"Anasazi" - Episode 2x25 (videos,guide,stills,transcript)

Videos

Anasazi - Trailer

Episode guide
(Source: http://xfiles.wearehere.net/episodes/2x25.htm )

2X25 Anasazi

When the newest member of the The Lone Gunman, the Thinker, hacks into the Defense Department's secret files on extraterrestrial life and he gives the Dat tape to Mulder to expose the truth. Mulder who has been suffering from sleeping problems is at first disappointed to find that the information is encrypted, but Scully recognises it as Navajo code used during World War II. Mulder is called to Assistant Director Skinner's office and questioned about the Dat tape, but Mulder punches Skinner. Mulder can not explain why he hit Skinner and Scully is alarmed at his behaviour. The Cigarette Smoking Man is also working to recover the Dat tape and visits Bill Mulder, they used to work together at the State Department and information on the tape implicates Bill Mulder. He contacts Mulder to come and see him, ready to tell his son the truth about his work. However Krycek kills him before he can tell Mulder anything. Mulder finds Krycek sneaking around his apartment building and they fight. Scully has to shoot Mulder in the shoulder to stop him from killing Krycek. Mulder wakes up in New Mexico and Scully explains that the water in his building was contaminated with LSD, which caused his psychosis. She introduces Navajo code talker Albert Hosteen who is decoding the files. Mulder is taken to a boxcar buried in the desert and discovers alien bodies inside. However the Cigarette Smoking Man's men arrive and destroy the boxcar with Mulder in it. Part One

Noteworthy Quote

The Cigarette Smoking Man:"Gentleman, that was the phone call I never wanted to get"

Credits
Story by: David Duchovny
Chris Carter
Teleplay by: Chris Carter
Director: R W Goodwin

Cast:
David Duchovny Special Agent Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson Special Agent Dana Scully

Guest Cast:
Mitch Pileggi Assistant Director Skinner
William B Davis Cigarette Smoking Man
Nicholas Lea Alex Krycek
Peter Donat Bill Mulder
Floyd "Red Crow" Westerman Albert Hosteen
Michael David Sims Senior FBI Agent
Renae Morriseau Joseph Doane
Ken Camroux 2nd Senior Agent
Dakota House Eric
Bernie Coulson Thinker
Bruce Harwood Byers
Dean Haglund Langly
Tom Braidwood Frohike
Mitch Davies Stealth Man
Paul Mclean Special Agent Kautz

Episode Stills



Transcript Anasazi 2x25
(Source: http://www.insidethex.co.uk/transcrp/scrp225.htm )

---

SCENE 1
NAVAJO RESERVATION
TWO GREY HILLS, NM
APRIL 9

(An earthquake occurs)

NATIVE AMERICAN: Where are you going.?

ERIC: Riding. I'll be back in a few hours.

ALBERT: Eric. Leave the snakes alone today. They'll be angry and afraid.

NATIVE AMERICAN: What is it.?

ALBERT: The Earth has a secret it needs to tell.

(Eric rides to a red rock pit. He sees the top of a metal object in the quarry and removes sand from off of it to reveal a hatch)

(Back at the reservation)

ERIC: I found something. Better come see.

(Outside six people are standing over something)

ERIC: What do you think it is?

NATIVE AMERICAN: I don't know.

(Albert says something in Navajo and then goes back inside >

ERIC: What did he say.?

NATIVE AMERICAN: He said it should be returned. They will be coming.

---

---

---

SCENE 2
DOVER DE
APRIL 10

(The Thinker is reading the 50 Greatest Conspiracies Of All Time while his computer is trying to log in passcodes. It starts bleeping)

THE THINKER: You bitch.! Beautiful.!

(He has hacked into something and inserts a DAT into a tape drive)

---

SCENE 3
UNITED NATIONS BUILDING
NEW YORK CITY, NY
APRIL 10

(An official is walking down a hall and knocks on a door)

ITALIAN OFFICIAL: What is it Antonio.?

ANTONIO: Someone has broken into the MJ documents.

ITALIAN OFFICIAL: Who would do such a thing ( he picks up the phone )

ANTONIO: I don't know.

JAPANESE OFFICIAL: ( Answer a ringing phone ) from where did you hear this.? Has everyone been told.?

GERMAN OFFICIAL: ( On the phone ) yes, I understand. No this is their problem. They must take care of it promptly. ( He hangs up and calls Cancerman ).

CANCERMAN: ( He answers the phone ) yes.

GERMAN OFFICIAL: You are familiar with the MJ file.?

CANCERMAN: Ja. I have already taken care of it.

GERMAN OFFICIAL: Good.

CANCERMAN: ( Hangs up ) Gentlemen. That was the phone call I never wanted to get.

(Black opps military break down The Thinkers appartment door and look around)

---

SCENE 4
WASHINGTON, DC
APRIL 11

(Mulder is getting water from the tap. There are three knocks on his door)

MULDER: What are you guys doing here.?

BYERS: Can we talk inside.?

MULDER: I'm not feeling well. I didn't sleep last night. I'm really not in the mood for the three stooges.

FROHIKE: I don't think we've been followed.

MULDER: Who would follow you.?

BYERS: Multinational black opps unit. Code name Garnett.

LANGLY: Trained killers. School of the American Alumni.

MULDER: Have you boys been defacing library books again.?

FROHIKE: They don't want us. They want him.

MULDER: Kennith Suna.

LANGLY: We think that's his real name.

BYERS: You've heard us refer to him as The Thinker.

MULDER: What did he do.?

BYRES: Hacked into the defense department computer system.

MULDER: ( Paying attention ) What.?

BYERS: The Thinker's an anarchist and a snoop. Whatever he got into has made him a very wanted man. Customs and immigration are on full alert. Every port of igress is closed.

MULDER: What are you coming to me for.?

BYERS: In his last communique, The Thinker named a meeting place and a three hour time window. He asked specifically for you.

LANGLY: The only problem is he may already be dead.

(A gun shot is heard. They all rush out of Mulders appartment to find people standing outside of another appartment)

MULDER: What happened.?

WOMAN: She just shot her husband. They'd been married for thirty years. It's like she went crazy.

COP: Everybody go back to your appartment, we'll handle this.

FROHIKE: Weirdness.

---

SCENE 5
US BOTANIC GARDEN
WASHINGTON, DC

(Mulder sits down until The Thinker walks toward him)

THE THINKER: I... I don't want you to know my real name. I... I just don't think it's that important that you know.

MULDER: Sounds like a line I used in a bar once.

THE THINKER: Look, I'm sorry about the wait but I kinda got this ninja party shaking my butt.

MULDER: Why.? What've you got.?

THE THINKER: Well if I'm correct I got the original defense departments UFO intelligence files. Everything from the 1940's and up.

MULDER: Everything.?

THE THINKER: Everything. Roswell, MJ12 and beyond.

MULDER: You've read them.?

THE THINKER: Not entirely. I downloaded all I could and then I split. I mean, I knew that these guys would be after me.

MULDER: What makes you think they know who you are.?

THE THINKER: I didn't take any procautions. I mean I... I did'nt even expect to get inside. ( He gives Mulder a package ).

MULDER: You know they always denied that these files even existed. What do you want from me.?

THE THINKER: I want the truth. And I want you to promise that those rat bastards answer to the people.

---

SCENE 6
FBI HEADQUARTERS
WASHINGTON, DC
APRIL 12

(Mulder looks at the tape and puts it in his computer. Scully walks in)

SCULLY: Mulder, Skinner's looking for you.

MULDER: Come in and lock the door.

SCULLY: Why, what's going on.?

MULDER: Are you familiar with the ten commandments Scully.?

SCULLY: You want me to recite them.?

MULDER: No. Just number 4, the one about obeying the sabbath, the part about where God made Heaven and Earth but didn't bother to tell anybody about his side projects.

SCULLY: What are you talking about.?

MULDER: The biggest lie of all.

(The screen shows Department Of Defense. Top Secret.)

SCULLY: What is this.?

MULDER: The Holy Grail. The original defense department files. Hard evidence that the government has known about the existance of extraterrestrials for over fifty years.

SCULLY: Where did you get this.?

MULDER: Your friendly neighborhood anarchist.

(The screen shows a strange code)

MULDER: I dont believe this. This is just gibberish.
( He stands up and hits a pencil holder ).
Damn it. I'm so sick of this crap, BS and double talk. I can't believe this.

SCULLY: Mulder, this may not be gibberish.

MULDER: It's a joke Scully, it's a bad joke.

SCULLY: I think it's just encrypted and I think I recognise it. It looks like Navajo. It was used in world war two. My father told me it was the only code the Japanese couldn't break, I... I remember the long strings of consonants.

MULDER: Well can you find out.?

SCULLY: Well only a handful of people can decipher it.

MULDER: Then find one of em. ( He goes to walk out )

SCULLY: Mulder. Are you okay.?

MULDER: Yeah. I just haven't been sleeping.

(Skinner is walking out of his office)

MULDER: Sir.

SKINNER: Agent Mulder. I need to speak with you.

MULDER: About.?

SKINNER: In my office.

MULDER: Why.? Is this another jerk off assignment where I end up doing the government's dirty work.?

SKINNER: It's about a rumor that you may be in reciept of some sensitive files.

MULDER: I don't know anything about that. ( He turns around ).

SKINNER: Agent Mulder listen... I'm talking to you...

(Skinner grabs Mulders shoulder and Mulder punches Skinner)

SKINNER: Are we done. We're done.

---

SCENE 7
APRIL 13

(Scully walks into a room with Skinner and other FBI directors)

DIRECTOR 1: Agent Scully, you heard about the incident here, in the hallway yesterday.

SCULLY: Yes sir.

DIRECTOR 1: Do you have any explanation as to agent Mulder's, bizarre behavior.?

SCULLY: No sir. Agent Mulder told me he was having trouble sleeping.

DIRECTOR 1: Do you think agent Mulder confides in you agent Scully?

SCULLY: Of course, he's my partner.

DIRECTOR 2: Your partner. Were'nt you originally assigned to agent Mulder to debunk his work.?

SCULLY: Yes sir. A year and a half ago. I've been writing regular reports stating the validity of agent Mulder's work on The X-Files.

DIRECTOR 2: Would you lie to protect him.?

SCULLY: Am I accused of lying.?

DIRECTOR 3: Agent Mulder has been advised of a disciplinary hearing. If there's something we learn at that meeting that you haven't stated today, you could be subject to the same summary action.

SCULLY: What action is that.?

SKINNER: Dismissal without chance of reinstatement.

SCULLY: Is that all sir.?

SKINNER: Yes agent Scully, thank you.

---

SCENE 8
WEST TISBURY
MARTHA'S VINEYARD, MA

(The door bell rings. Bill Mulder answers the door - It's Cancerman)

CANCERMAN: Hello Bill.

BILL MULDER: What are you doing here.?

CANCERMAN: I've come on some pressing business.

BILL MULDER: We had agreed that you would never...

CANCERMAN: That was a long time ago Bill. There have been some unforseen events.

(Bill Mulder and Cancerman are sitting at a table)

BILL: No one was supposed to know.

CANCERMAN: Who could have predicted the future Bill? That the computers that you and I only dreamed of would someday be home appliances capable of the most technical espionage.

BILL MULDER: The files should have been destroyed.

CANCERMAN: They should have, but they were'nt. Regret is an inevitable consequence of life.

BILL MULDER: How do you know my son has them.?

CANCERMAN: The man who stole them has come forward.

BILL MULDER: Oh God.

CANCERMAN: As always we maintain plausible denial. The files are only as real as their possible authentication.

BILL MULDER: My name is in those files.

CANCERMAN: The files have been encrypted of course. We have a certain luxury of time. We endevored to prevent that fact from ever coming to light.

BILL MULDER: You wouldn't... harm him.?

CANCERMAN: I've protected him this long, haven't I.? Your son has been provident in the alliances that he's created. The last thing we need is a martyr in a crusade.

BILL MULDER: But if he should, learn of my involvement...

CANCERMAN: Your you're own man Bill. You always have been. But I strongly encourage you in that event, to deny everything. It's good to see you again Bill. You look well.

(Cancerman gets up and leaves)

---

SCENE 9
(Mulder is sleeping in his appartment - someone is walking toward him. He wakes up and reaches for his gun)

SCULLY: You didn't answer your door.

MULDER: Oh. I took a pill.

SCULLY: I couldn't find you at work. I was worried about you.

MULDER: I came home. I must be running a fever. Maybe it's the threat of being burnt at the stake.

SCULLY: They called me in today.

MULDER: What did you tell them.?

SCULLY: That nothing was wrong.

MULDER: Well you told them the truth then.

SCULLY: Mulder, you opened the door for them, they're just looking for a good reason now.

MULDER: Okay, I'll say I'm sorry.

SCULLY: Mulder, these files. Who knows you have them.?

MULDER: Why.?

SCULLY: Because I had to lie today. And I put my job in jeopardy in order to do so. If they find out about those files...

MULDER: How would they find out.?

SCULLY: Maybe they already know. The question is, is it worth it.? Is this cassette worth risking everything.?

MULDER: I'll tell you when I find out what's on it. Now just tell me who I can talk to about breaking that code.

SCULLY: I'm meeting with someone in an hour. I might know something later tonight, I just need some kind of assurance that they're not going to let us hang ourselves with this. That I'm doing the right thing.

MULDER: I'll try to find out.

(Mulder tapes an X to the window)

SCULLY: I need to know one more thing Mulder. Why did you attack Skinner.?

MULDER: I've thought of that Scully. I honestly can't say.

(Scully Leaves)

---

SCENE 10
OFFICES OF THE NAVAJO NATION
WASHINGTON, DC

NAVAJO WOMAN: This is all you have.?

SCULLY: Currently yes.

NAVAJO WOMAN: There are words I recognise but you'll need an actual code talker to make any sense of this. I know a man who might help. I could have him contact you.

SCULLY: Yeah, thank you... er... can you tell me which words you do recognise.?

NAVAJO WOMAN: This word, it means goods, merchandise. And this one means vaccination. They're both modern words which is why they stand out.

SCULLY: Thank you. You've been very helpful.

(The phone rings at Mulders appartment)

MULDER: Mulder.

BILL MULDER: Fox, this is your father, I need to see you right away.

MULDER: Where are you.

BILL MULDER: I'm at home. How soon can you be here.

(Mulder looks at the X on the window)

BILL MULDER: Fox, it's very important.

(Scully enters Mulders appartment)

SCULLY: Mulder.

(She walks to the window, a gun shot is fired and the bullet cuts Scully's head)

---

SCENE 11
BILL MULDER'S HOUSE

BILL MULDER: Fox.

MULDER: Dad. What is it.?

BILL MULDER: Come in. ( Locking the door ). It's... Its so clear now. Simple. It was so complicated then. The, the choices that needed to be made.

MULDER: What choices.? Dad.

BILL MULDER: You're a smart boy Fox. You're smarter than I ever was.

MULDER: About what.?

BILL MULDER: Your politics are yours, you've never thrown in. The minute you do that, their doctrines become yours and you can be held responsible.

MULDER: You're talking about your work in the state department.

BILL MULDER: You're going to learn of things... Fox, you're going to hear the words and they'll come to make sense to you.

MULDER: What words.?

BILL MULDER: The merchandise. Look I, I've been taking some medication. You'll have to excuse me for a moment.

(Bill goes to the bathroom and opens a medicine cabinet. From the reflection in the mirror, Krycek appears. A gun shot is heard and Mulder runs into the bathroom)

MULDER: Dad.? Dad. Dad ( He hears tires screech ). Oh dad.

BILL MULDER: Forgive me...

(Bill Mulder dies. Mulder carries him to the sofa and uses his cell phone)

SCULLY: Hello.

MULDER: My father's dead Scully.

SCULLY: Where are you.?

MULDER: They shot him and he's dead.

SCULLY: Mulder where are you.? Just tell me where you are.

MULDER: I'm on the Vineyard.

SCULLY: Who shot him Mulder.?

MULDER: I don't know.

SCULLY: Mulder, were you arguing.?

MULDER: I didn't do it Scully, he was trying to tell me something.

SCULLY: Mulder listen to me...

MULDER: You gotta believe me Scully.

SCULLY: Mulder I believe you, just listen to me, you've gotta get out of there, you have to leave immediately.

MULDER: I can't leave the crime scene, it'll look like I'm running, make me look guilty.

SCULLY: Mulder they're gonna suspect you anyway, you've got no ID on the shooter, you, your behavior has been irrational recently, Mulder can't you see that everything is pointing directly at you?

MULDER: He was shot with somebody else's weapon.

SCULLY: Damn it Mulder, you're an FBI agent, you have access to weapons other than your own.

MULDER: All right. Meet me back at my apartment.

SCULLY: No. No you can't come home. Someone shot through your window tonight, they almost killed me, they might be trying to kill you.

---

SCENE 12
(Scully opens the door to her apartment to a ragged looking Mulder, she helps him in)

SCULLY: Fox... My God. Look at you. You're sick.

MULDER: I'm okay.

SCULLY: No come on, I want you to lie down on, woah, come on I want you to lie down, let me take your coat off.

MULDER: You gotta find them Scully.

SCULLY: Right now you have to lie down. Come here.

MULDER: We gotta find out who killed my father.

SCULLY: Well right now you need to rest okay, rest. It's okay. Okay.

---

SCENE 13
APRIL 14

(Mulder wakes up)

MULDER: Scully. (He looks for his gun).

---

SCENE 14
FBI HEADQUARTERS
FIREARMS UNIT

(A guy is firing bullets into a tank)

FBI GUY: I'll run a comparison as soon as they send me the bullet removed from the victim.

SCULLY: How long will it take to determine if there a match.?

FBI GUY: There both 9mm rounds. Run the specs compare the stray. We should know pretty much right away.

(Mulder phones Scully)

MULDER: You took my gun. You think I did it don't you.?

SCULLY: I took your gun to run it through ballistics to try and clear you Mulder.

MULDER: Well why didn't you ask me.?

SCULLY: You had a temperature of 102 last night I didn't want to wake you.

MULDER: What were you afraid that I was gonna shoot you too.?

SCULLY: Mulder, I'm being called into Skinners office this afternoon, they're gonna want answers and I'd like some good ones to give them.

MULDER: So you can clear your conscience and your name?! You've been making reports on me since the beginning Scully, taking your little notes!

SCULLY: Mulder you're sick, you're not thinking straight, I'm on your side. You know that.

MULDER: Look you have my files and you have my gun. Don't ask me for my trust.

SCULLY: Mul...

---

SCENE 15
(Mulder hangs up. Scully goes to Mulders apartment to get the bullet out of wall and sees an unmaked truck through the window. She goes into the basement and looks at the water supply units. On one of the tanks is a filter. She removes the filter. Outside, Mulder gets out of a cab and sees someone go around the side of the building. He runs through the building to the other side. Mulder grabs the person as he walks around the corner, and then punches him - it's Krycek)

MULDER: I'm gonna kill you anyway Krycek so you may as well tell me the truth. Did you kill my father.? Did you kill him... answer me. ( Mulder punches him ).

SCULLY: Mulder, don't shoot him. Just back away.

(Scully points a gun at Mulder)

MULDER: He killed my father Scully.

SCULLY: I have him Mulder.

MULDER: No Scully...

(Scully shoots Mulder, Krycek runs off)

WOMAN'S VOICE: Oh my God. Somebody call the police.

---

SCENE 16
APRIL 16

(Mulder is in a room)

ALBERT: He's awake.

SCULLY: Mulder, Mulder it's me. Here drink some of that, you haven't had any water in over 36 hours. Your shoulder's going to be fine. The round went through nice and clean.

MULDER: You shot me.

SCULLY: Yes, I did. You didn't give me much choice, you were going to shoot Krycek.

MULDER: Why'd you shoot me? He's the one.

SCULLY: If he is, then his weapon is probably the same one that killed your father.

MULDER: What are you talking about.?

SCULLY: If you killed Krycek with that weapon there would have been no way to prove that you didn't kill your father. I'm sorry about your father Mulder, I haven't been able to tell you.

MULDER: How'd you know it was Krycek.?

SCULLY: I didn't. I went back to your apartment to pull the slug from the wall, but I noticed an unmarked van delivering soft water and I found this in one of the tanks servicing your building.

MULDER: What is it.?

SCULLY: It's a dyalysis filter. It's a device used in the transmission of substance to solution, considering the level of psychosis you were experiencing, it was probably LSD, amphetamines of some kind of exotic dopamine agonist.

MULDER: Oh my God. There was a murder in my building.

SCULLY: Well it wasn't an excercise in subtlety. Mulder these men are quite possibly the same ones who killed your father and who systematically tried to destroy you by turning everyone you could trust against you. I don't think I have to tell you why.

MULDER: I'd gotten too close to the truth. Where are we.?

SCULLY: We're in Farmington New Mexico.

MULDER: New Mexico.?

SCULLY: We've just driven two days across country, I had to put you out to let the side effects of the psychosis abait. This is Albert Hosteen, he's been translating your files.

ALBERT: You're lucky she's a good shot.

MULDER: Or a bad one.

SCULLY: Albert was a Navajo code talker during world war two. He helped encode the original government documents.

MULDER: How'd you find him.?

SCULLY: Through a woman in Washington. But he claims he knew you were coming.

ALBERT: Last week we had an omen.

SCULLY: Most of these files are written in jargon but apparently there was an international conspiracy of silence dating back to the 1940's. Albert says that evidence of these secrets are buried on a Navajo reservation not far from here. He says that he'll take you as soon as you are able.

(Mulder gets up)

MULDER: What about you.?

SCULLY: I'm afraid you're on your own with this. I didn't show up for a meeting with Skinner the day before yesterday and I don't know what the repercussions will be.

MULDER: You've taken a big risk.

SCULLY: I was certain they would have killed you Mulder.

MULDER: Thank you. Thank you for taking care of me.

SCULLY: There's something else. My name is in those files. It appears in the latest entries with Duane Barry's.

MULDER: In what context.?

SCULLY: It's not clear, but it has something to do with a test. I want you to find out Mulder. I need you to.

---

SCENE 17
NAVAJO NATION
NATIONAL RESERVATION

(Mulder and Albert are in a car)

MULDER: You said you knew I was coming.

ALBERT: In the desert, things find a way to survive. Secrets are like this too. They push their way up through the sands of deception so that men can know them. Here, this is my house.

MULDER: But why me.?

ALBERT: You are prepared to accept the truth aren't you, to sacrifice yourself to it.

MULDER: I don't understand.

ALBERT: There was a tribe of indians who lived here more than 600 years ago. Their name was Anasazi, it means ancient aliens. No evidence of their fate exists. Historians say they disappeared without a trace. They say that because they will not sacrifice themselves to the truth.

MULDER: And what is the truth.?

ALBERT: Nothing disappears without a trace.

MULDER: You think they were abducted.

ALBERT: By visitors who come here still.

(Albert gets out of the car, Mulder follows him)

MULDER: What's buried out there.?

ALBERT: Lies. You will see for yourself.

(Mulder gets on the back of Eric's bike)

ERIC: It's through these rocks. It's down there.

(Mulder climbs down the rockface and his cell phone rings)

MULDER: Mulder.

CANCERMAN: You're a hard man to reach.

MULDER: Not hard enough apparently.

CANCERMAN: Where are you.?

MULDER: I'm at the Betty Ford center, where are you.?

CANCERMAN: I need to talk to you Mr Mulder, in person. There are some things to explain.

MULDER: I'll save the government the plane fare, I just need to know which government that is.

CANCERMAN: Your father may have told you things Mr Mulder. I should warn against taking those things at face value.

MULDER: Yeah, which things are those.?

CANCERMAN: He was never an opponent of the project. In fact he authorised it. That's what he couldn't live with.

MULDER: No, he couldn't live with it because you had him killed.

CANCERMAN: We weren't involved in that.

MULDER: Now listen to me you black lunged son of a bitch, I'm gonna expose you and your project, your time is over.

CANCERMAN: Expose anything and you only expose your father...

(Mulder hangs up - Cancerman gets out of a car and climbs into a helicopter)

BLACK OPPS GUY 1: Sir, we got a co-ordinate on F were ready to go.

CANCERMAN: Let's go.

BLACK OPPS GUT 2: Need a cigarette.?

(The helicopter takes off. Back at the reservation Mulder uncovers a plaque in the dirt which reads Sierra Pacific Railroad RTC - 567 480 >

ERIC: Over here.

MULDER: This is a boxcar.

(Mulder and Eric open the hatch into the boxcar)

ERIC: Refrigeration car.

(Scully's cell phone rings)

SCULLY: Scully.

MULDER: Yeah, it's me.

SCULLY: Where are you.?

MULDER: Nowhere I ever expected.

SCULLY: What do you mean.?

MULDER: I'm in a boxcar buried inside a quarry. There are bodies everywhere.

SCULLY: Bodies.?

MULDER: Stacked floor to ceiling.

SCULLY: What happened to them.?

MULDER: I don't know.

SCULLY: Mulder, in these files I found references to experiments that were conducted here in the US by Axis Power scientists who were given amnesty after the war.

MULDER: What kind of experiments.?

SCULLY: Some kind of tests, on humans. What they referred to as merchandise.

MULDER: But these aren't human Scully. From the look of it I'd say they were alien.

SCULLY: Are you sure.?

MULDER: I'm pretty damn sure. Wait a sec...

(Mulder looks at the arm of one of the 'merchandise')

MULDER: This one... has a smallpox vacination scar.

SCULLY: Mulder...

MULDER: Oh my God Scully, what have they done.?

(The hatch closes. A helicpoter lands and black opps military rush out)

BLACK OPPS GUY 1:Move out, get away from there, keep him back. Cover us were going in. Go.

CANCERMAN: What's your name boy.?

BLACK OPPS GUY 1:He's not here.

CANCERMAN: Where's Mulder. He's here.

BLACK OPPS GUY 1: No sir, if he was, he's vanished without a trace.

CANCERMAN: Nothing vanishes without a trace. Burn it.

(An incendry device is thrown into the boxcar. It explodes and flames fly from the open hatch. Cancerman and the black opps militay climb back into the helicopter and leave)

[TO BE CONTINUED ...]

"Our Town" - Episode 2x24 (videos,guide,stills,transcript)

Videos

Our Town - Trailer

Episode guide
(Source: http://xfiles.wearehere.net/episodes/2x24.htm )

2X24 Our Town

Mulder and Scully travel to Dudley, Arkansas to investigate the disappearance of Federal Poultry Inspector, George Kearns. Aided by Sheriff Arens, they examine a field where witnesses reported seeing fox-fire on the night Kearns went missing. Mulder suggests some sort of ceremony took place in the field, but the Sheriff dismisses it as an illegal trash burn, nothing more. The interview Kearn's wife who tells they that he probably ran off with a younger woman. The Agents visit the local Chaco Chicken processing plant, which Kearns was about to recommend be closed down due to health violations. While they are there one of the workers, Paula Gray goes crazy and takes her supervisor hostage but Sheriff Arens shoots her dead. Mulder and Scully visit the plant's owner Walter Chaco, Paula was his granddaughter, they request permission to do an autopsy on her and he agrees. Scully discovers signs that Paula was suffering from Crutzfelt-Jacob's disease, the rare but non contagious disease that Kearns had. She also discovers that Paula is forty-seven old, however she looks to be in her early twenties. When a statistically impossible number of the local population also contract Crutzfelt-Jacob's disease, Mulder begins to get suspicious. He orders the dredging of a local river used as run out from the plant, which leads to the discovery of a number of mutilated skeletons. Mulder and Scully begin to suspect that chicken is not the staple diet of the local towns folk.

Noteworthy Quote

Scully: "So Mulder, are you ready to admit they sent us on a fool's errand"

Mulder: "If a fool would persist in his folly he would become wise Scully"

Credits
Writer: Frank Spotnitz
Director: Rob Bowman

Cast:
David Duchovny Special Agent Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson Special Agent Dana Scully

Guest Cast:
John Milford Walter Chaco
Caroline Kava Doris Kearns
Gary Grubbs Sheriff Tom Arens
Robin Mossley Dr Randolph
John Maclaren George Kearns
Hrothgar Mathews Mental Patient
Gabrielle Miller Paula Gray
Timothy Webber Jess Harold
Robert Moloney Worker
Carrie Cain Sparks Maid

Episode Stills



Transcript Our Town 2x24
(Source: http://www.insidethex.co.uk/transcrp/scrp224.htm )

---

SCENE 1
COUNTY ROAD A7
DUDLEY, ARKANSAS

(Forest, at night. Car pulls into a deserted area, then stops. GEORGE KEARNS, 40’s and PAULA GRAY, early 20’s are in the car. GEORGE is very nervous.)

GEORGE: (stroking her shoulder) We don't have to be out here, you know. It's not like you're still in high school. We can go to the motel.

PAULA: Mm-mm. I wouldn't want anyone to see us.

GEORGE: No one’ll see us.

PAULA: It's a small town.

(PAULA gets out of the car and closes the door. As she does, GEORGE has a small seizure. He manages to take a couple of pills, then relaxes.)

PAULA: (teasing) George... Come on, George.

(He joins her running through the woods.)

GEORGE: (breathless) Why'd ya change your mind anyway?

PAULA: I don’t know. You were pretty persistent, I guess.

GEORGE: Squeaky wheel gets the oil, right?

PAULA: I guess so.

GEORGE: What's wrong with right here? I can just set the blanket down and...

PAULA: Not yet.

GEORGE: Why not?

PAULA: Because... You have to catch me first. (she runs off into the woods)

GEORGE: Aw, come on, now. You don't want me to chase after you, do you?

(He chases her, but can’t run as fast.)

GEORGE: Paula! (There is no sign of her. He trips and falls.) Paula? …

(Tribal music plays in the background.)

GEORGE: Paula. Where are you?

(He runs, then trips and falls again.)

GEORGE: (in pain) Son of a bitch!

(He looks up and sees he is surrounded by lights getting closer to him. Finally he sees a large figure wearing a primitive ceremonial costume and a painted wood mask raise an axe over his head. GEORGE screams as the axe descends toward him.)

---

---

SCENE 2
FBI HEADQUARTERS
WASHINGTON, DC

(X-Files office. MULDER is looking at file on GEORGE KEARNS.)

MULDER: I don’t know, Scully, the man’s vanished. He hasn’t been seen or heard from in ten weeks.

SCULLY: Come on, Mulder, don't you see what they're doing? They're wasting our time. They're sending us on some kind of a wild goose chase.

MULDER: Chicken chase. (SCULLY looks at him questioningly) George Kearns was a federal poultry inspector assigned to Dudley, Arkansas, home of … Chaco Chicken.

SCULLY: I'm not questioning the case's legitimacy, just their motives in assigning it to us. I mean, doesn't it bother you at all that they're undermining your work?

MULDER: They may "think" they are, but on the night George Kearns disappeared a woman on the I-10 saw a strange fire in an adjacent field.

SCULLY: Yes, I read that report. She claims that she saw some kind of a-a foxfire spirit. I'm surprised she didn't call Oprah as soon as she got off the phone with the police.

MULDER: Folktales dating back to the 19th century from the Ozarks describe people being taken away by fireballs. It's supposed to be the spirits of massacred Indians.

SCULLY: (closing her eyes, exasperated) Those are only legends, Mulder.

MULDER: Well, most legends don't leave behind 12-foot burn marks. (hands her a photo of a field with a large burned circle) That photo was taken by state police in the field where the woman claims to have seen foxfire.

SCULLY: This could have been made by anything-- a bonfire.

MULDER: I thought so too. Until I remembered this. (crosses to TV) It's a documentary I saw when I was in college about an insane asylum. Gave me nightmares.

SCULLY: I didn’t think anything gave you nightmares.

MULDER: Unh, I was young.

(MULDER starts tape. Man, CREIGHTON JONES in hospital gown pacing back and forth telling his story. There is a panicked tone to his voice.)

JONES: (on video tape) No...They, uh... See, they took... They, uh... They took me away... They took me away-- the fire demons. The fire demons... the fire demons wanted their pound of flesh but, uh... I'm too fast for them. (he starts laughing ) They cannot kill you. See, you can't let them kill you. Oh, no. Don't let them kill you. Don't let them kill you. That's no way to get to heaven. No, sir. No, sir. That's no way to get to heaven....

MULDER: (stopping tape) His name was Creighton Jones. He pulled off the road on May 17, 1961 to take a nap. They found him three days later so deranged by what he'd encountered that he had to be committed. The state police found his car on the I-10 right in the middle of Dudley, Arkansas, … home of Chaco Chicken.

(MULDER goes back to his desk. SCULLY, disturbed by the tape, looks at the TV, then at the picture of the burned field.)

---

SCENE 3
DUDLEY, ARKANSAS

(MULDER and SCULLY investigate the large burned area in the middle of a field. MULDER picks up a fork from off the ground and examines it. SCULLY finds a strange stick in the ground.)

SCULLY: What's this, Mulder?

MULDER: That's a witch's peg. Staking it into the ground is supposed to ward off evil spirits.

(SHERIFF ARENS walks toward them.)

SHERIFF ARENS: (thick southern accent) Can I help you folks? I'm Sheriff Arens. I saw you back at the turnoff.

MULDER: We're with the FBI. I’m Special Agent Mulder. This is Agent Scully. Were investigating the disappearance of George Kearns.

SHERIFF ARENS: I'm happy to help you but I’m not sure how much there is to investigate.

SCULLY: Well, Sheriff Arens, a man is missing.

SHERIFF ARENS: We didn't find any evidence of criminal activity and since no body turned up we just went ahead and filed a missing persons report.

MULDER: Why didn't you mention this witch's peg in your report?

SHERIFF ARENS: Because these fields are filled with witch's pegs. A lot of these old hill people cling tight to their superstitions.

MULDER: What about the scorched area?

SHERIFF ARENS: Illegal trash burning. (MULDER and SCULLY look at him strangely, he shrugs) I keep handing out the citations. They keep doing it anyway. It's cheaper to pay the fine than to haul it to the dump.

MULDER: So you don’t believe it’s foxfire?

SHERIFF ARENS: Sir, foxfire's nothing more than a ghost story about swamp gas.

(SCULLY gives MULDER an "I told you so" smile. He acknowledges the hit with a tight grin.)

SHERIFF ARENS: I don't know what y'all are thinking, but George Kearns was passing through town since he got here six months ago.

SCULLY: How do you mean?

SHERIFF ARENS: Never did fit in-- not at the plant, not even at his own home. It's no big secret that Kearns stepped out on his wife every chance he got.

SCULLY: Did he have many chances?

SHERIFF ARENS: Let's just say George is the type of man you'd expect to go chasing some sweet young thing out of town.

SCULLY: Is that what his wife thinks happened?

SHERIFF ARENS: Push comes to shove, I’m sure she does. But, you're welcome to ask her yourself.

---

SCENE 4

(KEARNS household. MULDER and SCULLY interview DORIS KEARNS.)

DORIS: My husband had a character that leaves something out. I always knew that about him but I didn't have the sense to do anything about it. I guess he saved me the trouble.

SCULLY: So you're fairly certain that he left you for somebody else.

DORIS: George left me a long time ago. Right around the time I turned 40. Leaving town was just a formality.

SCULLY: Do you have any idea who he might be with now?

DORIS: No. And I don't want to know, either.

MULDER: (looking at folder) This inspection report-- your husband was about to file it with the Department of Agriculture the day before he disappeared.

DORIS: I don’t know anything about that.

MULDER: He never discussed his work with you?

DORIS: He never told me and I never asked.

MULDER: Well, he cited several major health violations. He was gonna recommend that the plant be shut down.

DORIS: I told you, I don’t know a thing about what went on in that plant.

SCULLY: Did your husband ever receive any threatening phone calls or anything unusual in the mail?

DORIS: Sure. There were hang-ups but I always thought it was one of his girlfriends.

MULDER: Let me give you my phone number. If your husband tries to contact you I want you to get in touch with me. Or if you can think of anything else.

(MULDER and SCULLY leave.)

---

SCENE 5

(Chaco Chicken processing plant. Billboard advertises "Good People, Good Food." MULDER and SCULLY arrive and enter the plant. PAULA is at her locker getting ready. She is shaking, looks ill.)

WORKER: Come on, Paula. Let’s go.

(PAULA looks around nervously and swallows some pills dry, then follows the others to the plant floor.)

(On the floor dead chickens are being processed. SHERIFF ARENS is introducing MULDER and SCULLY to JESS HAROLD.)

SHERIFF ARENS: This is Jess Harold. He's the floor manager here. Jess, these people are with the FBI.

JESS HAROLD: Oh, you're here about George Kearns, right?

SCULLY: Well, there’s a possibility that his disappearance may have something to do with a report he was about to file with the Department of Agriculture.

JESS HAROLD: (laughs) You got to understand that ever since he got here George has been trying to shut us down.

SCULLY: Well he cited multiple violations.

JESS HAROLD: I know he did. Believe me, I had to answer to every one.

SCULLY: Was there any merit to his claims?

JESS HAROLD: Let me show you something.

(JESS HAROLD leads them to another part of the plant. As they exit, PAULA who was working nearby begins gasping as if in great pain. She looks like she’s about to faint. Her COWORKER [who looks a lot like Chris Carter] notices.)

COWORKER: Paula, you okay?

( PAULA gasps. She watches the dead chickens go by on spikes. Suddenly, she sees the severed head of GEORGE instead of a chicken. She pulls the head off the spike, throws it to the floor and runs out of the room. The COWORKER looks down at the dead chicken on the floor, confused.)

(JESS HAROLD continues giving MULDER and SCULLY the tour. SHERIFF ARENS follows along.)

JESS HAROLD: This is where George worked. Not a chicken leaves here without passing through the inspector's station. We've been operating here for 50 years without any trouble with the USDA. Until George came along.

SCULLY: So he really did threaten to shut the plant down.

JESS HAROLD: Oh, he tried, but we got three other inspectors here who consistently give us top marks. Here, see for yourself. (hands her a clipboard) No, the only problem this plant ever had was George.

SCULLY: Problem enough to do something about?

(MULDER looks around the plant.)

JESS HAROLD: If you're suggesting any kind of unsavoriness, I guess anything's possible, but you’ve got to understand about George. He had a bone to pick with everyone-- even the federal government.

SCULLY: What are you talking about?

JESS HAROLD: He filed a big worker's compensation suit-- claimed he was getting terrible headaches from his job. "Line hypnosis" his lawyers called it.

SCULLY: Yeah, I read about that. It's caused by high-speed repetitive activity.

JESS HAROLD: I will not deny that a lot of chickens go through here every day, but we've always operated well within federal guidelines.

SCULLY: What happened to his lawsuit?

JESS HAROLD: Well, it was dismissed just a few weeks before he disappeared.

(MULDER has been looking at a very large vat of disgusting organic material being slowly stirred by a machine.)

MULDER: What’s that?

JESS HAROLD: Oh, that... (leads them over to the machine) It's a feed grinder. Chops up bone and tissue. See, any part of the bird we can't package we process, use as feed.

MULDER: Chickens feed on chickens?

JESS HAROLD: (laughs) I know it doesn't sound too appetizing, but it is nutritious and it cuts down on costs. The meat is cooked and mixed with grain. No reason letting all that protein go to waste.

(Horn blows.)

JESS HAROLD: You'll have to excuse me. I got a shift change.

(JESS HAROLD leaves them alone, as does SHERIFF ARENS who crosses over to someone else.)

SHERIFF ARENS: Logan…

SCULLY: So, Mulder, are you ready to admit they sent us on a fool's errand?

MULDER: If the fool would persist in his folly, he would become wise, Scully.

SCULLY: (impatient) Well, whether George Kearns skipped town or somebody killed him, this case could've been handled by any agent under the Kansas City office.

MULDER: I’m not so sure about that.

(MULDER and SCULLY start to exit, but turn back when they hear a woman cry out. PAULA has her arm around JESS HAROLD’s neck, a boning knife against the side of his face. MULDER pulls out his gun. SCULLY begins walking slowly toward PAULA, her hand stretched out.)

MULDER: : Let him go. We’re federal agents

SCULLY. Everyone stay calm. Don't hurt him. Just tell us what you want. Don’t get excited. Just calm down. Stay calm. We don’t want anyone to get hurt. We can talk this thing out. Why don’t you give me the knife?

(PAULA is listening to SCULLY, but then from across the room there is the sound of a gunshot as SHERIFF ARENS shoots and kills PAULA. She falls into the vat behind her. MULDER slowly lowers his gun looking at SHERIFF ARENS.)

SCULLY: (to JESS HAROLD) You okay?

(PAULA’s body sinks into the dead chicken mush.)

---

SCENE 6

(Later PAULA’s body has been removed from the vat. She is zipped up in a body bag and wheeled out. DR. RANDOLPH is treating the cut on JESS HAROLD’s neck.)

SCULLY: Do you have any idea what might have prompted her attack?

JESS HAROLD: None at all.

SCULLY: No recent complaints or strange behavior?

JESS HAROLD: Paula has always been one of our best employees -- stable, well-liked... I can't even begin to imagine what brought this on.

MULDER: What about you, Dr. Randolph? Do you have any ideas?

JESS HAROLD: If you're done with me, I got work to do.

DR. RANDOLPH: Come by tomorrow. Let me make sure it's not infected.

JESS HAROLD: (tense, walks away) Sure.

DR. RANDOLPH: Uh, Paula came by last week complaining of persistent headaches. She'd suddenly started getting... irritable, unable to sleep.

SCULLY: Were you able to determine the cause?

DR. RANDOLPH: No. I'm just the staff physician. I don't usually treat anything more difficult than a hand injury. I'm out of my depth in psychiatric matters.

SCULLY: You didn't find anything physically wrong with her?

DR. RANDOLPH: I sent her to County for a brain scan and EEG. Both came back normal so I just assumed her condition was stress-related.

SCULLY: Could it have been line hypnosis?

DR. RANDOLPH: Like I said, I'm not qualified to make that diagnosis.

MULDER: But you can tell us whether George Kearns came to you with any similar complaints.

DR. RANDOLPH: They presented similar symptoms, yeah.

SCULLY: How did you treat them?

DR. RANDOLPH: I treated them both with pain medication-- codeine.

SCULLY: Well, I think an autopsy on Paula Gray would clarify things.

DR. RANDOLPH: I'm afraid I can't authorize that. You'd have to speak with Mr. Chaco.

SCULLY: Why? You're a physician.

DR. RANDOLPH: Yeah, but Mr. Chaco was Paula Gray's grandfather and her legal guardian.

---

SCENE 7
CHACO RESIDENCE

(MULDER and SCULLY drive up to elegant old southern home. They go to the door and ring the bell. The HOUSEKEEPER leads them out back to where CHACO, 60’s, is hand feeding some pet chickens who are in a small outdoor pen.)

MULDER: Mr. Chaco?

CHACO: (not looking at them) Feeding these chickens helps me clear my mind. They're perfect creatures, you know. We eat their meat, their eggs. We sleep on pillows stuffed with their feathers. Not many people I know are as useful as these chickens.

(MULDER and SCULLY are uncomfortable.)

SCULLY: We’re sorry to disturb you, sir. We realize this is a difficult time for you.

CHACO: You want to conduct an autopsy on my granddaughter. Why? You think Paula had some kind of disease that made her act that way?

SCULLY: That's what we're hoping a postmortem will determine.

CHACO: Thought your business here was George Kearns' disappearance.

MULDER: It is, but we suspect that might have something to do with what happened to your granddaughter.

CHACO: How?

MULDER: We’re not sure yet, but it's possible they may have both suffered from the same neurological disorder.

CHACO: You know, when I came here after the war, Dudley was just a patch of dirt. I built that plant and put my whole family to work there. We made this town one of the biggest chicken processors in the nation. We couldn't have done that with troublemakers and layabouts.

SCULLY: I assume you’re talking about George Kearns.

CHACO: Men like George Kearns don't build things. They tend to tear them down.

SCULLY: Then you're aware of his recommendation to close down your plant?

CHACO: You know, living a long life is a mixed blessing. You spend your youth trying to build something for yourself and your family and your community only to watch it all taken away from you at your old age. Still... I'm not ready to die just yet. (smiles) You go do your autopsy on Paula. I want to know what happened to my granddaughter.

(As CHACO enters his house alone, MULDER and SCULLY share a look.)

---

SCENE 8
SETH COUNT MORGUE

(SCULLY is looking at tissue in a microscope in autopsy lab. MULDER enters.)

SCULLY: I think we’ve got something here, Mulder. Take a look at this.

MULDER: (looking in microscope) What am I looking at?

SCULLY: It's a specimen from Paula Gray's brain. She suffered from a rare degenerative disorder called Creutzfeldt- Jacob disease. It's characterized by the formation of spongelike holes in the brain tissue.

MULDER: Why didn't this show up on any of her charts?

SCULLY: Short of an autopsy it's very difficult to diagnose. Outside of a textbook I’ve only seen infected tissue once and that was back in medical school.

MULDER: Could this be the reason she attacked Jess Harold?

SCULLY: Absolutely. Victims of Creutzfeldt-Jacob suffer from progressive dementia, severe seizures...

MULDER: Is it fatal?

SCULLY: This girl would have been dead in months.

MULDER: Except that Paula Gray was no girl. This is her personnel file, Scully. Check it out. It says here that Paula Gray was born in 1948, which means that this woman-- Chaco’s granddaughter-- was 47 years old.

SCULLY: There’s got to be some kind of a mistake.

MULDER: Let's find out. Her birth certificate should be on file at the Seth County courthouse. Who knows, Scully? This could be *even* more interesting than foxfire.

(MULDER leaves. SCULLY stares at PAULA’s body for a moment.)

---

SCENE 9

(Later. MULDER and SCULLY driving along two lane road.)

SCULLY: The odds that Paula Gray and George Kearns had the same disease are practically nonexistent. Creutzfeldt-Jacob can be hereditary but it's not communicable. That two unrelated people in the same small town would contract the same rare disease is...

MULDER: …A lot more likely than Paula Gray being three years shy of her 50th birthday.

(The chicken truck in the oncoming lane suddenly swerves in front of them.)

SCULLY: Mulder, look out!

(MULDER steers the car off the road and out of the way of the truck which crashes into the creek next to the road. MULDER and SCULLY get out and run to the truck. Chickens are squawking as the truck begins to sink into the reddish brown water.)

MULDER: Call an ambulance. I’ll try to get the driver out.

SCULLY: (on phone) This is Federal Agent Scully. I’d like to report an accident on Count A7 …

---

SCENE 10

(Later, crash scene. Tow truck is pulling the truck out of the creek.)

SCULLY: I just got off the phone with Dr. Randolph. He said this driver had the same symptoms as Paula Gray and George Kearns.

MULDER: You're saying this is a third victim of Creutzfeldt-Jacob? You just got through telling me that two cases would be statistically impossible.

SCULLY: Well, they would be. (pause) I just came up with a sick theory, Mulder.

(MULDER pauses, then puts his hand on her shoulder and leads her to the side to speak privately.)

MULDER: Ooh, I’m listening.

SCULLY: You saw the feed grinders at the plant. What if somebody put George Kearns’s body in there? Creutzfeldt-Jacob is a prion disease which means it could have been passed on to the chickens and in turn anyone who consumed them.

MULDER: So anyone eating chickens out of Dudley would be at risk?

SCULLY: It's possible. You know, sometimes in England they'll incinerate cattle to keep them from passing mad cow disease on to people.

MULDER: Yeah, but chickens from Dudley are shipped all over the country. If what you’re saying were true, we'd be seeing an epidemic not just a few local cases.

(SCULLY shrugs. MULDER looks again at the red water in the creek.)

MULDER: Sheriff Arens? What's wrong with this water?

SHERIFF ARENS: Runoff from the plant. Chicken litter, mostly. Some blood and parts from the birds.

MULDER: Was this river searched after George Kearns disappeared?

SHERIFF ARENS: Talk about a needle in a haystack.

MULDER: Well, I’d like it dragged as soon as possible.

SHERIFF ARENS: (surprised) Why would you want to do that?

MULDER: To see what's in there.

SHERIFF ARENS: Well, listen, that's a filthy job and I don't particularly want to do it unless I know what it is you're looking for.

MULDER: Hopefully nothing.

(SHERIFF ARENS says nothing.)

MULDER: Look, Sheriff Arens, if you don't want to do it I can get some of my men down here to do it.

SHERIFF ARENS: (big grin, all accommodating good old boy) I'll do it. (leaves)

SCULLY: Mulder ….

MULDER: Oh, it's just a hunch. If George Kearns didn’t run off, if he was murdered for that inspection report then his body's got to be somewhere.

---

SCENE 11

(Later that evening, still by the bloody creek which is being dragged. SHERIFF ARENS quickly comes over to MULDER and SCULLY.)

SHERIFF ARENS: We closed the spillway, and the water level dropped. They came up with it almost immediately.

MULDER: Did you find Kearns?

SHERIFF ARENS: Maybe you better see for yourself.

(MULDER and SCULLY look at net filled with bones, then at each other.)

---

SCENE 12

(Next morning. SCULLY is sorting bones in a large room. MULDER enters.)

MULDER: Sheriff Arens is outside. They're still pulling bones from the river.

SCULLY: Well, so far I’ve been able to isolate nine distinct skeletons. This one belonged to the late George Kearns.

MULDER: How do you know?

SCULLY: The pin in his femur. According to his medical file, Kearns broke his right leg four years ago.

MULDER: What about the others?

SCULLY: Well. I'll need more sophisticated equipment to be certain, but I estimate that some of these bones are as much as 20 or 30 years old. All of them share one strange detail, though.

MULDER: Well, they seem to have lost their heads.

SCULLY: Well, besides that. The older bones show signs of decay and surface abrasion just like you'd expect but for some reason all of them, even Kearns’s, are smooth and buffed at the ends.

MULDER: (looking) It’s almost like they’ve been polished.

SCULLY: It could be from erosion from the water, but...

MULDER: No. That water had hardly any current and this level of erosion wouldn't be confined to just the ends of the bones.

SCULLY: Any theories?

MULDER: Maybe.

(MULDER pulls out his phone and begins dialing.)

---

SCENE 13

(DORIS comes down the hall where the SHERIFF ARENS is getting some coffee.)

DORIS: Sheriff Arens?

SHERIFF ARENS: Doris.

DORIS: Is it true? Just tell me.

SHERIFF ARENS: Doris, I want you to listen to me.

DORIS: They found him, didn't they? (begins crying)

SHERIFF ARENS: Well, we brought up quite a few remains at the river this afternoon and George’s were among them. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry.

DORIS: No... No!

(DORIS runs crying hysterically down the hall.)

SHERIFF ARENS: (calling after her) It’s gonna be all right. Don’t worry, Doris. We’ll take care of you. Doris? Doris!

---

SCENE 14

(Chicken plant. JESS HAROLD takes clipboard from a WORKER.)

JESS HAROLD: That the new schedule?

(He sees DR. RANDOLPH across the room and goes to speak privately with him in a room with live chickens. DR. RANDOLPH is very nervous.)

JESS HAROLD: Why do I get the feeling you're not here to check up on my neck?

DR. RANDOLPH: They found bones in the river.

JESS HAROLD: I know. I heard.

DR. RANDOLPH: Did you also hear that Clayton Walsh came down with the symptoms? That's four. It's getting worse with every day that goes by.

JESS HAROLD: Someone has to tell Mr. Chaco.

DR. RANDOLPH: He knows what’s happening. He’s just not doing anything about it.

JESS HAROLD: Maybe I should talk to him.

DR. RANDOLPH: You can try.

JESS HAROLD: I will talk to him. He'll listen to me.

DR. RANDOLPH: And if he doesn't?

---

SCENE 15

(MULDER in the room with the bones looking at some files. SCULLY enters holding a bucket of chicken.)

MULDER: I had Danny run a check on all missing persons last seen within a 200- mile radius of Dudley. In the last 50 years, 87 people have disappeared near here and, judging from the forensic evidence, I’d say the same person or persons was responsible.

SCULLY: Then it may have been the work of some kind of a cult.

MULDER: Scully, I think the good people of Dudley have been eating more than just chicken.

SCULLY: You think these people were eaten?

MULDER: Look at these bones. They've been polished at both ends suggesting they were boiled in a pot. Anthropologists have used similar evidence to prove cannibalism among the Anasazi tribe of New Mexico.

SCULLY: Well, then Paula Gray may have contracted Creutzfeldt-Jacob by eating George Kearns.

MULDER: That could begin to explain her youthful appearance.

SCULLY: What are you talking about?

MULDER: Some cannibalistic rituals are enacted with a belief that they can prolong life.

SCULLY: Cannibalism is one thing but increasing longevity by eating human flesh...

MULDER: Think about it, Scully. From vampirism to Catholicism, whether literally or symbolically, the reward for eating flesh is eternal life. I don’t claim to know how it works, but we both saw Paula Gray.

SCULLY: We never confirmed the date of birth on her personnel file.

MULDER: The records at the courthouse should tell us how old she really is and if anybody else in Dudley is lying about their age. (at door) You coming?

(MULDER exits. SCULLY looks at the bones on the floor, then sets the bucket of chicken down and follows him.)

---

SCENE 16

(Chaco residence, night. JESS HAROLD is with CHACO.)

JESS HAROLD: You’ve got to do something about what’s happening, Mr. Chaco. People are getting scared. They don't know what to make of things.

CHACO: They're losing their faith is what it sounds like.

JESS HAROLD: It's getting hard to hold on to the way things are going. Three more have gotten sick since yesterday.

CHACO: I lost my granddaughter in this, Jess, so don't tell me what we're up against. Now, I said I’ll handle it.

JESS HAROLD: I know you did ....

(Door bell rings. HOUSEKEEPER answers it. DORIS enters in tears.)

DORIS: I need to see Mr. Chaco.

CHACO: Doris?

DORIS: I... I can't do this anymore, Mr. Chaco. I can't keep lying.

CHACO: (comforting) It's all right. Jess told me what happened. You have nothing to worry about.

DORIS: They're gonna think I did it.

CHACO: No. They won't think any such thing.

DORIS: But I did. I helped!

CHACO: No. He was no good, Doris. He had no values. He didn't fit in here.

DORIS: But he was my husband.

CHACO: That was a price you had to pay. Now, you knew that from the beginning.

DORIS: But those FBI agents...

CHACO: Ah-ah. This town wasn't built in a day. It's not about to fall apart in a day. You're a part of us now and we're going to take good care of you. Now I want you to go home, get some rest. You've got a funeral to go to. This whole thing will blow over soon enough and you'll wonder what all the fuss is about.

DORIS: I’m sorry.

CHACO: That's all right. We all understand, Doris. Good night.

(DORIS leaves not crying anymore, but still upset. Smiles weakly over her shoulder as she goes out the door.)

CHACO: She'll be fine.

JESS HAROLD: She's not stable.

CHACO: She's one of us now, part of our town.

JESS HAROLD: Unless we do something about her there won't be any town left to speak of.

CHACO: No! No. Once we start turning on ourselves we're no better than the animals. It's the FBI we should be worried about. They're the real problem.

---

SCENE 17
SETH COUNTY COURTHOUSE

(Night. MULDER and SCULLY pick the lock on the Birth Registry office and enter with flashlights. All the file cabinets are burned.)

MULDER: Someone’s been playing with matches.

SCULLY: Smells like a recent fire.

MULDER: I bet it’s no coincidence it only hit the birth records.

(Shadow of someone passes outside door window.)

SCULLY: You think someone was expecting us?

(MULDER’s phone rings.)

MULDER: (on phone) Mulder.

DORIS: (on phone, in her dark house) It’s Doris Kearns. I’m in my house. I need to speak with you right away.

MULDER: (on phone) Are you all right?

DORIS: (on phone) I'm afraid for my life. I’m afraid he’ll kill me.

MULDER: (on phone) Who?

DORIS: (on phone) Mr. Chaco.

MULDER: (on phone) All right, Mrs. Kearns, I want you to stay in the house and lock the door and don’t answer the door until Agent Scully gets there. (hangs up)

SCULLY: Where are you going?

MULDER: To take Chaco into custody.

(Crying hysterically, DORIS walks through the dark house locking the doors. Lights go out. She comes face to face with the masked figure with the axe from the beginning. He raises the axe above her head and she screams.)

---

SCENE 18

(SCULLY drives up to the KEARNS house and goes to the door and rings bell.)

SCULLY: Mrs. Kearns?! Mrs. Kearns?!

(No lights. She goes in the back door and begins walking through the house with her flashlight. No one responds.)

SCULLY: Mrs. Kearns?

(She gasps as door slams shut behind her, then keeps walking through house.)

CUT TO:

(CHACO residence. MULDER rings the bell and shows his badge as the HOUSEKEEPER answers.)

MULDER: Is Mr. Chaco in?

HOUSEKEEPER: (with attitude) I'll see if he's still awake.

(She goes upstairs. MULDER looks around at the primitive art, figurines, and masks decorating the Chaco house. Sees old picture of CHACO standing with some island natives. Caption "JALE TRIBE, NEW GUINEA 1944." Looks over to large locked cabinet. HOUSEKEEPER comes back downstairs.)

HOUSEKEEPER: (smugly happy that she can’t help) I’m sorry, but Mr. Chaco is unable to see you now.

MULDER: Do you know what's in here?

HOUSEKEEPER: I wouldn't know.

MULDER: Can you open it?

HOUSEKEEPER: I don't have the key.

(MULDER looks around, then picks up small heavy statue and breaks the padlock off the cabinet.)

HOUSEKEEPER: What do you think you're doing?

(MULDER opens the cabinet and sees four human heads, including GEORGE’s. MULDER looks up the stairs where HOUSEKEEPER has left again.)

CUT TO:

(KEARNS house. SCULLY’s phone rings.)

SCULLY: (on phone) Scully.

MULDER: (on phone) Scully, Chaco’s not here.

SCULLY: (on phone) Yeah, Mrs. Kearns is missing too, Mulder. I think someone’s been here. (we see shape of someone, CHACO in the house with her) The power was cut and the back door was wide open when I got here. But her car is still out back.

MULDER: (on phone) Chaco must have taken her.

(Hears sound of SCULLY’s phone hitting the floor.)

MULDER: (on phone, voice) Scully? Scully! Scully! What happened? Scully! Are you there?

(SCULLY lies on the floor, knocked out.)

MULDER: (on phone) Are you all right? Answer me! SCULLY!!

(MULDER looks up at the heads in the cabinet.)

---

SCENE 19

(Night. Middle of a field. Townspeople are milling around a large bonfire and getting soup from a large pot. CHACO, angry, walks into the group with SCULLY who has her hands tied in front and gaffer’s tape over her mouth. She looks frightened, is unresisting.)

CHACO: What have you done here? I warned you. I said not to touch her. Doris Kearns was one of us.! Who's behind this?

(JESS HAROLD walks up to CHACO wiping his lips.)

CHACO: Why didn't you listen to me? It's the outsiders we have to deal with, not one of our own.

JESS HAROLD: (calmly) We'll deal with them all.

CHACO: Look at yourselves. Look at what you've become. This isn't faith anymore it's just fear. They've turned us into an abomination.

JESS HAROLD: You brought in the outsider who made us sick.

CHACO: Once you turn on yourselves it's over. How long before it's any one of us? Any one of you?

JESS HAROLD: That's not your problem anymore, Mr. Chaco.

CHACO: (aims gun at JESS HAROLD) No.

(Someone grabs CHACO from behind. JESS HAROLD takes the gun away.)

CHACO: (quietly) Kill me... And you kill us all.

(CHACO is forced to kneel down and place his head in a metal harness which two other townspeople lock, then step back. SCULLY watches in horror as the MASKED MAN raises the axe over CHACO’s head and swings.)

CUT TO:

(MULDER driving very fast.)

CUT TO:

(Bonfire.)

JESS HAROLD: Bring her over.

(They make SCULLY kneel down and lock her head into the harness.)

CUT TO:

(MULDER driving into the field.)

CUT TO:

(MASKED MAN raising his axe over SCULLY. SCULLY’s eyes are wide and terrified.)

CUT TO:

(MULDER running out of the car toward the bonfire, his gun out.)

CUT TO:

(Bonfire. As MASKED MAN brings the axe down over SCULLY there are gunshots and he falls dead. Townspeople begin running and screaming. JESS HAROLD aims the gun, but then gets trampled by the other townspeople. MULDER runs to SCULLY and releases her from the harness.)

MULDER: (softly) Are you hurt?

SCULLY: Mm-Mm.

(He pulls the tape off her mouth and gently brushes her hair out of her face.)

MULDER: You all right?

(She nods. Hands still bound, she follows MULDER as he goes to the dead MASKED MAN and removes his mask. It is SHERIFF ARENS.)

---

SCENE 20

(Next day. Chicken plant. Business as usual, then state police come in and begin putting crime scene tape up and telling everyone to step away from their stations.)

SCULLY: (voiceover) Pending further review, the Chaco processing plant has been closed by the USDA. So far, no evidence of contaminated chicken has been discovered. Though it remains unknown how many citizens participated in the ritual activity, 27 have become fatally ill with Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease. What is known is that a transport plane carrying Walter Chaco was shot down in 1944 over New Guinea. Chaco was the only survivor of that crash. According to naval records, he spent six months with the Jole -- a tribe whose cannibalistic practices have long been suspected but never proven. Naval records also show that Walter Chaco was born in 1902 making him 93 years old at the time of his death. As of this date, his remains still have not been found.

(Worker finds some grey hair in a bucket of the chicken feed and proceeds to feed the mix to some chickens who eagerly gobble it up.)

[THE END]

"Soft Light" - Episode 2x23 (videos,guide,stills,transcript)

Videos

Soft Light - Trailer

Episode guide
(Source: http://xfiles.wearehere.net/episodes/2x23.htm )

2X23 Soft Light

Detective Kelly Ryan, one of Scully's ex-pupil at the academy asks for her assistance on her first ever case. Three people have vanished without a trace, the latest victim, Patrick Newirth disappeared from his locked hotel room leaving only a black smear on the floor near the door. Mulder toys with the idea of spontaneous human combustion. However when they discover that all three victims passed through the Richmond train station, Mulder and Scully review the station's security footage, a move rewarded when Mulder notices a man sitting at one spot in the station acting strangely. On the video they can make out the badge he is wearing which leads them to a company called Polarity Magnetics. They show a photo of the man in the station to Dr Davey, who identifies him as his colleague Dr Ray Banton, who was researching dark matter. But Dr Banton has not been seen since he accidentally exposed himself to a massive amount of energy that burnt his shadow in to the wall. Mulder and Scully stake out the station and when Dr Banton appears, they attempt to arrest him. Dr Banton warns them not to touch his shadow, Mulder realises that his shadow is deadly and arranges for him to be taken in to custody safely. However Detective Ryan and her department block Mulder and Scully from further access to Dr Banton. Frustrated Mulder contacts X about the case, but X tells him he can not help. Later X kidnaps Dr Banton and delivers him to a government laboratory to be tested on.

Noteworthy Quote

X: "I'm not at your beckon call agent Mulder, I have nothing to gain and everything to loose by helping you."

Credits
Writer: Vince Gilligan
Director: Jim Contner

Cast:
David Duchovny Special Agent Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson Special Agent Dana Scully

Guest Cast:
Tony Shalhoub Doctor Chester Banton
Kevin Mcnulty Doctor Davey
Kate Twa Detective Ryan
Nathaniel Deveaux Detective Barron
Steven Williams X
Guyle Frazier Barney
Forbes Angus Government Scientist
Donna Yamamoto Night Nurse
Robert Rozen Doctor
Steve Bacic 2nd Officer
Craig Brunanski Security Guard

Episode Stills



Transcript Soft Light 2x23
(Source: http://www.insidethex.co.uk/transcrp/scrp223.htm )

---

SCENE 1
HOTEL GEORGE MASON, RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

(A man [Newirth] slips the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the doorknob of his hotel room and prepares to retire for the night. As he reclines in bed to read the paper and have a drink, a second man [Banton] gets off the elevator and nervously walks to the door across the hall. He knocks.)

BANTON: Morris! (knocks again) Morris, I need to talk to you!

(Newirth hears the commotion in the hall. The light on the nightstand dims momentarily. In the hall, Banton knocks again.)

BANTON: Morris, I need to talk to you! Gail Anne is dead. It's my fault. Morris!

(While Banton knocks again, Newirth man gets up from the bed, walks to the door and looks out the peephole while placing his right hand against the door.)

BANTON: Morris, I need to talk to you. Morris, please. Answer the door, damn it!

(Banton steps back from the door. As he does, his shadow from the hall light moves toward Newirth's door and then appears just inside the room. As it touches Newirth's feet, there is a blue flash and Newirth seems to disintegrate, leaving a scorched mark on the carpet that glows blue for a moment. Banton sees the blue glow underneath the door.)

BANTON: Oh no! No. (he quickly unscrews the hall light bulb) My God, no! (he runs away down the hall) No, no, God no, no, no, no!

---

---

SCENE 2
SAME LOCATION

(Scully and Mulder get off the elevator at the end of the hall.)

SCULLY: Two apparent abductions in less than a month, and then this one last night. According to my contact, the Richmond PD has hit a brick wall so I told her we'd come down and have a look.

MULDER: Who's your contact?

SCULLY: Her name is Kelly Ryan. She was one of my students when I was teaching at the academy. She's just been bumped up to detective, and she's a little nervous about her supervisor finding out the FBI are involved.

(They enter Newirth's room.)

SCULLY: Kelly?

RYAN: Agent Scully.

SCULLY: Hi.

RYAN: Hi.

SCULLY: This is Agent Mulder.

RYAN: (to Mulder) Hi. Thank you for coming.

MULDER: Hello.

RYAN: (to Mulder) Heard a lot about you.

MULDER: (to Scully) We'll talk later.

(Scully gives him a sheepish grin.)

RYAN: The missing man is Patrick Newirth, age 52. He's a top executive with Morley Tobacco, up from Raleigh-Durham for a meeting. He arrived on an evening train.

MULDER: How do you know he's missing?

RYAN: He set a wakeup call for 6 AM this morning. When the operator tried to place it, there was no answer.

MULDER: (sniffing the drink on the nightstand) Hmm, scotch. It looks like he barely touched it.

RYAN: Needless to say, he missed his meeting. Uh, they waited three hours before sending hotel security up. The door was locked, security chain fastened, and when they broke in, no Patrick Newirth.

MULDER: Windows?

RYAN: Locked from the inside. We're six stories up, no fire escape. No way in or out of this room.

(Scully walks across the room and crouches next to the heat register.)

RYAN: Agent Scully, what are you looking at?

SCULLY: Uh, the heat register.

RYAN: (with a look of disbelief) You don't think anyone could have squeezed in there?

MULDER: You never know. You guys turn up any forensics evidence at all?

RYAN: Uh, just this.

(She removes a cardboard cover from the scorched mark on the carpet.)

MULDER: Scully, look at this.

SCULLY: What is it?

RYAN: We don't know. The hotel claims it wasn't here before Mr. Newirth checked in. And there were similar burn marks at each of the previous crime scenes.

SCULLY: Was Patrick Newirth a smoker?

RYAN: No, according to his wife, he loathed cigarettes.

SCULLY: Well, that's strange for someone who works for a tobacco company.

MULDER: Did you run a test on it?

RYAN: Yes, sir. It's mostly carbon with some potassium and trace minerals.

SCULLY: Could be the residue from burnt human flesh.

(Mulder is noticing that the charred pattern has a section off the right side with the outline of several fingers.)

MULDER: Does this look like an arm to anybody?

RYAN: An arm?

SCULLY: What are you thinking, Mulder?

MULDER: This burn mark, it's right where I'd be if I were standing here answering the door, right?

RYAN: Yes.

MULDER: And I wouldn't be looking out the peephole unless there was something to look at, right?

RYAN: That makes sense.

(Mulder goes into the hall and taps the light on the far wall. The bulb comes on.)

MULDER: Detective Ryan, can you have this bulb dusted for prints?

RYAN: Of course.

MULDER: And can you run those against Mr. Newirth's. Do you have Mr. Newirth's prints?

RYAN: We got them from his toiletries and check-in slip.

MULDER: OK, can you check those against all hotel employees and registered guests?

RYAN: Anything else?

MULDER: Yeah, do you have the name of the last missing person?

RYAN: Uh, that would be Margaret Wysnecki.

MULDER: Thanks, that should do it. Is this your first case, Detective?

RYAN: Yes sir.

MULDER: Any idea why they gave it to you?

RYAN: No one else wanted it. Because of the lack of evidence, this is still officially a missing persons case, not likely to end up on the front page of the daily paper.

MULDER: Well, don't be so sure about that.

RYAN: Can I ask what you think may have happened?

MULDER: At first blush? Spontaneous human combustion.

(Mulder walks away as Ryan stares in surprise and disbelief. Scully gives her a supportive pat on the arm.)

SCULLY: You're doing just fine.

(Scully catches up to Mulder as he pushes the elevator button.)

SCULLY: Having a little fun?

MULDER: What are you talking about?

SCULLY: Spontaneous human combustion?

MULDER: I have over a dozen case files of human bodies reduced to ash without any attendant burning or melting. Rapid oxidation without heat.

SCULLY: Let's just forget for the moment that there's no scientific theory to support it.

MULDER: (flippantly) OK.

(They get on the elevator.)

---

SCENE 3
WYSNECKI RESIDENCE, RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

(It is dark, and Mulder and Scully drive up and walk up the sidewalk. Mulder notices that the yard lights on all the other houses in the neighborhood are lit, but not the one at the Wysnecki house.)

MULDER: Hey, Scully, can you spare a prophylactic?

(She gives him a latex glove and he opens the fixture and turns the bulb. It comes on.)

MULDER: What are the odds of that, huh?

SCULLY: Darkness covers a multitude of sins.

MULDER: Check this out. My newest tool in the fight against crime - $49.95 at your local hardware store.

(He produces a red flashlight from his pocket and shines a red light on the fixture, which shows the outline of some fingerprints.)

SCULLY: Neat trick. For your birthday, I'll buy you a utility belt.

(They enter the house and find another scorch mark on the carpet in the front hall.)

SCULLY: Look at this, Mulder.

MULDER: What do we know about the victim?

SCULLY: Margaret Wysnecki, age 66. Widowed, retired from Laramie Tobacco where she worked production line for 36 years. Tobacco? Patrick Newirth worked for Morley Tobacco, didn't he?

MULDER: Yeah, but half of Richmond earns their paycheck making cancer sticks. It's just a coincidence.

SCULLY: Yeah, you're probably right. The first missing person, Gail Anne Lambert, was an engineer for Polarity Magnetics.

(They enter the kitchen.)

They didn't find any prints in here or anywhere else in the house. What makes you think the prints on the bulb mean anything?

MULDER: I don't know.

(He opens the trash can and pulls out an Amtrak ticket stub.)

MULDER: Ah, look at this, Scully. Someone forgot to empty the trash. M. Wysnecki, round trip to Hampton Roads, Virginia, return train dated March 17.

SCULLY: That's the same day she disappeared.

MULDER: Patrick Newirth came into town by train, didn't he?

SCULLY: And Gail Anne Lambert ... uh, no it doesn't say anything here that puts her anywhere near the Richmond Train Station.

MULDER: Maybe that was a detail that was overlooked.

SCULLY: Well, even so, what's the significance?

MULDER: Maybe these people aren't just disappearing, maybe they're being hunted. And the hunter is working the train station.

SCULLY: And whatever happened to spontaneous human combustion?

MULDER: Maybe it's not so spontaneous. Get on the phone to your young detective and tell her to get a detail down to the train station.

(Scully gets out her cell phone.)

---

SCENE 4
RICHMOND TRAIN STATION

(Bantock is sitting on a bench in the station, staring at the floor. He rises, still looking at his feet, and slowly walks outside. It is dark and as he passes under a light in an alley, it dims. A police car turns into the alley and approaches him.)

FIRST OFFICER: (to radio) 66, this is 64. Suspicious male, loitering in the alley behind the train station. I'm going to check him out.

VOICE ON RADIO: Roger that, 64, I'm on my way.

(The first officer gets out of his car.)

FIRST OFFICER: Sir, could I speak with you?

(Banton starts running away, down the alley.)

FIRST OFFICER: Hold on, I only want to ask you a couple of questions.

(A second police car enters the alley from the other direction and Bantock stops.)

FIRST OFFICER: All right, stop right there! Don't move, just hold it! Put your hands in the air, sir!

(The second officer gets out of his car and approaches Bantock, who is standing in a lit area.)

BANTON: (to second officer) Stay away from me.

(Banton ducks across the alley into the shadows. The officers aim their guns at him.)

FIRST OFFICER: What do you think you're doing? All right, come on out of there! I just want to talk to you!

BANTON: Stay away from me! I don't want to hurt you!

SECOND OFFICER: Move it!

FIRST OFFICER: Hands where we can see them!

(Banton raises his hands and slowly comes out of the shadow into the light. He looks up at the light nervously.)

BANTON: Please, I'm warning you. I'm a dangerous man.

SECOND OFFICER: Keep moving, pal, out where we can see you. (Banton moves farther out) All right, I want you to lie face down on the ground.

BANTON: (to second officer) Don't come any closer.

SECOND OFFICER: Get down on the ground, sir. Now.

(As the second officer comes closer, he approaches Banton's shadow. Banton steps back.)

BANTON: Please, you don't understand.

(Banton continues to step backward, and now his shadow from another light touches the feet of the first officer, who is standing behind him. The first officer disintegrates with a blue flash.)

BANTON: Oh, God, no!

SECOND OFFICER: Barney!

(The second officer continues to approach Banton.)

BANTON: Don't, no! Stay away.

(The second officer walks into Banton's shadow and he also disintegrates.)

BANTON: (running wildly away, down the alley) Oh, God! No, no, God, not again! No, no, no, no ...

---

SCENE 5
SAME ALLEY, NEXT MORNING

(The area is roped off and there are several police cars. Mulder and Scully drive up. Ryan walks over to meet them.)

SCULLY: What happened here, Kelly?

RYAN: I sent two patrolmen down here last night, like you told me. They lost radio contact with them just after midnight. All they found this morning was two more scorch marks on the pavement.

MULDER: Nothing else?

RYAN: Nope. Suddenly this looks like it could be a cop killer case, and I'm indirectly responsible.

SCULLY: Well, you were just doing your job.

RYAN: (agitated) Yeah, well they want to know on what suspicions I sent these men down here. And if I tell them I involved the FBI, they're going to snap.

MULDER: The prints you pulled from that light bulb ...

RYAN: I ran it against all the hotel staff and guests, then through the national databases. No match. Some first case, huh?

SCULLY: You just make sure you hang onto this case. I'm sure something will turn up.

(Mulder and Scully walk back and get in the car.)

SCULLY: These ideas of yours, Mulder, you care to share them?

MULDER: Not yet.

SCULLY: You don't have a clue, do you?

MULDER: He was here, Scully, I was right about that.

SCULLY: All right, where does this leave us?

MULDER: Maybe with enough to identify the killer.

SCULLY: How?

MULDER: He was here last night. He was also probably here on March 17 and March 31.

SCULLY: Those are the dates that Margaret Wysnecki and Patrick Newirth disappeared.

MULDER: That leaves us with 3 days of train station videotapes to cross-reference and hopefully find out who this guy is.

SCULLY: That's assuming we're looking for a guy.

MULDER: Either way, the security camera's our only witness.

---

SCENE 6
TRAIN STATION SECURITY OFFICE

(Mulder and Scully are reviewing videotapes with a security guard.)

SCULLY: It could be any one of these people, Mulder ... or none of them. I've gone through the entire week and I'm still not sure how you expect to find him.

SECURITY GUARD: That's it for March 22 on the arrival deck.

MULDER: Let's go back to the terminal tape.

SCULLY: Again?

MULDER: He's got to be on at least one of these tapes.

SCULLY: Chances are, he's not walking around carrying a sign with an arrow on it.

SECURITY GUARD: There you go.

(Mulder notices Banton sitting on a bench.)

MULDER: See, this guy. Right here. He's always here. What's he doing?

SCULLY: Looking at the floor.

MULDER: Why's he doing that?

SCULLY: Probably the same reason he spends his whole afternoon in the train station.

MULDER: Can you freeze this and blow it up 200 percent?

SECURITY GUARD: Sure.

(There's a light spot on his jacket.)

MULDER: OK, can you reframe and blow it up some more? He's got something on his jacket right there.

SECURITY GUARD: I'll see if I can pull it up.

(Mulder reads the name from the blurry image.)

MULDER: Polarity Magnetics.

SCULLY: That's where the first victim worked.

---

SCENE 7
POLARITY MAGNETICS

(Mulder and Scully walk up stairs and knock on the door. There are no obvious signs of activity.)

SCULLY: Looks like it's been closed up.

(Davey answers the door.)

DAVEY: Yes?

SCULLY: We're agents Mulder and Scully with the FBI. We're looking for a man who may have worked here.

(Scully shows him a printout of Banton from the train station tape.)

DAVEY: When was this taken?

MULDER: March 22. Do you know him?

DAVEY: Sure, I know him. Dr. Chester Banton. He was my business partner.

SCULLY: You mean he's not any more?

DAVEY: I don't know, I would assume not. This is the first I've seen of him in five weeks. I wondered if he wasn't going to turn up dead.

MULDER: How's that?

DAVEY: Chester was involved in a terrible accident here.

(Davey, Mulder and Scully are walking through a corridor within the building.)

DAVEY: Polarity Magnetics does - or did - primarily two types of research. Mostly, we were designing mag-lev applications ... uh, people movers, bullet trains ... but for Chester, that was just the way to pay the bills for the really theoretical stuff he was interested in.

MULDER: Which was what?

DAVEY: Researching dark matter, quantum particles, neutrinos, gluons, mesons, quarks ...

SCULLY: Subatomic particles.

DAVEY: The mysteries of the universe. Theoretically, the very building blocks of reality.

SCULLY: Except no one knows if they truly exist.

DAVEY: Chester was sure they did, so sure he bet his life on it.

(Davey keys into a laboratory filled with electronic equipment.)

This is where it happened. Chester was working to isolate a new particle. He'd been working on it for a year.

SCULLY: This is a particle accelerator.

DAVEY: One-fifth the power of the Texas supercollider in a space the size of a Wal-Mart.

MULDER: Powered by what?

DAVEY: Couple of billion megawatts. Virginia Power loved us.

SCULLY: Exactly what happened here?

DAVEY: Well, the work involved bombardment of beta particles with an alpha target. Negative against positive. Chester had everything set and had started the countdown when he realized he'd make a mistake. There was something that needed re-adjusting in the target room. Except you can't stop the countdown once you've begun. There was time to safely make the change, but I'd left the room for a minute when Chester decided to go in. I didn't realize until it was too late that the door had locked behind him.

(Davey punches a code into a keypad and the door to the target chamber opens. Inside they find more equipment and the darkened outline of a man on the wall.)

MULDER: Look at this!

DAVEY: As far as I can tell, it burned Chester's shadow right into the wall.

SCULLY: How did he survive?

DAVEY: All I can figure is - the quanta liberated off the target have virtually no mass, that they slid right through his body.

MULDER: Like getting an X-ray.

DAVEY: A two billion megawatt X-ray. When I looked at the monitor and saw what was happening, that Chester was trapped in here, I panicked. I cut the power but it was too late. I remember looking and seeing Chester. He was perfectly calm. Almost like he wanted it to happen, like he was finally going to experience the dark matter he had theorized in some kind of physical way. As if the truth might come into him. (Davey gets emotional) Excuse me.

MULDER: What do you think, Scully?

SCULLY: Well, this looks like the same kind of material that they found at each of the other crime scenes. Maybe what we're dealing with is some kind of spontaneous human combustion.

MULDER: I'm less convinced of that now.

SCULLY: What do you think it is?

(Davey is back in the outside room eavesdropping on Mulder and Scully from a video and audio monitor.)

MULDER: I don't know. Whatever it is, it's connected to the person of Dr. Chester Ray Banton, maybe even part of him.

SCULLY: Well, whatever it is, we have to find him.

MULDER: I know of one place to start looking.

---

SCENE 8
RICHMOND TRAIN STATION

(Mulder sits on the bench in the same location where Banton was seen. Scully approaches.)

SCULLY: There's no sign of him, Mulder. Maybe he's moved on. What are you looking at?

MULDER: On the videotape, Dr. Banton kept staring at the floor. I've been trying to figure out what he might have been looking at.

SCULLY: Well, maybe the exposure affected his mind. Nonsensical repetitive behavior is a common trait of mental illness.

MULDER: You trying to tell me something?

SCULLY: I called Detective Ryan. She's having the prints on the lightbulbs checked against Banton's.

MULDER: Did you tell her about Dr. Banton's accident?

SCULLY: No, I only told her that he was a possible suspect, and that it was a bit too early to get her hopes up, and that right now we have more questions than we do answers.

MULDER: Like?

SCULLY: Like a motive, like a murder weapon, like ...

(Mulder has been standing next to the bench observing the overhead lighting and the lack of shadows around his feet.)

MULDER: What if, Dr. Banton ... look here, there are hardly any shadows cast.

SCULLY: What do you mean?

MULDER: The lighting in here is diffused. It's soft light. What if that was what Banton was looking for?

(Banton comes around a corner toward them.)

SCULLY: Looking for his shadow?

(Mulder spots him.)

MULDER: Dr. Banton!

(Banton runs outside. Mulder and Scully pursue him and corner him in a lighted area on the loading platform. They aim their guns at him.)

MULDER: Stop right there! Dr. Banton!

BANTON: Please, just leave me alone.

MULDER: We're federal agents, Dr. Banton.

BANTON: You don't understand. You're making a big mistake. Stay away from me.

(Banton looks down at his shadow and sees that Mulder is approaching it.)

Wait! It'll kill you, it doesn't care who you are.

(Mulder looks down and sees that he is close to the shadow. He then looks behind him and sees that Scully is approaching a shadow of Banton cast by another light. He shoots out both lights with his gun, leaving all three in the dark.)

BANTON: Thank God!

---

SCENE 9
YALOFF PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL, PIEDMONT, VIRGINIA

(Banton is in a softly lit room. Mulder and Scully, with a doctor, slide open the observation window in the door.)

MULDER: I thought the orders were to keep this patient in the dark.

DOCTOR: He insisted on soft light. It's the only way he'd let us open the door.

(Mulder and Scully enter, while the doctor locks the three of them in the room.)

BANTON: How can you even begin to understand what it's like?

MULDER: We're trying to understand.

BANTON: Living in a train station, day and night. Living like a bum, afraid to fall asleep because of what might happen.

SCULLY: The accident in the lab ... the quanta bombardment ... you believe that altered you physically?

BANTON: You could say that.

MULDER: Can you tell us how?

BANTON: Even if I could, you wouldn't understand.

SCULLY: But it has something to do with dark matter.

BANTON: It has everything to do with dark matter. My shadow isn't mine. It's ... it's like a black hole. It splits molecules into component atoms, it unzips electrons from their orbits, reduces matter into pure energy.

SCULLY: That's how you killed Gail Anne Lambert?

BANTON: It wasn't me. Gail Anne was my colleague. She ... the night after the accident, I went to see her. I was just standing in the doorway. I was looking right at her ... and then she was gone.

MULDER: You have no control over it?

BANTON: If I could control it, do you think I would let it go around killing people? All I can do is study it, try and divine its true nature before they do.

MULDER: They?

BANTON: The government. (whispers to Mulder) They're after me. And when they find me, they're going to do the brain suck. They've just been dying to do it.

MULDER: The brain suck? For the purpose of ...

BANTON: For the purpose of stealing what has taken me years to accomplish. And don't think they wouldn't kill to get it.

MULDER: But if they killed you, then wouldn't your shadow just ...

BANTON: Disappear? Who knows? That's why you have to get me out of here. If I die, there could be nothing left to tether this thing.

RYAN: (opening the door) Excuse me. I'm going to have to ask you discontinue your interrogation of the suspect.

(Mulder and Scully step out into the hall with Ryan and another detective.)

RYAN: This is Detective Barron. He's the primary on this case.

BARRON: Yeah, I was just wondering what your involvement is here?

MULDER: We caught the guy.

BARRON: I appreciate that. But no one seems to be able to recall inviting the FBI in on this case.

SCULLY: Agent Mulder and I are here strictly in an unofficial capacity.

BARRON: Then who brought you in?

SCULLY: We were curious about the unexplained nature of the case.

BARRON: Well, Banton's prints place him at two of the crime scenes, and transit authority tapes show him in the immediate vicinity of two of the most recent victims. So I say this case is looking pretty much explained.

MULDER: Really? Have you talked to Dr. Banton?

BARRON: I hope you're not trying to interrogate me, Agent Mulder. Because I'm not the suspect.

MULDER: I don't think you know anything about this case, which is why you stuck it with Detective Ryan. And I think you should allow her to decide how to proceed.

BARRON: Detective Ryan is handling this case. She's done well, and I see no reason not to continue to let her prosecute it once the prisoner has been transferred.

MULDER: Transferred? Where?

RYAN: To the city jail in preparation for his arraignment.

MULDER: I don't think you fully appreciate this man's condition or the danger that he poses.

BARRON: I don't think you have the authority to tell me, or anyone else in my unit, how to do our job.

RYAN: I think we can handle it from here, Agent Mulder. We'll call you if there's anything more you can do.

SCULLY: Come on, Mulder, let's go.

(Scully and Barron walk away in opposite directions. Mulder catches Ryan by the arm before she can leave.)

MULDER: (to Ryan) Soft light. He needs soft light.

(Mulder catches up with Scully.)

MULDER: Hope you know what you're doing, Scully.

SCULLY: What do you mean?

MULDER: Putting Detective Ryan's ambition ahead of all good sense in this case.

SCULLY: Ambition? She's a woman trying to survive the boys' club, Mulder. Believe me, I know how she feels.

MULDER: The difference is you never put yourself ahead of your work, and that's what happening here.

SCULLY: Look. The fact is, we have no jurisdiction here. We were called in as a favor.

MULDER: And as a favor, we just handed over the A-bomb over to the Boy Scouts.

SCULLY: I'm sure all the necessary precautions will be taken.

MULDER: And I'm sure that Robert Oppenheimer got similar reassurances from his government, the same government that Dr. Banton is afraid of.

SCULLY: You don't believe all this paranoia about brain sucking, do you?

MULDER: That man is scared, and it's not just of his own shadow.

SCULLY: Mulder, as brilliant as Dr. Banton may be, he is also clearly delusional. He demonstrated just about every textbook indicator back there.

MULDER: We've both seen the physical evidence, Scully.

SCULLY: Look, I don't know how to explain it, but that's not our job. I don't know what else we should do.

MULDER: I think I do.

---

SCENE 10
RICHMOND TRAIN STATION

(Mulder is looking through the station and sees Mr. X. X walks away and Mulder follows. They meet in a deserted stairwell.)

X: All you've given me is a name - Chester A. Banton.

MULDER: Dr. Chester A. Banton. Do you know him?

X: No. Should I?

MULDER: He's being held by the Richmond Police in connection with several bizarre murders. He's a physicist, researching quarks, gluons, dark matter. He believes the government is out to get him.

X: It's tax season. So do most Americans.

MULDER: He believes his life is in danger.

X: Is he a dangerous man?

MULDER: Yes.

X: Where is he being held?

MULDER: At the Yaloff Psychiatric Hospital, but not for long.

X: I'm afraid I can't help you.

MULDER: Why?

X: The last time I helped you, I bloodied my fist and regrettably exposed my identity to associates of yours.

MULDER: Yes, I know, and you can trust them as you trust me. I promise.

X: Dead men can't keep promises. The next time the blood and regret could be yours. I'm not at your beck and call, Agent Mulder. I have nothing to gain and everything to lose by helping you. Promise you won't contact me again unless absolutely necessary.

(X heads down the stairs. Mulder waits until he is out of hearing range.)

MULDER: (softly) Promise.

---

SCENE 11
YALOFF PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL

(As a nurse works at the nursing station, the lights dim briefly, then go out. The nurse picks up the phone.)

NURSE: Frank, are your lights on down there? Ours just went ...

(Mr. X suddenly presses the switchhook on the phone, startling the nurse.)

X: Hi. We're here to transfer Chester A. Banton.

NURSE: I have orders he's not being transferred until tomorrow.

X: Due to the power outage, there's been a change in plans.

(X heads down the hall.)

NURSE: No one's supposed to go in there.

(X is joined by two other men in the hallway. X unlocks the door to Banton's room and the two men go in with a stretcher. The nurse catches up to X in the hall.)

X: Here. Quickly.

NURSE: Who are you?

BANTON: No. Don't do this. Please, please, no, no, don't, leave me alone.

(The two men gag and bind Banton and lift him to his feet. Suddenly the emergency lighting comes on, which consists of a single bulb in Banton's room. There is a blue flash as the two men disintegrate. X looks into the room to see Banton and two scorched spots on the floor. Banton walks out of the room, with X giving way to avoid his shadow. As they stare at each other in the hall, X draws his gun and aims at Banton but then lowers it. Banton runs away down the hall.)

---

SCENE 12
NEXT DAY AT THE PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL

(Mulder walks down the hall, passing Ryan who is coming out of Banton's room. He enters the room to find Scully.)

SCULLY: Mulder.

MULDER: What'd you find out, Scully?

SCULLY: Richmond PD had two officers outside watching the entrance. They didn't see anybody come in.

MULDER: According to the floor nurse, there were three men.

SCULLY: Three? The power was disconnected at a substation two blocks from here. Somebody posing as the city engineer.

MULDER: Somebody who would have access to plans for Virginia Power so they could take it off the grid without affecting surrounding facilities.

SCULLY: Somebody from the government coming for Dr. Banton?

MULDER: Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you, Scully, but my guess is he was unsuccessful and Dr. Banton is on the loose.

SCULLY: That's what Detective Ryan thinks.

MULDER: I saw her leave.

SCULLY: She was in charge of Dr. Banton's transfer and arraignment this morning. She's in some pretty hot water.

MULDER: Well, maybe that was an appointment he was never meant to keep. Let's go.

SCULLY: Where? Mulder, wait. Where are we going?

MULDER: You heard what Dr. Banton said last night.

SCULLY: I heard him say a lot of things.

MULDER: Put yourself in his head, Scully. I think the only reason he hasn't tried to kill himself is because he's afraid his death will release the dark matter.

SCULLY: Wait a second. That's still just a theory, and it's a pretty wild one at that.

MULDER: Whether or not Dr. Banton is actually telling the truth, he believes he is.

SCULLY: And apparently so does whoever it is that tried to take him last night.

MULDER: All that he's been trying to do since the accident is try to control this thing. Now if he's escaped, he's going to go to the one place where he thinks he can do that, and we've got to get there first.

---

SCENE 13
POLARITY MAGNETICS

(Davey enters a darkened laboratory and reaches for the light switch, but Banton grabs his hand.)

BANTON: Don't turn on the light, Chris, unless you want to die.

DAVEY: Chester, what the hell is going on? The FBI has been looking for you. Where've you been?

BANTON: There's no time to explain, just come with me.

(They step out and start down a corridor.)

DAVEY: What's this about, Chester, you're acting crazy. Talk to me.

BANTON: We've found the dark matter, Chris, it's real, we found it.

DAVEY: What are you talking about?

BANTON: Don't you understand? I'm it. It's ... it's in me.

DAVEY: The accident?

BANTON: They're coming for me, Chris. We have to destroy this thing before they get here.

DAVEY: No, you can't go back in there, Chester.

(Ryan appears in the corridor in front of them, weapon raised.)

RYAN: Police! I'm placing you under arrest, Dr. Banton.

BANTON: A lot of people will die if you do this.

RYAN: Step against the wall, sir.

BANTON: I'm begging you. I don't want to hurt you.

RYAN: I said step against the wall, now.

(As Davey watches, Banton looks up and sees a light over his head. He checks his shadow, then walks toward Ryan.)

BANTON: I'm sorry.

(His shadow touches Ryan and she disintegrates, leaving a scorch mark.)

BANTON: Let's go, we don't have much time.

(Davey stares wide-eyed at the scorch mark, then follows Banton to the particle accelerator lab. Banton operates the keypad to opens the target room door, then steps inside.)

DAVEY: Chester!

BANTON: No matter what they say to you later, you're doing the right thing.

(He closes the door and looks at Davey through a peephole in the door.)

BANTON: Lock it up, Chris.

(Davey operates the keypad to seal the door.)

BANTON: All right, let's get the accelerator on line.

DAVEY: I'm afraid not, Chester.

BANTON: You can do it, Chris.

DAVEY: I can, but I'm not.

BANTON: No, Chris. Tell me you're not working for them.

DAVEY: Wish I could, Chester.

BANTON: You son of a bitch!

DAVEY: Careful, we don't want you to hurt yourself.

BANTON: I'll die before I let them use me.

DAVEY: You're lightning in a bottle, Chester. We're not about to let you die.

(Davey goes to the telephone and dials a number, watching Banton on the video monitor.)

BANTON: Chris, don't do this. Listen to me. This is wrong. You're making a terrible mistake.

DAVEY: (to phone) I've got him. He's not going anywhere until you pick him up.

(A gunshot is heard, and Davey falls across the desk.)

BANTON: Chris? Chris? Chris? What's happening? Chris? Chris?

(Banton is looking through the peephole and suddenly X's face appears on the other side.)

(Mulder and Scully arrive and walk up the stairs toward Polarity Magnetics. They pass a window overlooking the parking lot.)

SCULLY: We're not the first ones here, Mulder, that's Detective Ryan's car.

MULDER: I was afraid of this.

(They come upon the scorch mark in the corridor.)

SCULLY: Mulder.

MULDER: (looking at the mark) Oh, damn it!

(As Scully kneels over the mark, they hear an electrical humming noise.)

SCULLY: What's that noise?

MULDER: The accelerator.

(They hurry to the accelerator room. The accelerator is operating but there is no one in the outside area. Mulder goes to the target room door but there is a blinding light from within. Scully goes to the control desk.)

SCULLY: Mulder.

(On the video monitor, they see a figure slumped back in a chair in the target room. As they watch, the figure and chair disintegrate, leaving a shadow on the wall. The accelerator shuts off. Mulder goes to the door and looks in, but he cannot open the door.)

MULDER: Scully, look at this.

(Scully looks through the door and sees the new shadow.)

SCULLY: He must have killed her and then killed himself.

MULDER: He couldn't have. This chamber's been sealed from the outside. (he slaps the door)

SCULLY: By who?

---

SCENE 14
A DARK, UNKNOWN LOCATION

(Mulder and X meet in a dark corridor.)

X: Agent Mulder. I thought you had agreed not to contact me again about this.

MULDER: You lied to me.

X: About?

MULDER: About Chester Ray Banton. You knew who he was, and you used me to lead you to him.

X: You were the one who contacted me, Agent Mulder.

MULDER: I won't be your stalking horse, or the government's.

X: You seem to be mistaken about the amount of control you exercise over this arrangment.

MULDER: (angrily) You killed Dr. Banton!

X: Have you lost your mind?

MULDER: A nurse at the hospital identified you! A young detective is dead because of you! Who do you answer to?

X: Despite my loyalty to my predecessor, I've never made you any promises.

MULDER: All right, promise me something right now. Promise me this will be our last meeting. We're finished.

(Mulder walks away.)

X: You're choosing a dangerous time to go it alone, Agent Mulder. Mulder! (Mulder stops and looks back at him) I didn't kill him.

(X exits in the opposite direction.)

---

SCENE 15
A CEMETARY

FATHER: Mourners are invited to pay their respects to the family at the Ryan home.

(Scully is among the mourners. She crouches over the burial marker, which reads "KELLY RYAN 1965-1995". After a moment, she rises and walks back to Mulder.)

MULDER: How you doing?

SCULLY: I'm not sure how to feel about this, Mulder. She was my student, and she came to me for help.

MULDER: I know it must be hard.

SCULLY: This shouldn't have happened. This never should have happened.

MULDER: I'm sorry I'm late, I got hung up at the Richmond PD.

SCULLY: Doing what?

MULDER: A missing person report was filed this morning by a Dr. Morris West. He's a physicist affiliated with Polarity Magnetics.

SCULLY: I'm not sure I follow you.

MULDER: The missing person was Dr. Christopher Davey. He hasn't been seen or heard from since Banton disappeared.

SCULLY: Do they have any leads or know where he might be?

MULDER: No. None.

SCULLY: But you do.

MULDER: I've been wondering, what if it wasn't Banton we saw in the particle accelerator?

SCULLY: Well, if Banton's not dead, then where is he?

---

SCENE 16
A GOVERNMENT FACILITY

(X walks down a corridor, joining a government scientist in the hallway. A bright light is flashing from within the room.)

GOVERNMENT SCIENTIST: Dr. Davey would have been helpful to us. We'll be studying this man for a long time.

(Inside, Banton is seated with sensors attached to his head. The flashing light is casting a shadow on a photoelectric panel. A single tear falls down Banton's cheek.)

[THE END]