Read the following passage and questions, then choose the right answer from options, the answer should be one of A, B, C, D.

<passage>:
They gave him a gold watch. It was meant to be symbolical, of course. bigwigs of the Department of Space Exploration as Academician Lofting In common with recipients of gold watches of a score of generations in the way of reward, such as a few shares of Variable Basic to add to his portfolio. But that, he supposed, was asking too much. The fact of the matter was, Si knew that his retiring had set them back. They hadn't figured he had enough shares of Basic to see him through decently. Well, possibly he didn't, given their standards. But Space Pilot Seymour Pond didn't have their standards. He'd had plenty of time to think it over. It was better to retire on a limited crediting, on a confoundedly limited crediting, than to take the two or three more trips in hopes of attaining a higher standard. He'd had plenty of time to figure it out, there alone in space on the boredom and free fall. Plenty of time. Time to decide that a one No. Even as Si listened to their speeches, accepted the watch and The gold watch idea had been that of Lofting Gubelin, which was eyeballs and cure his myopia, or contact lenses. That was only an alibi so far as his closest associate, Hans Girard-Perregaux, was concerned. Doctor Girard-Perregaux was convinced Lofting Gubelin scowled at his friend. He said, acidly, "Any more bright schemes, Hans? I presume you now acknowledge that appealing to been trained. There aren't two men on North America—there aren't two men in the world!—who better realize the urgency of continuing our delving into space." Gubelin snapped his fingers. "Like that, either of us would give our lives to prevent man from completely abandoning the throughout this whole blistering Ultrawelfare State! Who could foresee that eventually our whole program would face ending due to clothing, shelter, medical care and education to sustain a low level of subsistence. Percentages were against his ever being drafted dossier revealed him a possible candidate for space pilot, and it was you yourself who talked him into taking the training ... pointing out the more pragmatic advantages such as complete retirement after but six trips, added shares of Basic so that he could enjoy a more comfortable life than most and the fame that would accrue to him as one of the very few who still participate in travel to the planets. Very well. He was sold. Took his training, which, of course, required long years of drudgery to him. Then, performing his duties quite competently, he made his six trips. 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. Why should he listen to our pleas for a few more trips?" "But has he no spirit of adventure? Has he no feeling for...." Girard-Perregaux was wagging his finger again, a gesture that, always paid lip service to adventure, hardships and excitement, but in actuality his instincts, like those of any other animal, lead him to take months, possibly more than a year, to bring another novitiate pilot to the point where he can safely be trusted to take our next explorer craft out. Appropriations for our expeditions have been that the Economic Planning Board, and especially those cloddies on Appropriations, will terminate the whole Department of Space Exploration." "So...." Girard-Perregaux said gently. "So some way we've got to bring Seymour Pond out of his retirement!" for years at a stretch before returning to home port—he would talk of his retirement and his dream. And then? Then in port, it would be one short drink with the boys, before taking his accumulated pay and can't be separated from his money quite so easily. If he could, I'd personally be willing to lure him down some dark alley, knock him over the head and roll him myself. Just to bring him back to his job again." He brought his wallet from his pocket, and flicked it open to his universal credit card. "The ultimate means of exchange," he grunted. name pulled. But when it had been, Si had celebrated. him from ever being called up for contributing to the country's labor needs again. And he most certainly wasn't going to volunteer. He had taken his schooling much as had his contemporaries. There wasn't any particular reason for trying to excell. You didn't want to get the reputation for being a wise guy, or a cloddy either. Just one of the fellas. You could do the same in life whether you really studied or They had attempted to give everyone work by reducing the number of working hours in the day, and the number of working days in the week. became obvious that it was more practical to have one worker putting in thirty-five hours a week and getting to know his job well, than it was to have a score of employees, each working a few hours a week and none of them ever really becoming efficient. The only fair thing was to let the technologically unemployed remain unemployed, with their Inalienable Basic stock as the equivalent of unemployment insurance, while the few workers still needed put in a reasonable number of hours a day, a reasonable number of weeks a year and a reasonable number of years in a life time. When new employees they fulfilled. Such shares could be added to their portfolios, the dividends becoming part of their current credit balance, or could be sold for a lump sum on the market. Thus, Si was vaguely aware, it had always been down through the quite so little for his money as that loneliest of all workers, he who must leave his home for distant lands, returning only periodically and usually with the salary of lengthy, weary periods of time to be spent hurriedly in an attempt to achieve the pleasure and happiness so long denied him. Si was going to do it differently this time. retirement-rank suit he had so recently purchased. His space pin he needed. Those few who did contribute were awarded honors, decorations, titles. Attired satisfactorily, Si double-checked to see that his credit car's dropping to tube level. While it was being taken up by the robot controls, being shuttled here and there preparatory to the shot to his destination, he dialed the vehicle's teevee-phone for information on sub-shots. Finally, the dash threw a green light and Si opened the he well knew, would be superlative. Besides, he didn't plan to dine or do much drinking in his suite. He made a mock leer. Not unless he managed to acquire some feminine companionship, that was. The auto-elevator murmured politely, "Yes, sir, the Kudos Room." Si, disconcerted by the sudden reversal, said, "Yeah ... sure." "Si," Si said, gratified. Holy Zoroaster, he'd never seen anything current sex symbols, but never in person. "Call me Si," he said again. him in the Space Exploration department, he was hot for it." " Si was expansive. "Why, sure. In the Space Department we don't have that you were the last of the space pilots. The last man in the whole world trained to pilot a space craft. And here you were, retiring." Si grunted. "Yeah. That's all part of the Doc's scheme to get me to take on another three runs. They're afraid the whole department'll be dropped by the Appropriations Committee on this here Economic Planning Board. Even if they can find some other patsy to train for the job, it'd take maybe a year before you could even send him on a Moon hop. So old man Gubelin, and Girard-Perregaux too, they're both trying to pressure me into more trips. Otherwise they got a Space Exploration Department, with all the expense and all, but nobody to pilot their Si said, "Look, how about another drink?" "Si," Si said. He motioned to the bartender with a circular twist of

<question>:
Why was Si given a symbolic gold watch by the Department of Space Exploration?

<options>:
A He had just successfully completed a dangerous space mission that they were impressed with.
B As an apology for the difficult task he had to complete while in space.
C He was retiring from the Department.
D As a means to convince him to stay on with the Department and continue completing missions.

<answer>:

C