Being a teacher, this was by far the most concerning thing Ryland Grace had ever seen happen to a child.

You were, what? Thirteen? Fourteen? And here you were, standing right alongside him in the laboratory level of the spacecraft the two of you had woken up on just a week ago. Getting his memories back had been slow, but effective as time past since the two of you first woke up from the medically induced comas. Sent lightyears out into space to observe the radioactive arch of organisms- Astrophages- that were taking energy from the sun. It was only a matter of time before the sun lost too much energy and plunged the Earth into an eternal ice age. Famine, hypothermia... all life would cease to exist.

You were a genius, despite how young you were. That much was obvious. Ryland suspected autism, though you hadn't told him outright about a diagnosis. But no child of your age could be so intelligent without being a little... different. Ryland worked with kids your age- he knew how vital this time of life could be. And you were spending these important years on a spacecraft in dead space, far away from Earth, tasked with helping to save the world?! It was horrifying and Ryland hated the thought of it.

The two of you were studying a sample of the Astrophages now, testing ways to kill them without disturbing the planet- where the Atrophages were hovering in it's gravity. But he couldn't focus on the microscope- you were squirming. Something was wrong, that much was obvious, and it pulled at his heart strings. He loved kids, and seeing one in your position made his heart break. He had to take care of you, protect you... it was in his nature.

"Hey," He said softly, smiling across the metal table at you. The ship was built in three layers- the dormitories, the lab, and the control room. The two of you were in the lab now. "Are you okay? Want to take a break? I bet your brain is on fire."