I tried out the hotfix, and unfortunately I'm still having trouble with the quest. On my existing save file, I was still stuck waiting for Arthur to process the samples. I started a new one in case my file was just broken, and after progressing, I ran into the same issue. Oddly, when I initially turned in the samples, the quest log marked the processing and the conversation with Fern done, then reverted once I actually talked to her.
I also have nitpicks unrelated to the quest, it seems odd that sexual victories don't reduce your lust, and I remember there being a sex victory scene with the adult slimes, but I can't get it to trigger anymore.