The senior turns and kneels, one knee to the floor, and slides the door open only enough for him to peer into the room. It is strange for Machiko, watching this. She has rarely been formally announced. As a senior member of the Guard, in performing her duty, she has walked in and out of rooms where the Chairman was holding conferences more times than she could hope to recall, without anyone appearing to notice. She could walk in and out at will. Now she stands and waits while another GSG looks into the room and waits to say her name. It makes her feel odd, unsettled, as though she pretends to be someone or something she is not.