Craig descended the ramp from the huge jet and concentrated on his impressions. One day he would recall this moment, his first on the planet Terra. He tried to recall his first thrill at seeing Los Angeles, 1500 square miles of it, from the ship as it entered the atmosphere.
He was about to step off the last step when a man appeared hurriedly. A rather plump man, he displayed a toothy smile on his puffy red face.
"A moment, sir. Just a little greeting from the Terra. You understand, of course. Purely routine."
Craig remained on the final step of the ramp, puzzled. The man turned to a companion at his right.
"We can see that this gentleman has come from a long, long way off, can't we?"
The other man did not look up. He was peering into what seemed to Craig to be a kind of camera.
"We can allow the gentlemen to continue now, can't we? It wasn't that we believed for a minute, you understand ... purely routine."
Both men were gone in an instant, leaving Craig completely bewildered.
"You goin' to move on, buddy, or you want to go back?"
Craig turned to face a line of his fellow passengers up the ramp behind him.