The X-Files 1x17

1. Oh, man.

2. This is Southern Crescent to Red Crescent.

3. We've got a downed plane at camp perimeter.

4. Southern Crescent, this is Red Crescent.

5. That's a negative. We have nothing in the sky at this time.

6. Well, we got something down here.

7. Advise medevac unit to be on standby.

8. We're going to check it out.

9. Roger.

10. Medevac 1, Medevac 1, this is Red Crescent...

11. downed aircraft in their area. Over.

12. From Opryland, it's The Grand Ole Opry

13. on WSM Radio 650,

14. brought to you by Goody's Headache Powder.

15. When the night's been too long and the party's been

16. too hearty, Goody's Headache Powder

17. will straighten you right out,

18. and you have my word on that.

19. Goody...

20. It was, it was cigar-shaped,

21. red and green lights, fast as hell.

22. I seen three of 'em flying over Chester County.

23. Right, right,

24. six troopers were chasing 'em down 22.

25. Whoa, I see one now.

26. It's over the water tower.

27. I see it, too.

28. Red and green lights just like you said.

29. From the trucker's description, the shape he fired upon

30. could conceivably have been a mountain lion's.

31. Conceivably.

32. The National Weather Service last night reported

33. atmospheric conditions in this area which were possibly

34. conducive to lightning.

35. Possibly.

36. It is feasible that the truck

37. was struck by lightning,

38. creating the electrical failure.

39. It's feasible.

40. And you know there's a marsh over there.

41. Those lights the driver saw

42. may... have been swamp gas.

43. Swamp gas?

44. It's a natural phenomenon

45. in which phosphine and methane

46. rising from decaying organic matter

47. ignite, creating globes of blue flame.

48. Happens to me when I eat Dodger Dogs.

49. How can a dozen witnesses, including a squad

50. of police vehicles in three counties,

51. become hysterical over swamp gas?

52. I've investigated multiple sightings before.

53. Chesapeake Bay, the Okoboji Lakes,

54. Area 51 in Nevada.

55. None had this much supporting evidence.

56. Anecdotal data, exhaust residue,

57. radiation levels five times the norm.

58. Mulder, none of that evidence is conclusive.

59. The only question for me is,

60. why was the truck driver singled out?

61. Isn't it more plausible that an exhausted truck driver

62. became swept up in the hysteria and fired upon hallucinations?

63. I mean, after all,

64. the road can play tricks on you.

65. Yeah, it can play tricks on you.

66. But not like this.

67. I started these stopwatches at the same time.

68. I don't know why they're holding me.

69. This "firing a weapon on a county road" charge

70. is a lot of horse manure.

71. I'm a vet and I know how to handle a gun.

72. Mr. Ranheim, I'd appreciate it

73. if you could elaborate

74. on the report you filed last night

75. regarding your encounter.

76. It was round...

77. like a saucer.

78. And green and orange lights.

79. Last night you said it was cigar-shaped and black.

80. I didn't ask for this to happen.

81. All I want is to deliver my shipment

82. of auto parts and forget...

83. Pardon me for asking,

84. but how long have you had that cough?

85. Why?

86. I'm just concerned.

87. You said you were a veteran.

88. What's that got to do with this?

89. The cough, the fever, the rash.

90. Those are all symptoms of Gulf War Syndrome.

91. I was never in the Gulf War.

92. Okay. So, how long have you not been yourself?

93. Since the thing last night.

94. Mr. Ranheim, I'm Police Chief Rivers.

95. Please forgive the misunderstanding.

96. Your truck's been squared away.

97. You may go.

98. I'd like to examine the truck.

99. That won't be necessary.

100. This man has had an alleged close encounter.

101. The truck undoubtedly contains important trace evidence.

102. Sir, if I may...

103. You've gotten all you're going to get out of this county.

104. We will no longer cooperate in your investigation.

105. Why?

106. Just... go away.

107. Not... not here.

108. It's obvious someone got to the police chief.

109. Ranheim was hiding something.

110. Ranheim was sick.

111. He only became sick last night.

112. Excuse me, could I use your pen?

113. Mm-hmm.

114. What are you suggesting,

115. that Gulf War Syndrome is caused by UFOs?

116. UFOs are frequently witnessed

117. by soldiers during wartime.

118. Thanks.

119. - Here you go. - Oh, thank you.

120. Mulder, the only UFOs that soldiers are likely to see

121. are secret military aircraft.

122. Well, what if that's what made the soldiers

123. in Iraq sick... the exhaust or fuel

124. of a classified aircraft or its weapon?

125. Well, there is a base in Little Rock.

126. You think that's what the air force was flying that night?

127. They'd deny it, but it could possibly explain how Ranheim

128. developed his symptoms.

129. Possibly.

130. I want to talk to some people

131. when we get back to Washington.

132. Mulder, the military isn't going

133. to talk about classified info.

134. No, these guys are like

135. an extreme government watchdog group.

136. They publish a magazine called The Lone Gunman.

137. Some of their information is first-rate...

138. covert actions, classified weapons.

139. Some of their ideas are downright spooky.

140. Check it out, Mulder, I had breakfast

141. with the guy who shot John F. Kennedy.

142. Is that so?

143. Old dude now, but yeah.

144. Says he was dressed as a cop on the grassy knoll.

145. And, Mulder, listen to this.

146. Vladimir Zhirinovsky,

147. the leader of the Russian Social Democrats...

148. he's being put into power

149. by the most heinous and evil force of the 20th century.

150. Barney?

151. The CIA.

152. Hmm.

153. Is this your skeptical partner?

154. She's hot.

155. You don't believe that the CIA,

156. threatened by a loss of power and funding

157. because of the collapse of the Cold War,

158. wouldn't dream of having the old enemy back?

159. I think you give the government too much credit.

160. I mean, the, the government

161. can't control the deficit or manage crime.

162. - Lone Gunman. - What makes you think

163. they can plan and execute such an elaborate conspiracy?

164. She is hot.

165. Settle down, Frohike.

166. We're not talking about a bunch of idiots up on the Hill

167. trying to bone the Capitol pages.

168. We're talking about a dark network...

169. a government within a government controlling our every move.

170. - How can they do that? - How?

171. I'll show you how.

172. You got a $20 bill?

173. Hmm.

174. I'll check.

175. Mm-hmm.

176. Uh-huh.

177. Hey!

178. That's just one method.

179. They use this magnetic strip to track you.

180. Whenever you go through a metal detector at an airport,

181. they know exactly how much you're carrying

182. - and where you're carrying it to. - Hey, Byers,

183. it is a federal crime to deface money.

184. - The strip is an anti-counterfeiting measure. - How come it's

185. on the inside? Other countries put that strip on the outside.

186. - What are they hiding? - O-O-O-Okay, all right.

187. What do you know about the Gulf War Syndrome?

188. Agent Orange of the '90s.

189. Artillery shells coated with depleted uranium.

190. Have you heard of any classified planes

191. being flown during the Persian Gulf War?

192. Why would you need to expose a secret plane to an air force

193. that runs to Iran whenever you take to the air?

194. What about UFO activity during that period?

195. Yeah.

196. UFOs caused the Gulf War Syndrome.

197. That's a good one.

198. That's why we like you, Mulder.

199. Your ideas are weirder than ours.

200. Those were the most paranoid people I have ever met.

201. I don't know how you could think

202. that what they say is even remotely plausible.

203. I think it's remotely plausible

204. that someone might think you're hot.

205. Did you see the way they answered the telephone?

206. They probably think that every call they get is monitored

207. and they're followed everywhere they go.

208. It's a form of self-delusion.

209. It makes them think that what they're doing

210. is important enough that somebody would...

211. What's the matter?

212. Hello.

213. Pitchers and catchers report

214. for spring training this week.

215. Yeah, what are we doing here?

216. Missed your calling, did you, Mr. Mulder?

217. Yeah, maybe this year we can catch a game

218. at Camden Yards.

219. Of course we wouldn't be able to sit together.

220. That's too bad.

221. Something tells me you'd have the connections

222. to get great seats.

223. Yeah, any park in the country.

224. It's just a tourist.

225. In our line

226. nothing is just what it seems.

227. What am I onto?

228. We go down to investigate a truck driver's encounter

229. with a UFO, and the next thing,

230. we're discovering electronic surveillance equipment.

231. Who's listening to us?

232. Why won't you tell me?

233. What am I onto?

234. A dangerous path.

235. The truck is bogus and so is the truck driver Ranheim.

236. First I checked his manifest.

237. It listed a truck carrying 108 cartons of auto parts,

238. weighing 3,100 pounds.

239. Then I checked with three weigh stations along his route,

240. and they have it listed at 5,100 pounds.

241. There's something in that truck, Mulder, and it's not auto parts,

242. and of course nobody ever reported him.

243. Furthermore, Ranheim lied to us about being in the Gulf War.

244. His real name is Frank Druce...

245. and I worked hard to get this one.

246. He was Special Operations Black Beret

247. in Mosul, Northern Iraq.

248. Also, he didn't get sick

249. from the encounter the other night.

250. He's been to the V.A. hospital for treatments three times

251. in the past year.

252. We had it.

253. We had it and we let it go.

254. Four days ago an Iraqi Air Force pilot

255. shot down an unidentified flying object.

256. The wreckage and possibly the occupants

257. were recovered by the army.

258. Ranheim the truck driver would be a perfect escort

259. for the wreckage and/or bodies

260. out of Iraq to a laboratory in the United States.

261. That would explain why the truck weighs

262. so much more than listed.

263. The military has, in the past,

264. transported dangerous materials and weapons

265. in unmarked trucks across the country.

266. I'm beginning to sound like those guys

267. over at The Lone Gunman, right?

268. Where did you obtain this information?

269. Let's just say it's a source with a deep background.

270. I want to know all about him.

271. All I know is that he's guided us away from harm.

272. How do you know that?

273. We work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation

274. and we're being bugged.

275. What does that tell you?

276. That tells me that not everything is

277. as it appears to be.

278. Exactly, and for all we know,

279. this deep background is the one responsible for the bug.

280. He's never lied to me.

281. I won't break that confidence.

282. I trust him.

283. Mulder, you're the only one I trust.

284. Then, you're going to have to trust me.

285. Did you find out where the truck is now?

286. Generally.

287. It's heading west, towards Colorado.

288. Okay, we've got to try to intercept it

289. and see what's on board.

290. I'm going to go pick up a few things.

291. I'll meet you back at your place

292. in an hour, okay?

293. I cut the main breaker.

294. You risked exposure coming here.

295. What I have here is too important.

296. The photograph in that envelope

297. was taken by an officer at Fort Benning, Georgia.

298. 17 UFOs were spotted in one hour.

299. Is that where the Iraqi wreckage is being held?

300. Are UFOs monitoring the area?

301. Nice place you have here.

302. Wait. Wait.

303. I-I just wanted

304. to take this opportunity to thank you.

305. You've helped my work so much

306. and you've never asked for anything in return,

307. and, and I know you've put yourself

308. at great risk to do so.

309. This is the best photographic evidence I have ever seen.

310. When I first saw the Gulf Breeze photos,

311. I knew they were a hoax,

312. but this, this is the quality of evidence

313. the government has amassed for decades

314. at the highest classified levels.

315. That business with the truck

316. was just a decoy to keep anyone looking closely

317. away from Fort Benning,

318. where they are keeping the remains of the Iraqi UFO.

319. We've got to leave for Georgia immediately, Scully, come on.

320. Mulder, this photograph is a fake.

321. What?

322. Look.

323. This soldier's shadow is allegedly created

324. by the lights from the UFO,

325. but it falls in a direction

326. contradictory to the craft's position.

327. There could be an off-camera

328. light source creating that shadow.

329. Now, look closely at the color of the light

330. reflected in the windshield.

331. Now, that reflection should be

332. from the red lights of the UFO,

333. but it doesn't match the color of the ship's lights.

334. There's probably a degree of tint

335. in the windshield, or the gradation could be attributed

336. to atmospheric conditions.

337. Mulder, we should have it analyzed.

338. Why don't you just admit it, Scully?

339. You're determined not to believe him.

340. Well, maybe you're too determined

341. to believe him.

342. I am determined to follow a lead

343. that may result in the proof of the existence

344. of extraterrestrial biological entities.

345. I need to go.

346. - Mulder, listen to me. - No.

347. Please, will you just hear me?

348. I have never met anyone

349. so passionate and dedicated to a belief as you.

350. It's so intense that sometimes it's blinding.

351. But there are others

352. who are watching you, who know what I know,

353. and whereas I can respect and admire your passion,

354. they will use it against you.

355. Mulder, the truth is out there, but so are lies.

356. Thank you.

357. I had the photo analyzed by the Bureau's computers.

358. Initially it appears to be legitimate.

359. The film grain matches in pattern and density,

360. color levels, shading.

361. Then I noticed this.

362. It's the moon, half full.

363. I had the reflection in this window

364. enlarged by 25.

365. There's the moon again,

366. a quarter full,

367. not to mention the fact that the window

368. couldn't even catch the moon's reflection

369. from that angle.

370. You were right, Scully, it's a fake.

371. He tried to deceive us.

372. Now we're alone on this.

373. There's no one we can trust.

374. They went to a lot of trouble

375. to put us on the wrong track.

376. There's something here

377. that no one's supposed to find.

378. Why didn't you leave for Fort Benning?

379. The photograph was a fake.

380. Well, at least you're not insulting me further

381. by feigning appalled surprise.

382. On the contrary, I think a compliment is in order.

383. That photo was prepared by our very best.

384. - I thought you were my ally. - Oh, I am.

385. Yeah, imagine if Eisenhower told the rest of the Allies

386. that D-day would take place in Belgium.

387. Mr. Mulder, I place my life

388. in great jeopardy every time we speak.

389. I've been a participant in some of the most insidious lies

390. and witness to deeds that no crazed man could imagine.

391. I spent years watching you

392. from my, uh, lofty position

393. to know that you were the one I could trust.

394. Then, why did you lie to me?

395. I needed to divert you.

396. You and Scully are excellent investigators,

397. and your motives are just.

398. However, there still exist some secrets

399. which should remain secret... truths that people

400. are just not ready to know.

401. Who are you to decide that for me?

402. The world's reaction to such knowledge

403. would be far too dangerous.

404. Dangerous. You mean in the sense of outrage,

405. like the reaction to the Kennedy assassination or M.I.A.s

406. or radiation experiments on terminal patients, Watergate,

407. Iran-Contra, Roswell, the Tuskegee experiments.

408. Where will it end?

409. Oh, I guess it won't end as long as...

410. men like you decide what is truth.

411. That transcript you gave me of the Iraqi pilot...

412. that was the truth, wasn't it?

413. Yeah.

414. Why did you even bother to show it to me?

415. Well, I was aware that you were onto the truck,

416. so I knew that, down the road, I would have to steer you away,

417. that I would have to lie to you, and a lie, Mr. Mulder,

418. is most convincingly hidden between two truths.

419. Mulder.

420. If a shark stops swimming, it will die.

421. Don't stop swimming.

422. I'm not responsible for the electronic surveillance,

423. but I do know they can still hear you.

424. Mulder.

425. Are you home?

426. - Scully, hey, I'm glad you dropped by. - Mulder...

427. I've been thinking about this whole situation, you know,

428. and I think you're right.

429. I think they won this one, I think we should just move on.

430. I think this time you're right, Mulder.

431. All right, stick with him.

432. Hey!

433. There you are, Ms. Scully,

434. your round-trip ticket to Chicago.

435. Here's your credit card.

436. And the plane departs at Gate 35.

437. I'd also like a one-way ticket to Los Angeles

438. with a stop in Las Vegas, and for that I'll be paying cash.

439. Called every weigh station and bureau office west of Colorado.

440. Tied up an airphone for three hours.

441. I don't speak Japanese, but I think some businessman

442. told me to stick a piece of sushi where the sun don't shine.

443. My ear's numb from being on hold for so many hours.

444. At least we can be sure they didn't trace our call.

445. I couldn't find the truck.

446. Did you have any luck?

447. Yep, it's heading northwest on I-90.

448. We have to get a couple tickets to Seattle.

449. Yeah, think about it.

450. This truck drove across America.

451. People it passed on the road probably thought

452. it was hauling auto parts or furniture,

453. you know, livestock, whatever.

454. Nobody would have suspected

455. it was hauling a craft from another world.

456. Here we go.

457. Mulder, we've been following this truck for hours.

458. Maybe he knows we're following him

459. and he's taking an evasive route.

460. Well, if that were the case...

461. You all right?

462. Yeah.

463. Come on.

464. Ranheim!

465. Ranheim?

466. Scully.

467. Oh, my God.

468. It was an extraterrestrial biological entity... alive.

469. Where did it go?

470. I think we were just witness to a rescue mission.

471. God, Mulder, I can't stop shaking.

472. What just happened... does it fit the profile?

473. Are you asking if it was real?

474. Did we just have a close encounter?

475. No, it was another hoax.

476. But how could anyone generate such force?

477. Whatever they used, we probably haven't heard of it.

478. Sound weapons, stealth helicopters

479. with an ultrahigh- intensity light.

480. It doesn't matter.

481. There's no evidence that this was a UFO.

482. So they created this elaborate show

483. just to deflect us again?

484. I mean, wouldn't it have been easier for them just...

485. Just to kill us.

486. Yeah, I've wondered that myself.

487. Maybe they're using me against myself

488. like you said before.

489. That I want so badly to believe, that I'd just accept

490. the obvious conclusions and walk away.

491. Well, now we have nothing to go on.

492. No one to turn to.

493. There's still one player in all this who hasn't lied to us,

494. but it's not quite someone we can turn to.

495. Levering and Priest Rapids,

496. east bank of the Columbia River.

497. Did you send out a field investigator?

498. And you can substantiate the sighting?

499. Okay, Nick, thanks a lot.

500. I've contacted several organizations

501. that have hotlines for UFO reports...

502. Center for UFO Studies in Chicago,

503. MUFON, NICAP...

504. none of them have ever reported a week of such activity.

505. It began in Tennessee

506. where Ranheim was encountered.

507. The sightings are following

508. the path of the truck.

509. And after last night's hoax...

510. look at this.

511. Seven sightings in Mattawa,

512. Washington... that's 100 miles away.

513. Aliens?

514. Looks like they want their colleague back.

515. We've driven full circle through Mattawa twice.

516. There's nothing here.

517. What's over there?

518. We have been waiting.

519. Welcome to our home.

520. We are willing to go with you.

521. Ahh-doo-nay-vah-so-barahgahs.

522. That's an intergalactic space greeting.

523. It means "Hello, space brothers."

524. Hello.

525. What's going on here?

526. A UFO party.

527. You've seen UFOs?

528. Last two nights. They're drawn to our electric power.

529. They hover over the power plant down there.

530. Everyone, they are here.

531. This is it.

532. There's Ranheim.

533. This place has got to have the highest level of security.

534. It's just the kind of challenge they're looking for.

535. Who?

536. Lone Gunman.

537. It's Mulder. Turn the tape recorder off.

538. Okay, it's off.

539. - Turn it off! - It's off already.

540. How would you like to have on your front page

541. the first substantiated photo

542. of an extraterrestrial biological entity?

543. No way. An E.B.E.?

544. What do we have to do?

545. Just hack me some identification numbers.

546. Braidwood and Stefoff.

547. Personal identification number?

548. 7-5-9-3.

549. 5-3-1-1.

550. Open the trunk, please.

551. Park in lot four.

552. Thanks.

553. Hey, wait!

554. Display these at all times.

555. Proceed.

556. Langly said he couldn't gain access to Level 6,

557. so that's where we...

558. We have to go back, we have to get through that door.

559. We're going to look suspicious going back.

560. We have to find other access, then, come on.

561. Mulder, they're not going to let us.

562. You folks come with me, please.

563. Yeah, we're lost, we're just looking for... we're trying to...

564. Just proceed down the hallway.

565. Yeah, if you could just help us...

566. Mulder, stop.

567. We're agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

568. I'm reaching for my I.D.

569. We're here conducting

570. an investigation.

571. Proceed down the hallway, please.

572. This is Level 2 to Level 6.

573. I have a male and a female who have identified themselves...

574. - Mulder! - Stop!

575. Hold it!

576. - He's in the stairs! - Go, go, go!

577. Come on, guys.

578. Aah!

579. Stay on top of him.

580. Halt!

581. I said hold it!

582. Halt!

583. Let him go.

584. Let him go.

585. You've done well.

586. You're dismissed.

587. I know how badly,

588. how... very badly you want to look through that window,

589. but it would be pointless.

590. It's dead.

591. After the Roswell incident in 1947,

592. even at the brink of the Cold War,

593. there was an ultrasecret conference

594. attended by the United States,

595. the Soviet Union, the People's Republic of China, Britain,

596. both Germanies, France,

597. and it was agreed that, should

598. any extraterrestrial biological entity survive a crash,

599. the country that held that being would be responsible

600. for its extermination.

601. I, um... have the distinction of being one of three men

602. to have exterminated such a creature.

603. I was with the CIA in Vietnam.

604. A UFO was sighted for five nights over Hanoi.

605. The marines shot it down and brought it to us.

606. Maybe... it didn't know what a gun was

607. or perhaps they don't show emotion...

608. but that... innocent and blank expression

609. as I pulled the trigger has haunted me...

610. until I found you.

611. That's why I come to you, Mr. Mulder,

612. and will continue to come to you to atone for what I've done,

613. and maybe sometime,

614. through you, the truth will be known.

615. You're awfully quiet, Mr. Mulder.

616. I'm wondering which lie to believe.