The Circle

for Annie. She’d said she would try to make it down, but
     was on a deadline, preparing something for a hearing at the EU. “They’re whining about
     taxes again,” she said.
    Mae wandered the room, which had been decorated in a vaguely desert theme, with smatterings
     of cacti and sandstone in front of walls of digital sunsets. She saw and said hello
     to Dan and Jared, and a few of the newbies she’d been training. She looked for Francis,
     hoping he wouldn’t be there, but then remembered, with great relief, that he was at
     a conference in Las Vegas—a gathering of law enforcement agencies he was introducing
     to ChildTrack. As she wandered, awallscreen sunset faded to make way for the face of Ty. His face was unshaven, and
     there were bags under eyes, and though he was clearly and thoroughly tired, he was
     smiling broadly. He was wearing his customary oversized black hoodie, and took a moment
     to clean his glasses on his sleeve before looking out at the room, left and right,
     as if he could see them all from wherever he was. Maybe he could. The room quickly
     hushed.
    “Hey everyone. Sorry I can’t be there with you all. I’ve been working on some very
     interesting new projects that are keeping me away from incredible social activities
     like the one you’re enjoying. But I did want to congratulate you all on this phenomenal
     new development. I think it’s a crucial new step for the Circle and will mean a great
     deal to our overall awesomeness.” For a second he seemed to be looking at whoever
     was operating the camera, as if confirming he’d said enough. Then his eyes returned
     to look into the room. “Thank you all for your hard work on it, and let the party
     truly begin!”
    His face disappeared, and the wallscreen again displayed the digital sunset. Mae chatted
     with some of the newbies in her pod, some of whom hadn’t seen any live addresses from
     Ty before, and were close to euphoric. Mae took a picture, zinged it and added a few
     words:
Exciting stuff!
    Mae picked up her second glass of wine, deciding how she could do so without taking
     the napkin under it, which would serve no purpose and end up in her pocket, when she
     saw Kalden. He was in a shadowy stairwell, sitting on the steps. She meandered her
     way over to him, and when he saw her, his face brightened.
    “Oh hi,” he said.
    “Oh hi?”
    “Sorry,” he said, and leaned into her, intending a hug.
    She recoiled. “Where have you been?”
    “Been?”
    “You disappeared for two weeks,” Mae said.
    “It hasn’t been that long, has it? And I’ve been around. I looked for you one day
     but you looked busy.”
    “You came to CE?”
    “I did, but I didn’t want to bother you.”
    “And you couldn’t leave a message somehow?”
    “I didn’t know your last name,” he said, smiling, as if he knew far more than he was
     letting on. “Why didn’t you contact
me
?”
    “I didn’t know your last name, either. And there’s no Kalden listed anywhere.”
    “Really? How were you spelling it?”
    Mae began to enumerate the permutations she’d tried, when he interrupted.
    “Listen, it doesn’t matter. We both screwed up. And now we’re here.”
    Mae stepped back to take him in, thinking maybe, somewhere on him, she would find
     some clue as to whether or not he was real—a real Circler, a real person. Again he
     was wearing a snug longsleeve shirt, this one with narrow horizontal stripes in greens
     and reds and browns, and again he had maneuvered his way into very narrow black pants
     that gave his legs the look of an inverted V.
    “You do work here, right?” she asked.
    “Of course. How else could I get in? Security is pretty good here.Especially on a day like today, with our luminous guest.” He nodded to the congresswoman,
     who was signing her name on someone’s tablet.
    “You look like you’re ready to leave,” Mae said.
    “Do I?” Kalden said. “No, no. I’m just comfortable back here. I like to sit during
     these things. And I guess I like to have the option of fleeing.” He threw his thumb
     over his shoulder, indicating the stairs behind him.
    “I’m just glad my supervisors saw me here,” Mae said. “That was my first priority.
     Do you have to be seen here by a supervisor or anything?”
    “Supervisor?” For a moment, Kalden looked at her as if she’d just said something in
     a familiar and yet incomprehensible language. “Oh yeah,” he said, nodding. “They saw
     me here.