Consequences

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. (Galatians 6:7-8)

Adam Mitchell first meets the Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler when they pay a visit to the vault of alien technology belonging to Mitchell’s boss, American billionaire Henry van Statten. At the end of their adventure there, Rose convinces the Doctor to let Adam travel with them in the TARDIS. They go far into the future, to the year 200,000, and visit Sattelite Five, the news hub of the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire.

As usually happens, the Doctor discovers that something fishy is going on, and while he investigates, Adam is left to his own devices for a time. The temptation of access to vast stores of knowledge about this future universe, along with an unlimited credit stick and Rose’s mobile (specially adapted to allow her to call home no matter where they are in time and space), prove to be his undoing. He goes for the deluxe package, an information port that opens up in his forehead at the snap of a finger and allows data to stream directly into his brain, and then he uses his new hardware to send information back to his parents’ answering machine in his own time, planning to decrypt it and use it to his advantage once he returns home.

The Doctor does not think very highly of Adam’s upgrades, especially after they allow the bad guys to access information about the TARDIS and the Doctor’s true identity. As punishment, Adam becomes the first companion to get kicked out of the TARDIS. The Doctor takes him home, destroys the answering machine, and warns him to lead a quiet life lest his information port open at an inopportune time and cause him to be dissected.

Adam’s story is meant as a cautionary tale - reminding us what not to do if the TARDIS ever lands in our backyard and the Doctor invites us along for a ride. It’s also a good reminder to heed God’s instructions and not to let our own selfishness blind us to the consequences of our actions on our own journeys through time and space. May we be the kind of companions remembered for our actions on behalf of the universe, not the ones who got dumped by the wayside.