 Why did the man take Craig's picture when he arrived on Terra?
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from Galaxy Science Fiction November 1951. Rootless and footloose, a man in space can't help but dream of coming home. Flight Officer Robert Craig surrendered the tube containing his service record tapes and stood waiting while the bored process clerk examined the seal. Craig handed him a battered punch card and watched the man insert it in the reproducer. He felt anxiety as the much-handled card refused for a time to match the instrument's metal contact points. He crossed the long, dreary room, knowing the eyes of the other men were upon him. "Grav 1—Terra," fumbled Craig. "Los Angeles." "No specific destination," supplied the man as he punched a key on a small instrument, "Air-lock ahead and to your right. Any metal?" "Metal?" asked Craig. The knowledge that much of it was motivated by envy soothed him as he clumsily let himself into the lock. "Place your clothing in the receptacle provided and assume a stationary position on the raised podium in the center of the lock." Craig obeyed the robot voice and began reluctantly to remove his flight jacket. "You will find a red button at your feet. Stepping on the button with his bare foot produced an instant of brilliant blue illumination. A small scratch on his arm stung briefly and he was somewhat blinded by the flash even through his eyelids, but that was all there was to the sterilizing process. He found his clothing cleanly and neatly hung on plastic hangers just inside the door to the dressing room. "Insert your right arm into the instrument on the central table," commanded the same voice he had heard before. When he withdrew his arm, the scratch was neatly coated with a layer of flesh-colored plastic material. He dressed quickly and was on the verge of asking the robot for instructions, when a man appeared in the open doorway. "Well, what's next?" asked Craig somewhat more belligerently than he had intended. "No, but my father—" "Your parents left Terra during the Second Colonization of Cassiopeia II, didn't they?" He was uncomfortable; Wyandotte seemed to know all about him. "Oh, I've landed a few times, even walked around for a while...." Short of Gravitational conditioning, there is nothing to stop you from going to Terra." "You were ill, couldn't keep your balance, felt dizzy. It helps suppress certain physiological reactions to an entirely new set of conditions.
 The man is a customs official.
 Terran society identifies and monitors everyone.  The man is a customs official.  The photo is for Craig's job ID.  Craig is the first spaceman he had ever seen.