Dan and John Sutton's Trust

John's relationship with Dan offers a counterpoint to Dan's betrayal by Miles: cautious skepticism develops into a partnership grounded in candor and reciprocal trust.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The Man from the Sky

The Man from the Sky First impressions John encounters Dan after he appears at the Denver Sunshine Club in unfamiliar clothes. He wants an explanation and worries about the club's safety, but Jenny encourages him to respond with hospitality. A lawyer listens Dan asks whether he can speak privately as a client. John accepts the role, hears the claim of time travel, and honestly admits that he does not believe it.

Help Without Certainty

Help Without Certainty Practical assistance John helps Dan handle the gold and find a place to live without demanding that he prove an impossible story. His actions are cautious but generous, allowing Dan to begin work in safety. Trust becomes reciprocal Dan sees that John can protect another person without needing full certainty. John, in turn, treats Dan as a friend even while retaining his doubts.

A Business Proposal

A Business Proposal The inventions shown Dan demonstrates Drafting Dan and Protean Pete and explains that the patents, financing, and organization are beyond his available time. He asks John to handle the business side. Risk acknowledged John warns that he could exploit Dan because the inventions may be valuable. Dan nevertheless entrusts him with the venture, choosing trust informed by honesty rather than blind confidence.

The Company Built Together

The Company Built Together Complementary work John takes over legal and commercial arrangements, Jenny prepares documents, and Dan continues engineering. Each contributes without pretending to be expert in the other's work. A promise of continuity Dan's insistence on the company name and Los Angeles location appears eccentric to John, but John eventually agrees. The decision becomes part of the future company Dan has already seen.

A Friendship Across the Sleep

A Friendship Across the Sleep The future answers back John's note welcomes Dan after his awakening and asks how the predictions came true. It confirms that the venture survived and that the friendship has not been erased by the thirty-year gap. Trust without possession Dan remains outside the company's day-to-day control, while John continues to lead it. Their partnership endures because it does not require one friend to own the other's work or life.

3 May 1970

May 1970

Late September 1970

Autumn 1970

December 2000 and afterward