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The Mortal Coil, II

Album: 16: Flights of Imagination

Episode: 212

Lesson/Theme: Death; heaven.

Bible Verse: 1 Corinthians 2:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-15; 2 Cori

Characters: Connie, Eugene, Jason, Whit, Tom

Writer: Paul McCusker

Sound Designer: Dave Arnold

Original Air Date: November 28, 1992

Last Air Date: October 10, 2008

Description:
Continued from part II... Whit is not oblivious to what's happening. He's aware of the doctors' attempts to save him. But suddenly, he seems to be transported a quiet and pleasant place, where he is surprised to meet his wife, Jenny. Meanwhile, the doctors stabilize Whit's condition. Whit's two children, Jana and Jason, arrive. Everyone prays for the best but prepares for the worst. Back at Whit's End, Tom shows Jason the Imagination Station and realizes that Eugene hasn't destroyed the program. He must have tried it out for himself. No one knows where he is. We rejoin Whit in his imagination as he basks in his wife's love and is eventually reunited with his dead son, Jerry. As far as Whit is concerned, he is in heaven. But Jenny assures him that he is not. He is, in fact, in a coma, merely playing out what he always imagined heaven to be. Jenny tells Whit that it is time for him to go back to living life. The real heaven will be much better than anything he could ever imagine. He agrees to "return." In the hospital, Whit's family and friends are overjoyed when Whit wakes up. Whit concedes that toying with a life-after-death program was foolish. Meanwhile, Connie tracks down Eugene at his dorm room. He is distraught. Yes, he had tried out the life-after-death program and experienced what Connie concludes was something like hell. Eugene is horrified. Connie talks to him about Christ, describing how we can escape hell because of His death on the cross. She then asks Eugene if it's something he can believe. Eugene isn't sure, but we know that this experience will stay with him for a long, long time.

Questions:
Why was Whit so adamant about retrying the death program? Why was Tom so insistent that Eugene destroy it? Why was the program so frightening to Eugene? What do you think heaven will be like?