The Circle

eh?” Mae said, smiling.
    Renata stopped, furrowed her brow and thought on this notion. She put a strand of
     hair behind her ear and said, “I think so. I can check. But first we should explain
     the setup, and what to expect on your first real day.”
    Renata explained the features of the desk and chair and screen, all of which had been
     ergonomically perfected, and could be adjusted for those who wanted to work standing
     up.
    “You can set your stuff down and adjust your chair, and—Oh, looks like you have a
     welcoming committee. Don’t get up,” she said, and made way.
    Mae followed Renata’s eyeline and saw a trio of young faces making their way to her.
     A balding man in his late twenties extended his hand. Mae shook it, and he put an
     oversized tablet on the desk in front of her.
    “Hi Mae, I’m Rob from payroll. Bet you’re glad to see me.” Hesmiled then laughed heartily, as if he’d just realized anew the humor in his repartee.
     “Okay,” he said, “we’ve filled out everything here. There’s just these three places
     you need to sign.” He pointed to the screen, where yellow rectangles flashed, asking
     for her signature.
    When she was finished, Rob took the tablet and smiled with great warmth. “Thank you,
     and welcome aboard.”
    He turned and left, and was replaced by a full-figured woman with flawless, copper
     skin.
    “Hi Mae, I’m Tasha, the notary.” She held out a wide book. “You have your driver’s
     license?” Mae gave it to her. “Great. I need three signatures from you. Don’t ask
     me why. And don’t ask me why this is on paper. Government rules.” Tasha pointed to
     three consecutive boxes, and Mae signed her name in each.
    “Thank you,” Tasha said, and now held out a blue inkpad. “Now your fingerprint next
     to each. Don’t worry, this ink won’t stain. You’ll see.”
    Mae pushed her thumb into the pad, and then into the boxes next to each of her three
     signatures. The ink was visible on the page, but when Mae looked at her thumb, it
     was absolutely clean.
    Tasha’s eyebrows arched, registering Mae’s delight. “See? It’s invisible. The only
     place it shows up is in this book.”
    This was the sort of thing Mae had come for. Everything was done better here. Even
     the
fingerprint ink
was advanced, invisible.
    When Tasha left she was replaced by a thin man in a red zippered shirt. He shook Mae’s
     hand.
    “Hi, I’m Jon. I emailed you yesterday about bringing your birth certificate?” His
     hands came together, as if in prayer.
    Mae retrieved the certificate from her bag and Jon’s eyes lit up.“You brought it!” He clapped quickly, silently, and revealed a mouth of tiny teeth.
     “No
one
remembers the first time. You’re my new favorite.” He took the certificate, promising
     to return it after he’d made a copy.
    Behind him was a fourth staff member, this one a beatific-looking man of about thirty-five,
     by far the oldest person Mae had met that day.
    “Hi Mae. I’m Brandon, and I have the honor of giving you your new tablet.” He was
     holding a gleaming object, translucent, its edges black and smooth as obsidian.
    Mae was stunned. “These haven’t been
released
yet.”
    Brandon smiled broadly. “It’s four times as fast as its predecessor. I’ve been playing
     with mine all week. It’s very cool.”
    “And I get one?”
    “You already did,” he said. “It’s got your name on it.”
    He turned the tablet on its side to reveal that it had been inscribed with Mae’s full
     name: MAEBELLINE RENNER HOLLAND .
    He handed it to her. It was the weight of a paper plate.
    “Now, I’m assuming you have your own tablet?”
    “I do. Well, a laptop anyway.”
    “Laptop. Wow. Can I see it?”
    Mae pointed to it. “Now I feel like I should chuck it in the trash.”
    Brandon paled. “No, don’t do that! At least recycle it.”
    “Oh no. I was just kidding,” Mae said. “I’ll probably hold onto it. I have all my
     stuff on it.”
    “Good segue, Mae! That’s what I’m here to do next. We should transfer all your stuff
     to the new tablet.”
    “Oh. I can do that.”
    “Would you grant me the honor? I’ve trained all my life for this very moment.”
    Mae laughed and pushed her chair out of the way. Brandon knelt next to her desk and
     put the new tablet next to her laptop. In minutes he had transferred all her information
     and accounts.
    “Okay. Now let’s do the same with your phone. Ta-da.” He reached into