Nyx

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He was the only person in his lab, and he singlehandedly discovered how to breed astrophage, he outstubborns Stratt several times, he was a leading figure in the Petrova Taskforce, he did several tests with the EVA's before launch, he was consulted with on almost every aspect of the mission, he adapted so quickly even with almost no memories and was able to successfully complete the mission, he was able to translate an alien language and work with a species completely new to humanity, and thats not even mentioning all of the quick thinking and pattern recognition he displayed while they were still in the process of learning each others language, he taught the primary and backup scientists everything about astrophage, he was there when Antarctica was nuked.

You can read about it here: https://minds-africa.org/fabric-map-of-africa-the-art-of-storytelling/

So picture some years in the future when the xenonite suits are so safe that Grace's class can now take field trips into his biodome. Rocky's there because this is a big moment for everyone involved and also he just loves listening to Grace in his element. One of the more mischievous kids tries to sneak off from the group and there are plenty of chaperones but Grace is the first to notice.

His posture changes, goes focused but loose in a way Rocky's never seen before as he peels of from the crowd. Rocky just stands there, stunned, as he watches his sweet, gangly, goofy, clumsy blob of a friend turn into a hunter. Grace circles around the pebble, slightly crouched, head turned and honed in, arms loose to the sides, and maybe the little one notices and does that nervously excited giggle-squeal thing kids do when they're being chased and tries to get away, but Grace expertly corrals them. He doesn't even have to run for it, he just pens the kid in, lunges-

The thing is, for now, they’ve always mentioned that Ryland is seen as soft and "leaky/wet" by Rocky whenever other Eridians ask about him.

Plus, Ryland is openly clumsy, emotional, and seems to adore teaching and being gentle with children. Sure, they know he’s brave and terrifyingly intelligent—he didn’t achieve what he achieved for nothing.

But it’s when other Eridians ask about human evolution that they start to get a bit scared.

The fact that the human species developed ocular vision just to be able to navigate is quite something. Because, even if it's deficient by Eridian standards, apparently the environment and the human race needed something more than just sound and touch stimuli.

Whenever small rocks or pebbles found their way into the human habitat, Ryland seemed capable of "herding" them so they wouldn't wander too far. Also, on the rare occasions Ryland left his habitat in his suit to walk around Erid (a custom suit with special light generators so he could move and withstand the pressure), he seemed to move with a caution similar to that of a predator.

And another thing? His voice. Ugh.

His vocal cords were mediocre at best. But they could easily recognise the inflections of his emotions.

Ryland was incapable of speaking Eridian properly. He was highly limited. He always used his translator to avoid misunderstandings.

But bloody hell, they once saw him arguing with Rocky.

Rocky was practically cornered by the soft human. Ryland’s shouting and his sharp, biting tone only became more terrifying when they noticed how he was leaning over the other Eridian. And it was only because he’d been interrupted by the scientist that he noticed Ryland was practically in attack-and-hunt mode.

As if his body was instinctively ready to strike at the slightest right stimulus.

Only for him to completely relax and snap right back into that friendly tone the moment he noticed someone else’s presence.

And his reflexes? Terrifying. If his cup was about to fall? Or if one of his children had rushed too quickly up a mound?

While i like the general vibe that Eridians see humans (read Grace) as a inefficient leaky space blob, i would like to present a counterargument:

Humans are adaptable. And it kind of freaks eridians out.

Human bodies are squishy and inefficient with energy, but they are quick. Quick to adapt, quick to improvise. Just the whole concept of the hormonal system, the very chemistry of human body changing within seconds, adjusting to the crisis, pulling out reserves that should not be there... That is bonkers to Eridians.

Rocky would not be able to pull that stunt on Adrian, it had to be Grace. Because Grace has a body that can perform EVA, he has a body that can withstand the insane physical stress that is happening to it. He gets knocked around, he clearly gets injured (even before The Concussion, wtf happened to his shoulder there?!) yet his body goes on even though all the alarms are blasting. Heartrate through the roof, adrenaline dragging him through the stress and pain. Humans do that, they are vulnerable but the systems are made for intense stress, all that vulnerability is like crash zones.

Where Rocky is panicking, Grace is gritting his teeth and pulling through.

So picture some years in the future when the xenonite suits are so safe that Grace's class can now take field trips into his biodome. Rocky's there because this is a big moment for everyone involved and also he just loves listening to Grace in his element. One of the more mischievous kids tries to sneak off from the group and there are plenty of chaperones but Grace is the first to notice.

His posture changes, goes focused but loose in a way Rocky's never seen before as he peels of from the crowd. Rocky just stands there, stunned, as he watches his sweet, gangly, goofy, clumsy blob of a friend turn into a hunter. Grace circles around the pebble, slightly crouched, head turned and honed in, arms loose to the sides, and maybe the little one notices and does that nervously excited giggle-squeal thing kids do when they're being chased and tries to get away, but Grace expertly corrals them. He doesn't even have to run for it, he just pens the kid in, lunges-

Rocky:

So picture some years in the future when the xenonite suits are so safe that Grace's class can now take field trips into his biodome. Rocky's there because this is a big moment for everyone involved and also he just loves listening to Grace in his element. One of the more mischievous kids tries to sneak off from the group and there are plenty of chaperones but Grace is the first to notice.

His posture changes, goes focused but loose in a way Rocky's never seen before as he peels of from the crowd. Rocky just stands there, stunned, as he watches his sweet, gangly, goofy, clumsy blob of a friend turn into a hunter. Grace circles around the pebble, slightly crouched, head turned and honed in, arms loose to the sides, and maybe the little one notices and does that nervously excited giggle-squeal thing kids do when they're being chased and tries to get away, but Grace expertly corrals them. He doesn't even have to run for it, he just pens the kid in, lunges-

The thing is, for now, they’ve always mentioned that Ryland is seen as soft and "leaky/wet" by Rocky whenever other Eridians ask about him.

Plus, Ryland is openly clumsy, emotional, and seems to adore teaching and being gentle with children. Sure, they know he’s brave and terrifyingly intelligent—he didn’t achieve what he achieved for nothing.

But it’s when other Eridians ask about human evolution that they start to get a bit scared.

The fact that the human species developed ocular vision just to be able to navigate is quite something. Because, even if it's deficient by Eridian standards, apparently the environment and the human race needed something more than just sound and touch stimuli.

Whenever small rocks or pebbles found their way into the human habitat, Ryland seemed capable of "herding" them so they wouldn't wander too far. Also, on the rare occasions Ryland left his habitat in his suit to walk around Erid (a custom suit with special light generators so he could move and withstand the pressure), he seemed to move with a caution similar to that of a predator.

And another thing? His voice. Ugh.

His vocal cords were mediocre at best. But they could easily recognise the inflections of his emotions.

Ryland was incapable of speaking Eridian properly. He was highly limited. He always used his translator to avoid misunderstandings.

But bloody hell, they once saw him arguing with Rocky.

Rocky was practically cornered by the soft human. Ryland’s shouting and his sharp, biting tone only became more terrifying when they noticed how he was leaning over the other Eridian. And it was only because he’d been interrupted by the scientist that he noticed Ryland was practically in attack-and-hunt mode.

As if his body was instinctively ready to strike at the slightest right stimulus.

Only for him to completely relax and snap right back into that friendly tone the moment he noticed someone else’s presence.

And his reflexes? Terrifying. If his cup was about to fall? Or if one of his children had rushed too quickly up a mound?

Like properly throwing something so that it hits an intended target (as opposed to just lobbing it into the air and hoping it lands) is something that even other great apes can't do.

Grace playfully chucking stuff at Rocky when he annoys him, or playing 'the Earth is lava' with his Eridian class once xenonite suits get to the stage where they can actually catch things he throws at them.

Grace later mentioning during one of his human culture discussions that most traditional human hunting techniques involve the launch of projectiles in some way.

“Wait. Humans throw things to hunt, question?”

“Yeah. I mean, we also set traps and stuff, and most of us use machines to do the actual throwing nowadays, but yeah.”

So picture some years in the future when the xenonite suits are so safe that Grace's class can now take field trips into his biodome. Rocky's there because this is a big moment for everyone involved and also he just loves listening to Grace in his element. One of the more mischievous kids tries to sneak off from the group and there are plenty of chaperones but Grace is the first to notice.

His posture changes, goes focused but loose in a way Rocky's never seen before as he peels of from the crowd. Rocky just stands there, stunned, as he watches his sweet, gangly, goofy, clumsy blob of a friend turn into a hunter. Grace circles around the pebble, slightly crouched, head turned and honed in, arms loose to the sides, and maybe the little one notices and does that nervously excited giggle-squeal thing kids do when they're being chased and tries to get away, but Grace expertly corrals them. He doesn't even have to run for it, he just pens the kid in, lunges-

The thing is, for now, they’ve always mentioned that Ryland is seen as soft and "leaky/wet" by Rocky whenever other Eridians ask about him.

Plus, Ryland is openly clumsy, emotional, and seems to adore teaching and being gentle with children. Sure, they know he’s brave and terrifyingly intelligent—he didn’t achieve what he achieved for nothing.

But it’s when other Eridians ask about human evolution that they start to get a bit scared.

The fact that the human species developed ocular vision just to be able to navigate is quite something. Because, even if it's deficient by Eridian standards, apparently the environment and the human race needed something more than just sound and touch stimuli.

Whenever small rocks or pebbles found their way into the human habitat, Ryland seemed capable of "herding" them so they wouldn't wander too far. Also, on the rare occasions Ryland left his habitat in his suit to walk around Erid (a custom suit with special light generators so he could move and withstand the pressure), he seemed to move with a caution similar to that of a predator.

And another thing? His voice. Ugh.

His vocal cords were mediocre at best. But they could easily recognise the inflections of his emotions.

Ryland was incapable of speaking Eridian properly. He was highly limited. He always used his translator to avoid misunderstandings.

But bloody hell, they once saw him arguing with Rocky.

Rocky was practically cornered by the soft human. Ryland’s shouting and his sharp, biting tone only became more terrifying when they noticed how he was leaning over the other Eridian. And it was only because he’d been interrupted by the scientist that he noticed Ryland was practically in attack-and-hunt mode.

As if his body was instinctively ready to strike at the slightest right stimulus.

Only for him to completely relax and snap right back into that friendly tone the moment he noticed someone else’s presence.

And his reflexes? Terrifying. If his cup was about to fall? Or if one of his children had rushed too quickly up a mound?