2. John – Conditional
There are many conditions that are placed upon a person living in space. The first one, of course, is don't open any windows. That is obvious.
Beyond that, though, there are conditions for everything. What you eat, what you drink, how and where you sleep. Bathroom routines, repair schedules, supply runs… It goes on and on. The conditional nature of space-dwelling is part of the reason that John does it and Alan does not. The youngest brother is more intelligent than any of the others had been at seventeen. He runs the gamut from genius to idiot – because intelligent as he might be, he is not sensible. This is no criticism. What seventeen year old is sensible? Apart from John at that age, that is.
Alan is not sensible. Alan goes surfing in space for fun. The only condition for him surviving a life in space is to not live in space. Visiting is okay. Living is not. These are facts.
John lives on Five because none of the rest of them can. One of the conditions for Scott's life is knife-edge adrenaline. Space is not the place for adrenaline junkies. A major condition for Virgil is that he needs music and painting to be happy. There isn't much space for a baby grand on Five, and tubes of paint or chalk dust would cause havoc. John shudders at the thought, then moves on. Gordon, water baby that he is, needs the ocean to survive. He requires at least two hours of submersion every day or else he starts twitching and grumbling. Space does not meet his conditions.
For John? Space is his condition. He enjoys the solitude. He enjoys the distance. He enjoys the routine.
Rules are conditional to space survival. John Tracy is fine with that.