Sometimes preparing early for things causes problems. But in Animalia's case, it was more prudent to be ready for the infamous Spring Break ahead of time, since it was considered one of Animalia's busier times, apart from the biannual IAC. Of course, Animalia as a whole wasn't completely separated from global events, as the newest trends were showing.
The biggest trend were the Ukranians immigrating to Animalia as refugees, but these were followed closely by Russians, though why was a bit confusing, at first. As it turned out, Russians and Russian-Americans were being targeted by people who were stupid, crazy, paranoid, or all three at once, since they were being accused of spying. While Ellie and her family were helping out with the incoming Russians, the Rhino guard was becoming a bit more active, both to keep things under control, and to keep a close eye on the Animalia Virus, both its doses and its schematics. One really surprising incident was that there was an uptick of hacking attempts to gain access to the Virus, but Horizon came up with a really novel solution. They started hiring current and ex-hackers to help manage their cybersecurity, even allowing them to dress up as characters from The Matrix.
---
"Third Place", so to speak, were the number of Asians and Asian-Americans, since there were still those who still accused China of "deliberately engineering Covid", no matter what fact-checkers and internet detectives said. Fortunately, Animalia and its colonies weren't part of that, and the number of new businesses and careers in Lyre/Animalia were now skyrocketing.
---
Miles was reviewing what he was supposed to expect for his trip to Australia to cover both colonies there. The biggest thing he was preparing for was the, technically, cooler weather. Because of the way time and climate works around the world, Australia would be moving from Summer to Fall since Lyre/Animalia was moving from Winter to Spring. Another thing he was preparing for was the severe jet lag he'd been experiencing once he got there.
---
Finally, the biggest thing Animalia was being prepared for was the guaranteed influx of high school and college students coming to Animalia and its colonies, with the pandemic confirmed as nearing its end. While the increased numbers were expected, APD units were to be on high alert because of the possibilities of people bringing drugs with them, whether legal or not.