The silence was absolute. Not a breath of air stirred anywhere. Saxon
hesitated, said at last, "Yes, I think so."
"What?"
"I don't know."
Clo-Javel, approached them, straightening her short kilt-like skirts.
The archaeologist's costume was brief and practical, but of more
importance to Clo-Javel's way of thinking, the red skirt disclosed
a goodly length of her really remarkable legs. Clo-Javel was even
more proud of her legs than of her reconstruction of the New York
skyscrapers. She said, "Did you ever see such buildings? What makes
them look so weird?"
Saxon wrinkled his brow, his eyes returning to the glittering facade
of cliff-like structures as they waited for the rest of their party to
come up.
"I think," he said hesitantly, "it's because, it's because everything
looks so new. As if the city was only finished yesterday and had never
been used."
"That's it," Ileth burst out.
Mercedes joined them. She too, was wearing kilts, but hers were longer
than Clo-Javel's and gray and her jacket was a commodious affair with
many pockets. "What's that?" she asked catching the tail end of the
conversation.
"The city looks as if it has never been lived in," Ileth explained.
Mercedes lit a cigarette, said, "Nonsense, whoever heard of building a
city and then not using it."
"No." Clo-Javel agreed with the gray-haired Mercedes. "It's not that
altogether. Possibly it's built of some material impervious to decay.
Saxon's a physicist." She gave him a brilliant smile. "He would know
more about that than I do."