 What was the author's purpose on including a section about Hatcher's feedings?
Whatever it was, he had no business in it; for five minutes before he had been spaceborne, on the Long Jump from Earth to the thriving colonies circling Betelgeuse Nine. Item, a short time ago—subjectively it seemed to be minutes—he had been aboard the Jodrell Bank with nothing more on his mind than completing his check-sighting and meeting one of the female passengers for coffee. Hatcher, like McCray, was an adventurous soul, young, able, well-learned in the technical sciences of his culture. Hatcher's principal task at this moment was to run the "probe team" which had McCray under observation, and he was more than a little excited.
 To further elaborate how different Hatcher and his kind are from a human.
 To give insight on Hatcher's personality.  To show that McCray will have to feed like Hatcher if he does not return to Jodrell Bank because there is no human food where he is.  To further elaborate how different Hatcher and his kind are from a human.  To show how grotesque his feeding process is.