then continued, "they do make time to exercise but can't lose the weight. Be it something in their body chemistry or something else... and that is something we cannot predict."
"Of course," Judy agreed, "and I hope that many of them are ultimately happy when they become Animalians."
"They generally are when the conversion is over," Doctor Stein gave a chuckle, "and more than willing to go through with it. It's why they put up with so many of the hoops that must be used."
Judy understood that. For those applying to become Animalians had to fill out some papers that essentially served as a sort of essay that would demonstrate that the person wishing to convert understood the base instincts that the Animalian they would become had in its unuplifted state. A lot of this was pretty basic at first but became more stringent after Heather's rampage during Animalia's second year. That had shown that while Animalians weren't necessarily controlled by baser instincts, they could be overpowered by them if unprepared. Those becoming predatory animals might find themselves more aggressive to hunt and chase and herbivorous animals might become either more easily panicked or more aggressive to either drive hunters off or force the sort of breeding fights that were there. Things had done well since Heather's rampage and rehabilitation, but there were times when those issues were there. Judy and Doctor Stein both figured that one incident from the past summer highlighted that where a new White Rhino Animalian ran into Elly Nozdrin and got aggressive because Elly was of Russian ancestry. That hadn't gone too bad, but still showed that people needed to be prepared for the transformation and the instincts that could come with it.
"I can see that," Judy answered, "one of the requests even included citations for the information on the animal's instincts. Showing a lot of focus."
"And scholarship," Doctor Stein commented, "citations would only be used if one is presenting information that they feel they wouldn't be considered an expert on, or information that isn't common knowledge."
"Interesting," Judy replied as Doctor Stein handed her the paper bag that had her lunch in it. "When do you think they'll arrive for conversion? Every one that's been on the ones I've looked over is from outside Lyre/Animalia... and many outside of Nevada."
"Over the coming days," Doctor Stein answered, "and thankfully we are fully stocked on what will be needed for the conversions."