Phase Two began with specimens of various ages – age being the most predictable determinate of outcome – followed by length of exposure to feral conditions. Specimens entering the experiment after the age of two had a higher likelihood of adopting a modicum of social acuity, although were never able to meet the same standards of a child habituated from birth. Speech was limited to a few basic commands. Toilet use was widely rejected. Genuine affection for other humans was never fully attained, although some specimens learned to display affectionate behavior in order to obtain certain rewards. Specimens’ eyes remained distant and incapable of expressing emotion beyond anger and fear, except for an unsettling sadness that was reported among children removed from society at an older age, as though longing for something faintly remembered. The longer specimens were removed from society, the less favorable were even these most modest of outcomes.

Specimens entering the experiment before the age of two were almost universally incapable of adopting any human acuity if left exposed for a year or longer. Some physiological adaptations were noted in the specimen depending on age, length of exposure, and animal habituation. Specimens often displayed darker, thicker skin, coarser hair, sharper teeth, and hooked claws. Vocal adaptations occurred, allowing for vocalizations mimicking the species of animal to which the specimens were exposed. Gut fauna evolved to accommodate diets endemic to their familial species, and inoculate the specimen against harmful micro-organisms ingested while consuming raw meat, insects, untreated water, fecal matter, and soil. Visual and olfactory capacities were often supremely enhanced.

Specimens deprived of human interaction during formative years adopted the primal characteristics of their familial herd, and were incapable of later integrating with human society. Yet, unlike the homunculus, these specimens were impressionable and established a habitual construct based on the nature of stimuli to which they were exposed. Explained plainly, feral children disproved the argument for innate human instincts, while displaying the unique capacity to take on the operating system of the species to which they were exposed during the developmental window following infancy.

Recruitment tactics for Phase Two are classified. The funding of Phase Two is classified. All field data from Phase Two is classified. The status of specimens following the conclusion of Phase Two experimentation is classified.

The nature of personality has long eluded scientific inquiry. A soul has never been measured or observed. Genetically identical twins present a compelling case for an individualized personality separate from genetic sequencing and environmental influence, presenting polarities as early as seven months even within the same controlled environment. Based on this evidence, Professor O formed the hypothesis that the origination of personality – or soul, to use a more esoteric term – must not be predicated on biological imperatives.