 All of the following terms describe the people's reaction to the destruction of the Maternite EXCEPT for:
Everything has evaporated in Maternite. They were created so long ago, indeed, that the ignorant believe them to have been constructed by the gods themselves. Prayers and supplications were offered to the gods, priests were sent to sacrifice, and finally, as the light of the sun was falling between the pillars, the High Priest of the Maternite Machine was heard. Rocsates' voice made itself heard. "May it not be," Rocsates put in, "that these animals had no machines to reproduce their kind? And is there not a legend—admitted only a legend—that says there was a time before the machines, and before the Maternite Machine, and that at such a time both the animals and Men reproduced from within their own bodies?"
 accusatory
 perplexed  panicked  obtuse  accusatory