 Why was Si given a symbolic gold watch by the Department of Space Exploration?
What's more important—Man's conquest of space, or one spaceman's life? Its quaintness lay in the fact that it was wound, not electronically by power-radio, but by the actual physical movements of the bearer, a free swinging rotor keeping the mainspring at a constant tension. They also had a banquet for him, complete with speeches by such bigwigs of the Department of Space Exploration as Academician Lofting Gubelin and Doctor Hans Girard-Perregaux. In common with recipients of gold watches of a score of generations before him, Si Pond would have preferred something a bit more tangible in the way of reward, such as a few shares of Variable Basic to add to his portfolio. The gold watch idea had been that of Lofting Gubelin, which was typical, he being in the way of a living anachronism himself. His explanation was that a phobia against having his eyes touched prohibited either surgery to remould his eyeballs and cure his myopia, or contact lenses. Born in our Ultrawelfare State, he was guaranteed his fundamental womb-to-tomb security by being issued that minimum number of Basic shares in our society that allows him an income sufficient to secure the food, clothing, shelter, medical care and education to sustain a low level of subsistence. He is now legally eligible for retirement. He was drafted into the working force reserves, served his time, and is now free from toil for the balance of his life.
 He was retiring from the Department.
 He had just successfully completed a dangerous space mission that they were impressed with.  As an apology for the difficult task he had to complete while in space.  He was retiring from the Department.  As a means to convince him to stay on with the Department and continue completing missions.