The Future of Flexible Frank

The Door into Summer

The uncertain fate of Dan's stolen prototype becomes a subplot about authorship, industrial inheritance, and the difference between a design's survival and its inventor's control.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A Prototype with Promise A Prototype with Promise from "The Door into Summer". A Prototype with Promise A working demonstration Dan's Flexible Frank performs a range of household tasks and impresses Miles, who immediately asks how soon…

A Prototype with Promise from "The Door into Summer". A Prototype with Promise A working demonstration Dan's Flexible Frank performs a range of household tasks and impresses Miles, who immediately asks how soon…

A Prototype with Promise A working demonstration Dan's Flexible Frank performs a range of household tasks and impresses Miles, who immediately asks how soon the design can be produced. Dan insists that the machine is not ready for commercial release. The engineering dispute Their disagreement is not merely about timing. Dan regards quality and repairability as engineering responsibilities, while Miles sees production and market opportunity as business decisions.

The Model Disappears The Model Disappears from "The Door into Summer". The Model Disappears Missing from the shop Dan returns to find that Flexible Frank and his working notes are absent.

The Model Disappears from "The Door into Summer". The Model Disappears Missing from the shop Dan returns to find that Flexible Frank and his working notes are absent.

The Model Disappears Missing from the shop Dan returns to find that Flexible Frank and his working notes are absent. The loss leaves him unable to prove what was taken or immediately continue the work. An incomplete account The theft becomes part of his accusation against Miles and Belle, but the legal papers and the lack of independent witnesses leave him unable to establish ownership in court.

Belle's Version Belle's Version from "The Door into Summer". Belle's Version A machine supposedly stolen Belle tells Dan that Flexible Frank vanished after Miles moved it for protection, and that the notes were inside…

Belle's Version from "The Door into Summer". Belle's Version A machine supposedly stolen Belle tells Dan that Flexible Frank vanished after Miles moved it for protection, and that the notes were inside…

Belle's Version A machine supposedly stolen Belle tells Dan that Flexible Frank vanished after Miles moved it for protection, and that the notes were inside its base. She believes Dan must have taken it, although he was in cold sleep. Suspicion without resolution Her account is clouded by age, drugs, and habitual deception. Dan learns that the project mattered to the Mannix negotiations, but cannot establish exactly who moved it or what became of its files.

A Patent in Dan's Name A Patent in Dan's Name from "The Door into Summer". A Patent in Dan's Name Recognition of authorship Dan finds the first Eager Beaver patent bearing the name D. B. Davis.

A Patent in Dan's Name from "The Door into Summer". A Patent in Dan's Name Recognition of authorship Dan finds the first Eager Beaver patent bearing the name D. B. Davis.

A Patent in Dan's Name Recognition of authorship Dan finds the first Eager Beaver patent bearing the name D. B. Davis. The drawings are not identical to his initial prototype, but the underlying design and its development fit his own work. Pride without recovery The discovery restores Dan's professional confidence. It does not restore the stolen years or prove who made the intervening decisions, and the patent has already expired.

A Legacy in Production A Legacy in Production from "The Door into Summer". A Legacy in Production An industrial descendant Dan sees Eager Beaver and related automatons as descendants of his early work, refined through decades of…

A Legacy in Production from "The Door into Summer". A Legacy in Production An industrial descendant Dan sees Eager Beaver and related automatons as descendants of his early work, refined through decades of…

A Legacy in Production An industrial descendant Dan sees Eager Beaver and related automatons as descendants of his early work, refined through decades of engineering. The prototype's influence outlasts the dispute over who controlled it. A changed relationship to ownership Rather than recreate the same battle for control, Dan develops new devices and licenses them. The legacy of Flexible Frank becomes a source of knowledge and pride rather than a claim he must pursue forever.

Before November 1970

19 November 1970, after the ouster

May 2001, during Dan's visit

Spring 2001, after the archive records arrive

2001 and afterward