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Exceptional Circumstances

Album: 38: Battle Lines

Episode: 496

Lesson/Theme: Exposing the truth.

Bible Verse: Proverbs 16:25

Characters: Alex, Mandy, Connie, Jason, Whit, Tom

Writer:

Sound Designer: Glenn Montjoy

Original Air Date: June 15, 2002

Last Air Date: December 8, 2009

Description:
"Visiting his grave one day, e-mailing him the next," says Connie as she sits down to talk to Mitch on Instant Messenger. Mitch is happy to get in touch with her, but Agent Bourland is very angry that Mitch is contacting the outside world. Mitch insists that they need help, but Bourland won’t have it. He cuts on Mitch’s access. Back at Whit’s End, Alex, Cal, and Mandy arrive to tell Connie what they found about the Novabox and its relationship to the sale of birdhouses, chips, and soda. Connie has trouble getting through to Mitch with the information, but finally contacts him on a separate Instant Messenger name. Meanwhile, Tom arrives back at home with Agnes. The two of them fondly remember old times and even take a walk up toward the tower site. Meanwhile, Whit arrives home to tell Jason that he got Whit’s End Connellsville back again and finds that Jason finally decoded some names from Eugene’s disk. Jason says he’s going to investigate one name-Duncan Mathis. Jason finds Duncan in a wheelchair at a rehabilitation center. Realizing he’s a Whittaker, Duncan tells Jason the whole story behind Eugene’s research. Duncan was the guinea pig for the Radio Wave Study. He used the technology to begin to operate machines with his mind. When Eugene left on a family emergency, scientists from Andromeda showed up asking how to reverse the process; Duncan believes they want to control minds. Not only that, Duncan has found that all the benefits reverse themselves. Suddenly, Duncan’s sister walks in…and it’s Monica Stone! Monica and Jason are shocked for a moment. Jason understands now that Duncan was the reason that Monica was working for Andromeda. She even tells him that Duncan’s condition is her fault. Jason pleads with Monica to stop helping Novacom. He says she should ask Mr. Charles about the Novabox’s real benefits. That evening, Whit tries to tell Tom about how the benefits of the box will reverse themselves. Tom won’t listen. Soon after, however, Agnes has a relapse. Agnes begs Tom not to take her back to Hillingdale.

Questions:
Why didn’t Tom and Monica want to believe that the Novabox’s effects reversed themselves? Read Romans 2:7-8. Why is it best to accept the truth, even if it hurts for a while? Was Monica right for wanting to help her brother? Jason said she may have been doing things for the right reasons, but she was working on the wrong side. What did he mean? Read Proverbs 16:25. What might Monica and Tom think of this verse? What are some things kids do that may seem okay but are actually dangerous?