The old woman reached into a sewing bag which lizette had not seen before , and pulled out a scarf and a soft wide-brimmed hat , both woven of the sheerest white flax-thread , even finer then the stuff that was flowing from her wheel and down the mountain .
Perhaps key among them is privacy : hundreds of computers in every room , all capable of sensing people near them and linked by high-speed networks , have the potential to make totalitarianism up to now seem like sheerest anarchy .