Walton swung around. His brother was leaning forward intently, eyes clamped tight shut. "Is it off?" Fred asked. "Tell me!"
Shrugging, Walton canceled the signal and the lights faded. "You can open your eyes, now. It's off."
Cautiously Fred opened his eyes. "None of your fancy tricks, Roy!"
"Trick?" Walton asked innocently. "What trick? Simple decoration, that's all—and quite lovely, too. Just like the kaleidowhirls you've seen on video."
Fred shook his head. "It's not the same thing. How do I know it's not some sort of hypnoscreen? How do I know what those lights can do?"
Walton realized his brother was unfamiliar with wall kaleidoscopes. "It's perfectly harmless," he said. "But if you don't want it on, we can do without it."
"Good. That's the way I like it."
Walton observed that Fred's cool confidence seemed somewhat shaken. His brother had made a tactical error in insisting on holding their interview here, where Walton had so much the upper hand.
"May I ask again why you wanted to see me?" Walton said.
"There are those people," Fred said slowly, "who oppose the entire principle of population equalization."