Machiko considers whether Ito's absence is intended as a deliberate insult, or merely another reflection of the Fuchi perspective on the relative status of Nagato Combine. Could Gordon Ito regard Nagato Combine as nothing more than an unusually disciplined gang, such as might arise from The Pit? Could he be sitting somewhere in the Fuchi towers, observing all on security monitors, putting words in Donelson's mouth via implanted headware?