The Circle

Mae’s new job is to show her viewers what is happening at The Circle. On her first day of transparency, she stares into the new aquariums to watch the creatures that Stenton has brought back from his expedition to the Mariana Trench. All the creatures are near-translucent, and viewers can see food pass through their digestive systems. Mae provides narration as she sees fit but also receives suggestions in her earpiece from Additional Guidance.

She wears an advanced camera that allows watchers to focus in on any part of the view and “with some effort, isolate and listen to any other conversation” (310). When she is in the presence of other Circlers, they try to act as if the filming isn’t happening. The buzz on campus is that The Circle is nearing its completion, though no one seems to know what exactly that means. Ninety percent of politicians in Washington are now transparent, and the other 10 percent are regarded with great suspicion. In light of this, the plan is for most Circlers to be transparent within the year. Mae, as the ambassador, makes transparency seem joyous. She revels in the affection of her millions of viewers.

Mae goes to the shark aquarium for its scheduled feeding. The shark processes a lobster “with lightning speed and incredible clarity” (318). Though many viewers are uneasy about it, the shark is then fed a turtle. Mae notices Kalden standing on the other side of the aquarium. They stare at each other before he slips away. She follows him, acting as if she is simply giving a tour of campus to her viewers. Kalden calls her and tells her that they must meet while also revealing that he’s rigged the system so that nobody else can hear him talking to her. He tells her that The Circle is nearing completion and must be stopped.

To calm herself from the anxiety caused by Kalden’s call, Mae goes to CE to handle some queries. Despite her growing celebrity, she still regularly works part-time in CE to stay connected to The Circle’s work and to show her millions of viewers what Bailey describes as “a very moving act of humility” (327). While working in CE, her newfound celebrity and The Circle’s encouragement of greater client interaction lead to many requests for her to join customers’ networks. Though this takes up significant time, she does her best to fulfill these requests.

At the end of the workday, Mae leaves CE and shows her viewers the latest politician going transparent, a process that is now being called Clarification. She continues to feel uneasy about Kalden’s phone call. Back at her dorm room, where she now lives full time, she prepares for bed. She is permitted to turn off the camera after 10 o’clock each night but usually leaves it on. She tries to check in with her parents, but their SeeChange cameras—which have been implemented by The Circle—are all dark. While shopping online, she once again feels the rip opening inside her.

Mae awaits Annie’s return from an extended business trip, feeling like distance is growing between them. Mae shows her viewers a variety of education projects that are meant to improve classroom performance. She interviews Jackie, an attractive woman in her mid-thirties, who discusses a project called YouthRank, which indicates to high schoolers how their academic performance compares to other students in the country and how likely it is that they’ll be accepted to an elite university. Additional Guidance instructs Mae to ask Jackie how YouthRank intersects with TruYouth, which was previously known as ChildTrack. Francis appears to talk about TruYouth, which is his pet project. His presence makes Mae uncomfortable. Jackie acts flirtatiously toward Francis, who then seems more confident and attractive to Mae.