"Is this the man?" Kroll's voice asked.
"Yes," Walton said. "You can send my brother in."
Fred seemed a little dazed by the opulence. He sat gingerly on the edge of the foamweb couch, obviously attempting to appear blasé and painfully conscious of his failure to do so.
"This is quite a place," he said finally.
Walton smiled. "A little on the palatial side for my tastes. I don't come here often. The transition hurts too much when I go back outside."
"FitzMaugham got you in here, didn't he?"
Walton nodded.
"I thought so," Fred said. "Well, maybe someday soon I'll be a member too. Then we can meet here more often. We don't see enough of each other, you know."
"Dial yourself a drink," Walton said. "Then tell me what's on your mind—or were you just angling to get an invite up here?"