Mr. Winters, in regard to your inquiry of the progress in Project Blackbird I give you the report sent to me from leading scientist Morina Lestir.

Dr. Howal, I regret to inform you that we have made little progress in Project Blackbird. Patients show improved hearing and eyesight as planned, but numerous unplanned side effects outweigh the patients’ improvements. The side effects we have noted so far are severe disorientation in exposure to sunlight, inability to speak, loss of coordination, reflexes slowed by 50%, bleeding from all orifices, slower saliva secretion, inability to swallow, and loss of limb control. The death toll has reached 23 and all bodies and evidence of their lives has been erased.
One of our more important matters is getting more test subjects. Currently, we mainly use former criminals, orphans, and volunteers. Those supplies are drying up rapidly. We are unable to release old patients for fear of them going to the authorities and mainly use them as staff. It is difficult to find patients that society will not miss or notice are gone. We have tried to get more volunteers, but it is extremely hard to get people to sign something without the subjects knowing the full extent of the trials they will be subjected to. It does not help that the government is mainly unaware of what we are doing here. There is always the option of taking homeless people off the streets, but I believe there may be better options. I will keep you updated on this situation as the project cannot continue without more test subjects.
There is also the concern of scientists leaking the true nature of the project. To this point in time we have had only one close call and the scientist responsible was neutralized before any important information could be told. To avoid any more slip ups, we have installed cyanide capsules in all personnel working on the project that can be activated remotely if someone were to begin to spill any classified information. We have also put anyone knowing classified information under surveillance. It is doubtful that any information will leak.
If you wish to speak over the phone, you are able to purchase a disposable phone and call the number Mr. Winters has on file for me. It would likely be best if you replied to this before you call as no unauthorized signal can come through without a security check. We keep you posted on any progress we have.
                                        Sincerly,        
Morina Lestir                      
   Leading scientist in Project Blackbird                 
Society of Innovation in Human Welfare                Texas Institute for Scientific Development
       Human Hybrid Department

As you can see, this report is problematic in our plans. If we hope to have demonstration ready for the Fourth of July, we need to have at least twelve patients with positive reactions to the genetic changes by the end of May. If Dr. Lestir is unable to meet that quota, it may be time to bring in another more qualified scientist. It is preferable that it is someone who is familiar with the previous trials and has worked on the project before. Another option is to provide Dr. Lestir with some incentive to succeed. One option for this choice is to have one family member participate in every trial she does until it is successful. Please tell me your opinions on this matter as soon as possible so that we can begin to follow your chosen course of action. As always, whatever you choose will be done precisely as you order.
       Your faithful servant,
             Jackson Neal
        Head of Human Hybrid Department
            Society of Innovation in Human Welfare
           Texas Institute for Scientific Development