and when you walk by the mayor 's house , you can hear him , hear him and the men closest to him , his deputies and things , and they 're always doing these thought exercises , these counting things and imagining perfect shapes and saying orderly chants like i am the circle and the circle is me whatever that 's sposed to mean and it 's like he 's moulding a little army into shape , like he 's preparing himself for something , like he 's forging some kind of noise weapon .