The amorphous blob of off-white light that Tristeria had identified as a 'thing' shimmered and shifted, growing and shrinking as it sprouted and retracted arms, legs, and various other sensory or manipulatory appendages seemingly at random. Eventually, it returned to its ball shape, then became a hovering translucent brain that immediately began to sprout a transparent spinal cord and nerve threads. Over the ghostly nervous system came a skeleton, veins, layers of muscle tissue, and finally skin - a human body built layer-by-layer from the inside out to stabilize as a spindly, somewhat pasty man with a bulging, swollen cranium.<br/><br/><em>&lt;Excellent visual display variability. I can't wait to get a chance to test out the psychokinetic manipulation interface options, and to see how well my new algorithms for involuntary mental override protocols test out.&gt; </em>The 'voice' was vaguely male, but omnidirectional, coming from no particular place in the shuttle and certainly not from the see-through man's closed mouth.<br/><br/><em>&lt;You all selected phase-locked physical avatars, it looks like? I suppose they've got their uses, and it's certainly easier to adapt to a differently shaped body than dispense with one entirely. I'm Alaxos, but my standardized naming convention is Ax, so you can call me that if it's easier. A fascinating scenario we've gotten this time, don't you think?&gt;</em>