Who is The Scientific People from The Stars My Destination and what is their importance?

The scientific people were the survivors of a space wreck. More than 200 years before, they formed a colony on the Sargasso Asteroid. They live by old science and mate based on genetics. They also harvest other wrecks and incorporate them into their colony. They harvest the Nomad and Foyle when he arrives in their space. They tattoo Foyle with the name Nomad. He later returns to the Scientific People after he learns of his amazing ability to space jaunte and waits among them for other humans to find him.