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Book I, Part 3

Summary: Book I, Part 3

Mae finds she’s having trouble keeping up with her work and online social interactions, so she cuts back on socializing to concentrate on work. She’s surprised when Dan, her supervisor, calls her into his office for a meeting with Alistair, a co-worker who is upset with her for not attending his “Portugal Brunch” event. Shocked, Mae can’t understand why Alistair is so upset since they’ve never met. Dan tells them to “hug it out,” before writing up an official incident report. Annie tells Mae not to worry, and that Alistair is overly sensitive and everyone just placates him because he’s so good at his job. Later, Annie regrets her comments and pings Mae to apologize. When Mae doesn’t respond right away, Annie grows anxious and starts pinging her obsessively. Mae is confused by her behavior but figures Annie is probably just overstressed.

Mae begins spending more time with Francis. She’s surprised when she boldly kisses him. They attend the Circle’s weekly “Dream Friday” talk, where innovators talk about their current projects. The presenter is Gus Khazeni, who developed “LuvLuv,” a program designed to research potential dating partners. Mae is horrified when Francis volunteers for Gus’s demonstration and Mae’s personal information is splashed onscreen. Mae feels violated, and runs off angry, vowing not to speak to Francis. Mae gets a call from her mother that her father has had a seizure. When she gets home, she finds her ex-boyfriend, Mercer there. Mercer criticizes the Circle, saying their practices are creepy, and they make people socially needy. Annoyed, Mae heads to the shore to kayak to calm down. Later, Mae visits the campus clinic for her first physical. Her physician is Dr. Villalobos, a beautiful, polished young woman. Dr. Villalobos slips a sensor to track Mae’s vitals into a smoothie without telling her first. She also gives Mae a health-tracking bracelet to wear. When Mae reveals that her father has MS, Dr. Villalobos suggests she talk to Annie about putting her father on the company plan.

Analysis: Book I, Part 3

Mae’s run-in with Alistair foreshadows the issue of online privacy, which will become more problematic as the novel progresses. At first, having all her data uploaded to the Circle’s “cloud” seems innocuous to Mae, but now she’s being tracked by coworkers. Annie explains later that Alistair probably found one of her photos from Lisbon searching the Circle’s network, where all of Mae’s files are now public, and invited her to his party based on the photo. The incident with Alistair highlights the incongruity that arises with social data—Alistair makes a very impersonal invite using Mae’s very personal information. Mae’s confusion also highlights her unfamiliarity with the hyper-connected world of the Circle, something she’ll have to adjust to as an employee. The situation also makes a nod to a potential disorienting future in a world that looks like the Circle.

Furthermore, Annie’s irrational fear that Mae is telling on her because she takes more than a few minutes to return her messages highlights how communication is altered in a hyper-connected world. Social cues are morphed—if one doesn’t reply within minutes, a person considers that an affront. People are expected to be online and available 24/7. This is what Mercer later warns Mae about at her parents’ house. He attacks the Circle, saying that their practices encourage people to become more socially needy, rather than more connected. He finds their practices invasive and creepy, something that certainly feels true after Annie’s outbursts, which are like that of a person speaking out against a totalitarian regime.

Finally, the incident at the LuvLuv presentation demonstrates the dangers of having a public persona. Mae has trouble pinpointing why she reacted so strongly to seeing her allergy information on the screen for everyone to see. The information is public so she can’t understand why it bothers her so much. She thinks about how the information doesn’t show the “whole picture” of herself, and is in some way incomplete, and therefore “false.” This suggests the importance of nuance in creating an identity and how a person can’t be reduced to a series of likes, dislikes, and health stats.

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