Again, she bows. "This is so, Chairman -sama ." Honjowara -sama gazes at her sternly, then says, "We must seek clarity, Machiko. Clarity as concerns our competition. Such clarity is born of knowledge, and such knowledge cannot be elicited from gods, or by analogy with the past, or by mere calculations. It must be obtained from those who know. When people talk, we must listen. Even the idle gossip of fools may be pertinent."