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The Seahorse, the Octopus, and the Shark

The shark circled the tank. It circled and circled, closing in on its prey: delicate seahorses and a curious octopus.

I picture the seahorses to be people like Mercer. They represent people who separate themselves from situations that frighten them. They prefer to retreat to where they are comfortable, rather than confront what they find threatening. The father of the seahorse kin immediately swam to the bottom of the alluring tank, hiding amongst coral. The seahorse was invisible, much like Mercer as he made his way north to live a life of his own in a forest.

The octopus introduced to the tank is curious, engaging with its environment. It uses its tentacles to explore its surroundings. Unlike the mature seahorse that deliberately hid, the octopus decided to rest at the bottom, accepting its new placement. The octopus reminds me of the Circle employees and followers. The Circle supporters are accepting of the new world that is being created by this massive company. They adjusted to the influx of technology and the invasion of privacy. They quickly settled into their new, more public and revealing life.

Then there is the shark, vicious, hungry, and destructive. The shark tore through the coral with intent and purpose. It left the world of the innocent seahorses and the peaceful octopus in ruins. The shark most clearly represents the Circle, and every new program or system they produce, slowly erasing the world, as it is known. The shark proceeded to tear apart the octopus, tentacle by tentacle. After swallowing the remains, it proceeded to devour each and every seahorse.

The death of each organism as the shark grew more ravenous is parallel to the slow death of human rights as the Circle grows more powerful.

SeeChange, Demoxie, TruYou, PastPerfect, SoulSearch, the entire idea of transparency.

Each and every project that the Circle implements comes with a price. Most people, like the octopus peacefully lying on the tank’s sea floor, are naïve to the point where they can’t see what they are sacrificing.

They are sacrificing privacy. They are sacrificing true democracy. They are sacrificing the largest aspects of humanity that essentially make life, life.

They are doing so willingly. Their participation and roaring support is what gives the Circle the power it needs to make immense, irreversible changes to society, those of which gradually increase the power invested in the Circle itself.

Kalden, who we now know is Circle creator, Ty, is the only voice of reason who has power to stop the corruption that will come with the closing of the Circle.

Mercer stood up for what he believed in with integrity and will. No matter how much Mae pushed him to give surrender to the technological pressures of society, he resisted the power of the Circle. He, unfortunately, had no power himself. The letters he wrote Mae did not resonate with her followers, in fact it just made him even more isolated and disrespected.

Ty, he had much power. He practically controlled the Circle, meaning he was one of, of not the most, powerful man in society. Yet, even Ty couldn’t stop the closing of the Circle. Book III reveals that Mae decided against helping Ty. She was not able to open her mind to this idea that the Circle was bad; she was shaped to wholeheartedly believe it was great. Mae reached a point of no return. She so strongly feels privacy is a threat, her next endeavor is to remove the last form of privacy people have for themselves, their own thoughts.