# The Man from Time — Short Fiction character guide

> The Man from Time in Short Fiction by Frank Belknap Long.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Daring Moonson, Moonson, Man

**First appearance:** 0034-the-man-from-time

## Snapshot

A celebrated Time scholar whose twenty-seven days of shielded observation collapse into a paralyzing dread he cannot name, even to the wife beside him.

## Who they are

Moonson travels through the ages behind the protective glass of a Time Observatory, admired by his fellow travelers as a man of courage and firm determination. But a recent horror has cracked that surface: he now dreads the fog outside the viewpane, the wheel and dip of the machine, every date he once savored. His estrangement from Rutella—the wife who watches him as a stranger might—sharpens the torment, making his private terror a wedge driven into the one intimacy that might have steadied him.

## Relationships

### [Uncle Al](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_17_se/characters/uncle_al)

_psychological_

A mysterious and possibly manipulative dynamic, with The Man from Time exerting an unusual influence over Uncle Al.

### [Sally Anders](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_17_se/characters/sally_anders)

_psychological_

A tense, possibly obsessive or fearful connection, with Sally caught in the orbit of The Man from Time.

### [Joan Langford](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_17_se/characters/joan_langford)

_psychological_

A disturbing or manipulative connection, with The Man from Time preying on or controlling Joan.

### [Pete](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_17_se/characters/pete)

_rivalry_

A direct antagonistic relationship, with Pete opposing The Man from Time's schemes.

### [Pete](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_17_se/characters/pete)

_rivalry_

A direct antagonistic relationship, with Pete opposing The Man from Time's schemes.

### [Uncle Al](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_17_se/characters/uncle_al)

_psychological_

A mysterious and possibly manipulative dynamic, with The Man from Time exerting an unusual influence over Uncle Al.

### [Joan Langford](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_17_se/characters/joan_langford)

_psychological_

A disturbing or manipulative connection, with The Man from Time preying on or controlling Joan.

### [Uncle Al](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_17_se/characters/uncle_al)

_psychological_

A mysterious and possibly manipulative dynamic, with The Man from Time exerting an unusual influence over Uncle Al.

### [Joan Langford](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_17_se/characters/joan_langford)

_psychological_

A disturbing or manipulative connection, with The Man from Time preying on or controlling Joan.

### [Sally Anders](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_17_se/characters/sally_anders)

_psychological_

A tense, possibly obsessive or fearful connection, with Sally caught in the orbit of The Man from Time.

### [Sally Anders](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_17_se/characters/sally_anders)

_psychological_

A tense, possibly obsessive or fearful connection, with Sally caught in the orbit of The Man from Time.

## In the story

### [The Man the Martians Made](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_17_se/chapters/the-man-the-martians-made)

Central character transformed by Martians, grappling with his new identity and abilities.

### [The Man from Time](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_17_se/chapters/the-man-from-time)

Daring Moonson, the protagonist, is a time traveler suffering from an intense 'Time Fear' that drives him to secretly escape into the past.

### [The Calm Man](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_17_se/chapters/the-calm-man)

Sally's husband, revealed to be a Martian who has been repairing a spaceship for eight years and plans to return to Mars with Tommy.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_17_se/characters/the_man_from_time
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_17_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_17_se/characters