Apparently the idea didn't leave me so I just had to continue.
The earth was never going to be big enough for you.
We knew from the moment you opened your eyes. There was intelligence there, a promise to do things that I myself could only dream of. You made good on that promise, even from a young age. You might have been the younger brother and you might have looked up to Scott, but you never truly needed him in some of the ways a younger should. You never needed his help with your homework; you never had to ask what a word meant. Part of him might have resented that if it wasn't obvious that he was as proud of you as we – your mother and I – were.
How could we be anything but? You never misbehaved. Or, at least, when you did, you managed it with such an innocent smile on your face that our hearts melted. We always let you get away with things. It was easier than admitting we had no idea how you had managed to achieve them in the first place. It did make buying toys for you hard, however, for you simply could handle everything we offered, nothing was ever enough of a challenge. Scott's planes distracted you for so long, but then you realised they simply didn't go high enough for where it was you were aiming. The sky wasn't your limit; it was just another barrier for you to overcome. I never doubted you would manage it though.
I worried about you as you grew up. You kept yourself to yourself; never trying to join in the others in their games but curling up with a book by yourself. People commented on how isolated you seemed, but I knew you were happy. There was always a sparkle in your eye. Others couldn't see it, maybe not even Scott. But I could. I knew you were content, and should you have wanted to join in, you would have done. Nothing was going to stop you when you had your mind set on things and there was nothing you could not do.
Little did I know how crucial your need for space would be now. In the literal sense as well as you wanting to distance yourself from others. You might alternate with the rotation, but it is you that makes it work. You see things, hear things, understand things that wouldn't even cross our minds. You are the only one who can truly sit back and simply talk through a rescue, regardless of the situation. I struggle enough sitting here watching them fly off, but at least I know they are on the same planet and it's not impossible for me to get to them. How you stay up there, I don't know. I'll never know. In a way, I guess it is the same way I'll never know truly how your mind works.
Taking on Brains was one of the best things I ever did. Not because of his ability to make my dream come true, but because of the companionship he offered you. You were the one to draw him from his shell by asking all the right questions. You finally had someone to learn from again, something I was afraid you had grown out of by the time you were thirteen. That childish sparkle was back in your eye as you were allowed to simply play with the technology being shipped over to us. I know the others thank Brains for his creations, but I see your signature all over them. Anywhere there is some sort of computer system, I just know you had your input in some way. For someone so isolated, you certainly liked to make sure you were involved and no one forgot your presence.
Even now, you make sure of that. The ease with which you communicate through the same system you helped design never ceases to amaze me. You look at home, up there among the stars. Did I do the right thing allowing you up there? No one can deny we miss you terribly and, despite your preference for quiet, you miss us too. But that sparkle is still in your eye and you know you are where you belong. As long as you know that in your heart, then I can ask for no more.
I don't believe you know quite the impact you have on us here. You don't realise it is your calm voice that gets us through every rescue. You never panic, you never show your emotions until you know they can do no harm. Instead, you step back, you take a look at the bigger picture and always have a word or two to guide your brothers. Scott may be their protection out there, but you are his eyes and ears. He counts on you more than you know, more than he would ever want to admit. He wouldn't want to talk about the burden he feels like he places on his little brother, but he is wrong. You can handle it, you are strong. You are far stronger than most people see; a hidden strength that is portrayed through the confident set of your shoulders.
I thought I was asking you to give up your dream when you heard about what I was planning to do. I only had to see your face when you started looking over the designs and jotting down notes to know that I was wrong. This wasn't giving up your dream; this was allowing you to live it. For the first time, you wouldn't have the restraints someone was trying to put on your, no higher authority to answer to other than your own conscience. Since your first shift up in space, that sparkle hasn't left your eyes. Worry sometimes clouds it and fear dampens it, but nothing can ever truly extinguish it. It's as if you have found what you have been striving for your whole life, and I can only be grateful I helped you to find it.