Finally, Linna came back. She handed him his shirt and watched him soberly while he put it on. And then she dropped her bomb.
"You have been lying to me," she said quietly. "I know now where you came from."
CHAPTER VII
Price stood stone still, meeting her gaze. But his thoughts were racing like startled deer. How could even the super-scientific Vurna have guessed his incredible origin? It was a freak, a fluke that wouldn't happen once in a million years....
Linna was saying, "Take your plane. Obsolete in model as it was, it would require extensive machine shops to fabricate it. And your clothing. Your shirt is of synthetic fabric, and so is the dye. It was woven on machines. And these are new—not relics preserved for a century."
Price managed to keep his voice level as he said, "So—"
"So," Linna said, "there is somewhere a hidden community big enough to keep the old technologies of your people alive. A community we've known nothing about."
She regarded him in stern triumph, as though she had gained a victory.
Price sat down on the narrow bed. He had an hysterical desire to laugh, but he did not do that. Instead, he turned his head away from Linna as though to hide his dismay, but actually he was trembling with a sudden realization.