The Time Has Come

Eugene narrowly misses a telephone call from Whit, who appears to be near Jerusalem. At Jack's home, Eugene explains that the city has closed Whit's End but has permitted employees limited access. He is building a search program for the Imagination Station, hoping to move through its enormous store of historical knowledge and learn why the tunnel beneath Whit's End lies at the center of the conflict.

The threatened building is only one of Eugene's troubles. Whit has gone abroad, Katrina has left Odyssey, and even Whit's End has been taken away. Eugene feels that everything he loves has disappeared while he remains powerless to change any of it. Jack agrees that Eugene is powerless. The struggle is not merely physical but spiritual, and Eugene lacks the faith and prayer needed to face it.

Jack tells Eugene to stop hiding behind philosophy and put himself right with God. The people and places that once made his indecision comfortable are gone, leaving him at the point where he must choose. If he could look back across his years in Odyssey, Jack believes, he would see how every event has moved him toward this moment. When Eugene does not know what to say, Jack answers, “Just say yes.”

At the closed Whit's End, Eugene copies years of personal journal entries into the Imagination Station. This gives him familiar information with which to test his new search program and a way to examine Jack's claim. Connie senses that something is troubling him, but he refuses to explain until he has found his answers. He enters the machine and begins a journey through his own life.

Memories carry Eugene back to his first arrival at Whit's End and through the people and events that have challenged his reliance on intellect. Whit reminds him that machines cannot replace the human heart. A man waiting for the Messiah challenges him to find faith where mind and heart meet. Eugene relives a terrifying experience of complete isolation and darkness, which Connie had suggested might be a glimpse of hell. He hears Whit explain that human reasoning alone cannot grasp God and remembers admitting that he wants to believe but needs help with his unbelief.

The search moves through Eugene's relationship with Katrina: their first meeting, his love for her, the Bible she has given him, and her decision to leave because their relationship cannot continue without shared faith. He also remembers those who have departed, the artificial worlds he has questioned, and Jack's insistence that every lost comfort has brought him to a decision. Across all the memories comes the same answer: yes.

When Jack arrives at Whit's End, Eugene emerges overwhelmed by what he has seen. He fears that if he delays, his mind will construct another excuse against what his heart has demanded for years. He now understands that he must lose his old life to save it and asks what he must do. Jack tells him to repent, accept Jesus, and let Christ enter his heart.

Connie arrives just as Jack senses that someone important is missing from the moment. Eugene asks both of them to pray with him and confirms that he wants to become a Christian. Bernard and Tom each arrive unexpectedly, drawn by concern or a sudden feeling that they should stop. Eugene notes that one person is still absent, but Connie says Whit is present in a way because his influence has helped bring Eugene here.

Surrounded by his friends, Eugene kneels. His first grand, formal attempt at prayer falters, and Jack gently tells him to speak from his heart. Eugene begins again, addressing God as his new Father and asking Him to accept the clumsy words with which he finally responds to years of prompting.

While they pray, Whit calls the empty front counter and reaches Connie's recording. He leaves a message for Eugene, saying there is something he has been praying about since they met and promising to telephone again tomorrow. Unaware of what is happening only rooms away, Whit asks Eugene to hold down the fort.