the season had unofficially changed so the dark blue mao jackets and baggy pants had given way to white tops and pants of grey or tan , more in keeping with the weather , but from a distance and with the glare of the sun i still couldnt help thinking of a society with a thin single-sex veneer , a veneer that barely covered the fact that more than one billion people were walking around out there making believe , much as the american puritans had done , that sexual needs were irrelevant even while the birthrate soared .