X Files, The (1998)

FADE IN:


EXT. SNOWSCAPE

A BLINDING WHITE SCREEN, under which we hear an ominous
low end Dolby THX Big Screen rumble. We're not in 19"
television land anymore, Toto. As the rumble builds, TWO
BLACK FIGURES appear on what now has resolved into a
distant horizon. From their movements we can shortly see
that the figures are men. Moving along a windswept ice
sheet in an otherwise featureless land.

A LEGEND appears: NORTH TEXAS, 35,000 B.C.


CLOSER ON THE TWO MEN

Continuing toward us, we can now see that they are
dressed in crude garments made of animal skins. If we
squint we can see their hair is long, their jutting
foreheads significant of primitive Homo Sapiens. They
continue toward us, the wind beating against them,
CAMERA IS CRANING DOWN to the snow that lies before
them. To LARGE THREE-TOED TRACKS.


FOLLOWING THE PRIMITIVES

As they track the three-toed prints to a rocky crevice in
the hard-pack ice. The prints stop here, and so do the
men. Dropping down into the crevice in pursuit of their
quarry.

						CUT TO:


INT. ICE CAVE

Dark in here, except where the sunlight penetrates the
thick, glassy ice walls. The silhouettes of the
Primitives stark against the glistening cavern. The
sound of flint being struck, then A TORCH CATCHES FIRE,
illuminating their faces. And:

A CREATURE

Deeper in the cave. Fleeing the light and the men. We
get only a brief glimpse of it in the torch light,
seeing that it moves upright on two legs and has gray,
dinosaur-like skin. And large black eyes. But it moves
quickly enough away that any other identifying feature
is lost in the deeper shadows.

THE PRIMITIVES

Removing crude weapons made of sharpened bone from under
their thick fur garments, and scrabbling into the
constricting cavern, giving chase.

Following them as they moves with animal-like agility
through the tightening space. Predatory hunters. Their
torchlight catching:

THE CREATURE

As it disappears into a tight opening in a smaller
crevice leading off the main one. The Primitives
entering frame after a moment, only a few steps behind.
The LEAD PRIMITIVE dropping to the cave floor,
pulling himself into this same tight fissure in pursuit.
Splitting off from his partner who exits frame still on
the run.


INT. SMALLER ICE CAVE - HIGH ANGLE DOWN

The fiery torch comes through first, held by the lead
man. Throwing dancing shadows on the walls of what
appears to be a box cavern.

CLOSE ON LEAD PRIMITIVE

Rising quickly to his feet. Not seeing what the torch
illuminates just behind him: The face of a dead
Primitive Man, his body frozen into the ice. He does
finally notice this, turning to see it, when he's
ATTACKED VICIOUSLY FROM BEHIND.

The torch falls to the floor so that the fight is
difficult to see, but it is loud and cruel. The creature
squealing wildly as the grunts of the Primitive now turn
to the sounds of painful struggle. Until:

THE SECOND PRIMITIVE MAN

Suddenly appears, driving his bone weapon into the body
of the Creature. Again and again, until the Creature is
driven away into the shadows.

The Second Man grabs the torch now, not to see if his
hunting mate has survived, but in pursuit of the
Creature. In the light we see that he and his weapon are
covered with spatters of OILY BLACK BLOOD. As is the
First Primitive whose body lies heaving on the floor.

The Second Primitive stepping over his hunting mate,
stalking the Creature into the shadows, where it has
collapsed. The torch finally landing, for the first
time, on its face.

When the torchlight hits its face, the Creature attacks.
But the Primitive prevails. He drops his torch and
dispatches the already wounded Creature with strong
hard stabs of his weapon, one of which penetrates the
Creature's eye.


LOW ANGLE ON THE DEAD CREATURE

The torch, which lies on the ground, illuminates the
dead creature's face. Its wounds are flowing with the
oily black blood, which, oddly now, BEGINS TO POOL. As
if it has intelligence, sentience. Pooling and traveling
into a fissure in the cave floor. And disappearing.


ANGLE ON THE SECOND PRIMITIVE

Watching this, unknowing. His chest heaving from the
fight, as the spots of Oily Black Blood which have
spattered onto him begin to crawl. Crawling toward his
eyes and mouth. Causing him to let out grunts of fear.

Which are the sounds we hear as the CAMERA SLOWLY CRANES
UP past the struggling Primitive to the roof of the
cave, where the dancing shadows of the torch FADE AWAY
with the sounds of struggle. Moving into darkness and
silence. But only for a moment. Until:


SUNSHINE BREAKS THROUGH THE ROOF OF THE CAVE - PRESENT
DAY

Along with the spade of a shovel. And then -- the
earthen cave ceiling gives way and A BOY wearing Nikes
and an old t-shirt falls through it. Falling PAST
CAMERA. We hear a YELL, then a THUD, and a CLATTERING of
the shovel that's fallen in with him. Then a pained
GASPING.

Then SEVERAL HEADS appear in the opening. These are BOYS
of ten to eleven, staring down into the cave. Hot
sunlight blazing in. We have traveled far, far forward
in time.

		2ND BOY
	Hey, Stevie. You okay?


INT. CAVE - PRESENT DAY

THEIR POV OF STEVIE

On the floor below covered with dirt, in his nose and
mouth. Spitting out. (All these boys have Texas in their
voices.)

		STEVIE
	I got...I got....I got....
		(straining)
	....the wind knocked out of me.

This draws no sympathy from above, only LAUGHTER.

THE BOYS UP ABOVE

Staring excitedly.

		3RD BOY
	Looks like a cave or something.

		2ND BOY
	What's down there, Stevie? Anything?

OVER THE BOYS ABOVE

Stevie has gotten up, moving out of the patch of
sunlight. Disappearing from view for a moment. Then
reappearing, still spitting out dirt. But holding:

		STEVIE
	Human skull.

One side partially missing from the cranium. But it
brings WHOOPS of delight from the boys above.

		3RD BOY
	Toss it up here, dude.

		STEVIE
	No way, buttwipe. I found it. It's
	mine.

ANGLE UP ON STEVIE

The other boys looking down at him. Stevie looking at
the skull. Strangely, the light shines through it. It is
milky, opaque, as if it's bone that's turned somehow
glassy in places. Then:

		STEVIE
	Anyways, there's bones all over the
	place down here.

Stevie looks down at his feet. CAMERA FOLLOWING HIS LOOK
DOWN to where there are indeed more human bones. And
something else. He takes a couple of steps in place,
standing in a familiar BLACK, OILY substance -- which is
climbing up his tennis shoe from the rock floor, over
the edge of the shoe and down into the shoe itself. Then
the SKULL drops in the frame, clattering on the hard
floor of the cave.

CAMERA SLOWLY RISING UP FROM STEVIE'S SHOES

Following SUBCUTANEOUS WORMS which have begun locomoting
aggressively up his legs. As his whole body is WRACKED
by a shivering seizure of some kind.

CAMERA RISES, following the path of the worms as they
move up the legs of his shorts. Some appearing on his
bare arms, but the great majority continuing up to
Stevie's neck, toward his face. Stevie stands paralyzed.
Letting out guttural sounds not dissimilar to when the
wind was knocked out of him.

		3RD BOY (O.S.)
	Hey, Stevie....

But Stevie cannot answer him. CAMERA CONTINUING UP to
the boys above. Looking down at their friend. Their eyes
go wide.

		2ND BOY
	You okay?

But what they see next answers that question for them.

THEIR POV OF STEVIE

His face suddenly alive with the subcutaneous worms.
Moving toward his eyes which begin filling with BLACK
OIL. Looking much now like ALIEN EYES.

CLOSE ON THE BOYS ABOVE

Freaked by what they see. And doing what any kid would
do now.

		3RD BOY
	Hey, man. Let's get outta here.

And they do. Bolting from the hole in the top of the
cave. CAMERA PUSHING UP THROUGH THIS HOLE to REVEAL we
are:


EXT. SMALL DIRT FIELD - NORTHERN TEXAS - DAY

In a dirt hole that was being dug by the three kids.
RISING UP out of the hole to REVEAL the parched dirt
patch where THREE KIDS are running away from us, as fast
as their feet will take them. Toward A NEW HOUSING TRACT
(five floorplans to choose from, including the model
home.) Disappearing into the neighborhood. A LEGEND
appears: NORTH TEXAS, 1998.

CAMERA CONTINUES RISING ABOVE THE ROOFTOPS to see the
surrounding expanse of empty Texas flatland. And in the
distance, the DALLAS SKYLINE.

As CAMERA SETTLES, there are a few moments of nothing
but the sound of the wind gently whistling across the
landscape. In which we bury a short TIME CUT.


EXT. NEIGHBORHOOD - NORTHERN TEXAS - DAY

Then we HEAR it, before we see it: FIRE ENGINES pulling
into the neighborhood, sirens WAILING. CAMERA DROPPING
AGAIN as the lead engine pulls up. FIREMEN are hopping
off, moving to the hole the boys dug.

LOW ANGLE UP FROM BELOW GROUND LEVEL, IN THE DUGOUT
HOLE

TWO firemen carrying a ladder clamber down PAST CAMERA,
THREE OTHERS appearing on their heels. The other two
firemen clamber down, too. THE CAPTAIN at the edge of
the hole watching them. Holding a radio.

		FIRE CAPTAIN
	This is Captain Miles Cooles...we've
	got a rescue situation in progress...


INT. CAVE - CONTINUOUS

As the LEAD FIREMAN steps down the ladder into the cave.
He scans the darkness, illuminated only by the shaft of
light permitted by the hole above. As the 2ND FIREMAN
drops down next to him. The both stand motionless now,
as if sensing something.

THEIR POV

Stevie's feet are just visible on the floor of the cave,
a short distance away.

RESUME FIREMEN - LOW ANGLE

They start cautiously toward Stevie. CAMERA FINDING
their feet. Tracking through the same OILY, BLACK
SUBSTANCE we saw bleeding from the creature thirty five
thousand years ago. As they move into the shadows, we
HOLD ON THE SUBSTANCE....and see it MOVE. It's alive.

						TIME CUT TO:


EXT. DIRT FIELD - SHORT TIME LATER

CAMERA RISES out of the dirt hole, finds A GROUP OF
NEIGHBORS:

Concerned PARENTS, KIDS, including Stevie's friends.
They're held at a distance by the remaining firemen.
Everyone turning their concerned gazes skyward. Looking
at:

A MED-EVAC CHOPPER

Coming off the sun-setting horizon. Moving toward us at
high speed. The WHOP, WHOP of its blade soon shaking the
neighborhood as it banks in and around and hovers just
over the dirt field. Landing gently on the parched hard
scrabble.

The side door flies open and FIVE HAZ-MAT RESCUE
PARAMEDICS jump out carrying a bubble litter. CAMERA
PANS THEM to the dirt hole past THE FIRE CAPTAIN. The
Haz-Mat Paramedics moving down into the hole. The Fire
Captain watches this, then stares toward --

DR. BEN BRONSCHWEIG (in shirtsleeves, tie), exiting the
chopper, following up the rear. The Captain meeting him
in route.

		BRONSCHWEIG
		(over the chopper)
	Keep those people back. Get them out
	of here.

		FIRE CAPTAIN
		(to his men)
	Move them all back.
		(dogging Bronschweig)
	I sent four men down after the boy.
	They're not responding.

Dr. Bronschweig's focus is elsewhere, though. He's
making a bee line to the earthen hole where young Stevie
is being pulled out and lifted into an enclosed
QUARANTINE BUBBLE LITTER by the rescue squad.
Bronschweig watches with great concern. Getting a good
look now at Stevie's paralyzed body as it passes him.

ANGLE ON CHOPPER

As Stevie's body is loaded aboard, the side door is slid
shut. The engine throttles up and the chopper takes
flight again, almost as quickly as it arrived. The prop
wash blowing:

DR. BRONSCHWEIG

And the gathering crowd. Bronschweig watches the chopper
bank away, then turns his look to:

THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Where A SERIES OF UNMARKED CARGO VANS, TRUCKS are
rolling in. A fleet of vehicles, driven by what looks
like MILITARY PERSONNEL. Most conspicuously TWO WHITE
UNMARKED TANKER TRUCKS. (There are NO MARKINGS on these
vehicles.)

RESUME BRONSCHWEIG

As the Fire Captain moves around to face him off.

		FIRE CAPTAIN
	What about my men?

		DR. BRONSCHWEIG
		(brusquely)
	We're doing all we can.

And he moves off toward the approaching trucks where the
MILITARY PERSONNEL are pulling out tents, tent poles,
scientific equipment. Leaving the Captain to wonder what
the hell's going on. Watching the first of many
REFRIGERATION UNITS being unloaded. The personnel
carrying it paying him no mind as they blow past him.
Moving RIGHT TO CAMERA and plunging us into BLACK.

HOLD. Then OVER BLACK, a familiar sound again. The
sound of a chopper auguring in. As we FADE UP, revealing
we are:


EXT. TOP OF A SKYSCRAPER - DAY

The chopper is banking over the side of the building,
preparing to touch down on the rooftop where FIFTEEN FBI
AGENTS in dark ID windbreakers are standing. A LEGEND
appears: FEDERAL BUILDING, DALLAS, TEXAS. ONE WEEK
LATER.

The chopper touches down and, again, the side door is
thrown open. But now only one man exits: SPECIAL AGENT
IN CHARGE (S.A.C.) DARIUS MICHAUD.

Michaud moves with the measured pace of authority,
approaching the waiting FBI Agents. One of whom steps
up.

		FBI AGENT
	We've evacuated the building and been
	through it bottom to top. No trace of
	an explosive device or anything
	resembling one.

		S.A.C. MICHAUD
	Have you taken the dogs through?

		FBI AGENT
	Yes, sir.

		S.A.C. MICHAUD
	Well, take them through again.

This is given as a non-negotiable order, to the somewhat
weary FBI man. Who turns back to his charges, Michaud
does not register this attitude, though. Something else
has caught his attention. Causing him to walk to the
edge of the building. CAMERA FOLLOWING HIM, seeing what
he sees now.

On an adjacent skyscraper is what appears to be AN FBI
AGENT in an ID windbreaker exiting onto the roof. CAMERA
CONTINUING AROUND into A CLOSE UP PROFILE of S.A.C
Michaud. Staring at this, his jaw set. He doesn't like
what he sees. And what he sees is:


EXT. ROOFTOP OPPOSING SKYSCRAPER - DAY - CONTINUOUS

Special Agent Dana Scully is coming out the door leading
onto the roof. The door slams shut behind her. She, too,
is dressed in an FBI windbreaker. She's dialing her
cell phone as she moves around the rooftop looking for
something. Dialing the number of:

		SCULLY
	Mulder -- it's me --

		MULDER (FILTER)
	Where are you, Scully?

		SCULLY
	I'm on the roof.

		MULDER (FILTER)
	Did you find something?

		SCULLY
		(impatiently)
	No. I haven't.

		MULDER (FILTER)
	What's wrong, Scully?

		SCULLY
	I've just climbed twelve floors. I'm
	hot and thirsty and I'm wondering, to
	be honest, what I'm doing here.

		MULDER (FILTER)
	You're looking for a bomb.

		SCULLY
	I know that. But the threat was called
	in for the Federal Building across the
	street.

		MULDER (FILTER)
	I think they have that covered.

WE ARE TRACKING WITH SCULLY.

		SCULLY
		(impatience)
	Mulder... when a terrorist bomb threat
	is called in, the logical purpose of
	providing this information is to allow
	us to find the bomb. The rational
	object of terrorism is to promote
	terror. If you'd study model
	behavioral pattern in virtually every
	case where a threat has turned up an
	explosive device. If we don't act in
	accordance with that data -- if you
	ignore it as we have done -- the
	chances are great that if here
	actually is a bomb we might not find
	it. Lives could be lost --

Scully, engrossed in her own argument, realizes she's
been the only one speaking for the last short while. She
stops walking.

		SCULLY
	Mulder...?

		MULDER
	What happened to playing a hunch?

Scully almost JUMPS out of her own skin. The voice has
come not over the phone, but from two feet away where:

ANGLE TO INCLUDE AGENT MULDER

Standing in the shadow of a large air conditioning unit.
Cracking a trademark sunflower seed between his teeth.
Clicking his cell phone off. Moving out.

		SCULLY
	Jesus, Mulder...

		MULDER
	The element of surprise, Scully.
	Random acts of unpredictability. If we
	fail to anticipate the unforeseen or
	expect the unexpected in a universe of
	infinite possibilities, we find
	ourselves at the mercy of anyone or
	anything that cannot be programmed,
	categorized or easily referenced...

Mulder has moved to the edge of the building where he
sails his sunflower seeds into the air. Dusting his
hands off as if lost in a wistful through for just a
moment.

		MULDER
	What are we doing up here? It's hotter
	than hell.

And he's on the move. Scully moving to catch up.

NEW ANGLE

Mulder is moving toward the stairs, Scully catching him.
Mulder allowing her to lead him up the steps.

		SCULLY
	I know you're bored in this
	assignment, but unconventional
	thinking is only going to get you into
	trouble now.

		MULDER
	How's that?

		SCULLY
	You've got to quit looking for what
	isn't there. They've closed the
	X-Files. There's procedure to be
	followed here. Protocol.

		MULDER
	What do you say we call in a bomb
	threat for Houston. I think it's free
	beer night at the Astrodome.

Scully gives him a look. It's no use. She reaches the
door first, grabs the knob but... it won't open. Turning
to Mulder.

		SCULLY
	Now what?

		MULDER
		(suddenly nervous)
	It's locked?

She wiggles the knob again.

		SCULLY
	So much for anticipating the
	unforeseen...

Scully squints into the sun, staring at Mulder. But he's
quick on the draw, and realizes what she's up to. He
grabs for the door and... it opens. Looking to Scully
whose hard look of mock-scolding has become a smirking
smile.

		SCULLY
	Had you.

		MULDER
	No you didn't.

		SCULLY
	Oh yeah. Had you big time.

And that's how it continues as they re-enter the
stairwell, the door slamming shut behind them.

						CUT TO:


INT. BUILDING LOBBY - DAY

As an elevator DINGS and the doors open. Scully and
Mulder exit into the lobby where people move in and out.
Heads turn due to their FBI jackets. (Included
atmosphere: a GROUP OF KIDS on a field trip, being led
into an elevator by THEIR TEACHER.)

		SCULLY
	I saw your face, Mulder. There was a
	moment of panic.

		MULDER
	Panic? Have you ever seen me panic,
	Scully?

		SCULLY
	I just did. You're buying.

Mulder fishes for change, but more out of
sportsmanship.

		MULDER
	Alright... what'll it be: Coke, Pepsi?
	A saline IV?

		SCULLY
	Something sweet.

Scully flashes a thin victory smile, as Mulder heads
off.


INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE VENDING MACHINE ROOM - CONTINUOUS

Mulder moving to a door with a small shingle above it
which says SNACKS/BEVERAGES. As he approaches, sorting
through the change he's fished up, the door opens and A
MAN IN A VENDOR'S UNIFORM appears. He makes casual and
ever-so-brief eye contact with Mulder as he brushes past
him. Mulder making no note of this as he moves to catch
the door before it closes.

						CUT TO:


INT. SNACK AREA AND SODA VENDING MACHINE ROOM - DAY

Mulder takes a few steps down into the windowless room.
Moving past the snack machines to a LIGHTED soda
machine.

Finding the correct change and plunking it in. Hitting a
button, but... nothing comes out.

		MULDER
	Oh, come on.

He beats his fist a couple of times on the front of the
machine.

Nothing. He finds more change. Plunking it in. Hits the
button. Nothing. He stares at the machine a minute, then
BEATS IT HARD with his fist. Nothing.

Moving around to the back of the machine, looking for:


ANGLE ACROSS BACK OF MACHINE

Mulder's face peering in on the slim space between the
machine and the wall. Reaching down and lifting the PLUG
on the end of the electrical cord. It isn't plugged in.
Realizing now why the machine hasn't spit out his
sodas.

RESUME FRONT ANGLE ON MACHINE

As Mulder appears, stepping very lightly in front of the
machine that he was just pounding away on. Looking at
it, then moving quickly to the door he entered through.
Grasping the knob, but finding it... LOCKED. He jiggles
the knob, pulls on it. But there's no two ways about it,
he's locked in.

						CUT TO:


INT. BUILDING LOBBY - DAY

Scully stands looking at her watch. Wondering where
Mulder is. When her CELL PHONE starts ringing. She
answers it.

		SCULLY
	Scully...

		MULDER (FILTER)
	Scully, I found the bomb.

		SCULLY
		(thinks he's joking)
	Where are you, Mulder?

		MULDER (FILTER)
	I'm in the vending room.

Scully is on the move, but she doesn't believe him for a
second.


INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE VENDING MACHINE ROOM - CONTINUOUS

Scully appears, heard A POUNDING. Following this noise
to the door Mulder is obviously on the other side of.
Tries the door.

		SCULLY
	Is that you pounding?


INT. SNACK AND SODA VENDING MACHINE ROOM - DAY

Mulder holds his phone to his ear, using his other hand
to pound.

		MULDER
	Scully, get somebody to open this
	door.

		SCULLY (FILTER)
	Nice try, Mulder.

CAMERA FOLLOWING MULDER as he steps back, revealing now
that he's gotten the hinged front of the coke machine
open. But we can't yet see what's inside.

		MULDER
	Scully -- listen to me. It's in the
	coke machine. You've got about
	fourteen minutes to get this building
	evacuated.


INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE VENDING MACHINE ROOM - CONTINUOUS

Scully is shaking her head. Tries the door again.

		SCULLY
	C'mon. Open the door.

His response to this is MORE HARD POUNDING.

		SCULLY
	Mulder? Tell me this is a joke.

		MULDER (FILTER)
	Thirteen fifty nine, thirteen fifty
	eight, thirteen fifty seven...

As he is doing this, Scully is bending to see:

THE KEYHOLE

It's been freshly soldered over.


INT. SNACK AND SODA VENDING MACHINE ROOM - DAY

Mulder stands pacing in front of:

AN ELABORATELY ENGINEERED EXPLOSIVE DEVICE

Wired with circuit boards, electric belts and generally
looking like it would take an expert a good long time to
figure out where to even start. A lot longer than the
13:58 that reads on the digital read-out.

		MULDER
	...thirteen fifty six...

		SCULLY (FILTER)
	Hang on. I'm gonna get you out of
	there.

The line goes dead. And off Mulder's deepening anxiety,
we:

						CUT TO:


INT. BUILDING LOBBY - DAY

Scully enters like General Patton, taking charge.
Barking at the security guards who sit behind their
security console.

		SCULLY
	I need this building evacuated and
	cleared out in ten minutes! I need you
	to get on the phone and tell the fire
	department to block off the city
	center in one mile radius around the
	building --

		SECURITY GUARD
	In ten minutes.....?!

		SCULLY
	DON'T THINK! JUST PICK UP THE PHONE
	AND MAKE IT HAPPEN!

And she's moving, dialing her cell phone now.

		SCULLY
		(into phone)
	This is Special Agent Dana Scully. I
	need to speak to S.A.C. Michaud. He's
	got the wrong building --

						CUT TO:


EXT. BUILDING - DAY

UNMARKED FBI VANS, CARS are pulling up out front.
Agents in windbreakers are exiting, moving at a run to
the building. Among them S.A.C. Darius Michaud. Moving
to:


ANGLE ON SCULLY

Exiting the building. Behind her, WORKERS are beginning
to stream out of the building, as well as the young
FIELD TRIPPERS. Michaud meeting up with Scully
mid-plaza. As the windbreaker Agents move past them,
entering the building.

		S.A.C. MICHAUD
	Where is it?

MOVING WITH THEM now, back toward the building. As FIRE
TRUCKS are pulling up out in the street out front.
Suddenly this has the distinct feel of a situation
veering out of control.

		SCULLY
	Mulder found it in a vending machine.
	He's locked in with it.

						CUT TO:


INT. SNACK AND VENDING MACHINE ROOM - DAY

THE DIGITAL READ OUT hits 7:00. Pull back to REVEAL
MULDER staring at it. If he wasn't sweating enough on
the roof, he's certainly sweating now. When his cell
phone RINGS. Answering it.

		MULDER
	Scully?

		SCULLY (FILTER)
	Mulder. Move away from the door. We're
	coming through it.

No sooner is this said than the CAMERA WHIPS OFF MULDER
to the door, where A GAS PLASMA TORCH FLAME is sizzling
along the hinges.

						CUT TO:


INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE VENDING MACHINE ROOM - CONTINUOUS

Where Michaud himself, wearing a Kevlar vest now, is
wielding the torch. Expertly cutting the metal while
Scully and TWO AGENTS and TWO DALLAS BOMB SQUAD men look
on. In the b.g. BUILDING EMPLOYEES are streaming out.
Michaud finishes and shuts off the torch. Yelling:

		S.A.C. MICHAUD
	Go.

The other Agents kick the metal door in sending it
crashing to the floor. Mulder stands on the other side.
Watching Michaud pick up a heft tool kit, stepping over
the downed door.

Scully right behind him. Along with the Agents, Bomb
techs.

ANGLE OVER MULDER AND THE SODA MACHINE/BOMB

As Michaud steps in next to him, sizing up the time on
the ticking digital readout: 4:07. And just exactly what
kind of defusing work he's got cut out for him.

		MULDER
	Tell me this is just soda pop in those
	canisters.

		S.A.C. MICHAUD
	No. It's what it looks like. A big
	I.E.D. - ten gallons of astrolite.
		(studying the bomb)
	Okay, get everybody out of here and
	clear the building.

		MULDER
	Somebody's got to stay with you --

		S.A.C. MICHAUD
	I gave you an order. Now get the hell
	out of here and evacuate the area.

		SCULLY
	Can you defuse it?

Setting his tool kit down, opening it. As the other
Agents heed his word, exiting the room.

		S.A.C. MICHAUD
	I think so.

		MULDER
	You've got about four minutes to find
	out if you're wrong.

Michaud turns on him with unexpected intensity.

		S.A.C. MICHAUD
	Did you hear what I said?

		SCULLY
	Let's go, Mulder.

Scully starts out. Mulder stares at Michaud for a
moment, but Michaud's focus is on the bomb now. He won't
meet Mulder's look. Finally Mulder moves off, following
Scully.

CAMERA HOLDS ON MICHAUD, just staring at the bomb. Just
staring.

						CUT TO:


EXT. PLAZA OUTSIDE BOMB BUILDING - DAY - CONTINUOUS

The last of the building occupants are being hauled off
in CITY BUSES which have moved in curbside. As these
buses pull away, so do the fire trucks that have
positioned themselves out front. And the police squad
cars. As Mulder and Scully exit the front door. Moving
quickly, until Mulder hits mid-plaza and slows. Scully
not realizing this for a few steps, then turning.

		SCULLY
	What are you doing?
		(off his non-response)
	Mulder --

One last windbreakered Agent is exiting. Moving past
them to the last cop car other than the car waiting for
Mulder and Scully.

		LAST AGENT OUT
	All clear.

Mulder has stopped and is looking back to the building
now as Scully hustles back the few steps separating
them.

		MULDER
	Something's wrong.

ANGLE OVER THEM TO THE WAITING CAR

As the Last Agent Out's car zooms away. Leaving only
their car and the man driving it: a WINDBREAKERED
AGENT.

		WINDBREAKERED AGENT
	What's he doing?

The plaza is desolate now, void of life.

		MULDER
	Something's not right...

		SCULLY
	-- Mulder! Get in the car!

Scully is pulling him now. Pulling him toward the car
and the obviously impatient Windbreakered Agent.

		SCULLY
	There's no time!

						CUT TO:


INT. SNACK AND SODA VENDING MACHINE ROOM - DAY

CLOSE ON BOMB. The seconds ticking off now, as it passes
the :30 mark. CAMERA PULLING BACK, ADJUSTING to Michaud.
His tool chest is closed up, and he is sitting on it
improbably. Still staring at the bomb, then pulling his
head down in what appears to be resignation. As the
seconds tick away.

						CUT BACK TO:


EXT. PLAZA OUTSIDE BOMB BUILDING - DAY - CONTINUOUS

Mulder has relented now, against his better instincts.
Moving with Scully to the car, faster as they go. The
Windbreaker Agent standing in the open door of the
driver's side. Getting in behind the wheel...

						CUT BACK TO:


INT. VENDING MACHINE ROOM - CONTINUOUS

S.A.C. MICHAUD

Sitting motionless in front of the bomb as the seconds
tick down. 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1- --

						HARD CUT BACK
						TO:


EXT. PLAZA OUTSIDE BOMB BUILDING - DAY - CONTINUOUS

Mulder and Scully getting in the car. TRACKING BACKWARDS
with them now as the Agent driving pulls away, getting
only thirty, maybe forty yards when: the BOMB DETONATES
and the building EXPLODES. And this is no fatwa symbolic
little terror strike. This is Oklahoma City. Or do we
say, Independence Day.


REVERSE ANGLE ON CAR

As all the windows blow out and the car is lifted up,
slamming into the corner of a parked car. The air so
quickly full of debris that it would seem the whole city
has been destroyed.

RESUME BUILDING

As the debris starts to clear somewhat, much of it still
floating to the ground, though. We see the fires raging
on every floor. That most of the front of the building
has been torn away and we can see right into many
floors.


RESUME ANGLE ON CAR

Where it sits half cocked against a parked car. The air
is full of debris, particulated matter. The rear door of
the squad car opens now and Mulder gets out, covered with
glass. Moving to the front passenger door, opening it
for Scully.

		MULDER
		(with darkest irony)
	Next time you're buying.


EXT. AERIAL SHOT OF WASHINGTON D.C. - DAY

HIGH ABOVE the U.S. capital, the entire beltway. With a
LEGEND, to establish.

LOWER AND TIGHTER NOW

On the J. Edgar Hoover Building, FBI Headquarters.
Descending low on the three-sided monolith and its large
interior courtyard. As another LEGEND appears, under:

		WOMAN'S VOICE (V.O.)
	In light of Waco, and Ruby Ridge...

						CUT TO:


INT. FBI OFFICE OF PROFESSIONAL REVIEW - DAY

A formal hearing. Several ASSISTANT DIRECTORS sit at a
head table, going over documents. NAME PLACECARDS in
front of them.

PANNING the group, the sound of papers shuffling, the
occasional clearing of a throat creating a stale air of
importance, under:

		WOMAN'S VOICE (V.O.)
	...there is a heightened need at the
	Attorney General's office to place
	responsibility as early as possible.

CAMERA LANDING ON ASSISTANT DIRECTOR JANA CASSIDY

A no-nonsense 40 year-old lawyer cum FBI Agent.

		CASSIDY
	...for the catastrophic destruction of
	public property and the loss of life
	due to terrorist activities...

Next to Cassidy is Assistant Director WALTER SKINNER,
Mulder and Scully's former superior on the X-Files.
Looking ruefully at:

AGENT SCULLY

At a small table, the chair next to her conspicuously
empty.

		CASSIDY
	Many details are still unclear; some
	agents' reports have not been filed,
	or have come in sketchy, without a
	satisfactory accounting of the events
	that led to the destruction in Dallas.
	But we're under some pressure to give
	an accurate picture of what happened
	to the Attorney General, so she can
	issue a public statement.

The door to the room opens behind Scully now, and Mulder
enters, his manner that of a man who knows he's late to
a function.

RESUME A.D. CASSIDY

She looks up at Mulder and Scully with a stern glare.

		CASSIDY
	We now know that five people died in
	the explosion. Special Agent in Charge
	Darius Michaud who was trying to
	defuse the bomb that had been hidden
	in a vending machine. Three firemen
	from Dallas, and a young boy.

OVER MULDER AND SCULLY

Mulder pulls out his chair to sit down, but remains
standing. They trade a look. This is new news to them.

		MULDER
	Excuse me -- the firemen and the boy
	-- they were in the building?

		CASSIDY
	Agent Mulder, since you weren't able
	to be on time for this hearing, I'm
	going to ask you to step outside so
	that we can get Agent Scully's version
	of the facts. So that she won't have
	to be paid the same disrespect.

		MULDER
	We were told the building was clear.

		CASSIDY
	You'll get your turn, Agent Mulder.
	Please step out.

Mulder trades looks with:

A.D. SKINNER

Who stares at him evenly, but not unsympathetically.
He's been here with Mulder on many occasions. Seen
Mulder run up against the Bureau and its stiff
conventions. Always in the middle.

		MULDER
	It does say there in your paperwork
	that we were the ones who found the
	bomb...

		CASSIDY
	Thank you, Agent Mulder. We'll call
	you in shortly.

RESUME MULDER, SCULLY

As Mulder slides his chair in. Scully watching him
exit.

						CUT TO:


INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE OPR HEARING ROOM - DAY

Mulder sits by himself in a chair, head down. When the
door to the hearing room opens. Mulder rising as A.D.
Skinner exits.

		SKINNER
	Sit down, they're still talking to
	Agent Scully.

		MULDER
	About what?

		SKINNER
	-- They're asking her for a narrative.
	They want to know why she was in the
	wrong building.

		MULDER
	She was with me.

Skinner studies Mulder, shaking his head.

		SKINNER
	You don't see what's going on here, do
	you?
		(off Mulder's look)
	There's four hundred million dollars
	in damage to the city of Dallas. Lives
	have been lost. No suspects have been
	named. So the story being shaped is
	this could have been prevented. That
	the FBI didn't do its job.

		MULDER
	And they want to blame us?

		SKINNER
	Agent Mulder -- we both know that if
	you and Agent Scully hadn't taken the
	initiative to search the adjacent
	building, you could have multiplied
	the fatalities by a hundred --

		MULDER
		(grasping the irony)
	But it's not the lives we saved. It's
	the lives we didn't.

		SKINNER
		(reciting the dictum)
	-- if it looks bad, it's bad for the
	FBI --

		MULDER
	-- if they want someone to blame,
	they can blame me. Agent Scully
	doesn't deserve this.

		SKINNER
	She's in there right now saying the
	same thing about you.

		MULDER
	I breached protocol. I broke contact
	with the S.A.C. I ignored a primary
	tactical rule and left him alone with
	the device.

		SKINNER
	Agent Scully says it was she who
	ordered you out of the building. That
	you wanted to go back.

Mulder doesn't get to respond, because the door opens
again and Agent Scully exits. She looks like she's been
through it.

		SCULLY
		(to Skinner)
	They're asking for you, Sir.

Skinner gives one last look to Mulder, then re-enters.
Leaving Mulder and Scully alone. Scully wearing a pained
look.

		MULDER
	Whatever you told them in there, you
	don't have to protect me.

		SCULLY
	All I told them was the truth.

		MULDER
	They're trying to divide us on this,
	Scully. We can't let them.

		SCULLY
	They have divided us, Mulder. They're
	splitting us up.

		MULDER
		(beat)
	What? What are you talking about?

		SCULLY
	I meet with the OPR day after tomorrow
	for remediation and reassignment...

		MULDER
	Why?

		SCULLY
	I think you must have an idea. They
	cited a history of problems relating
	back to 1993.

		MULDER
	They were the ones that put us
	together.

		SCULLY
	Because they wanted me to invalidate
	your work, your investigations into
	the paranormal. But I think this goes
	deeper than that.

		MULDER
	This isn't about you, Scully. They're
	doing this to me.

		SCULLY
	They're not doing this, Mulder.
		(off his look)
	I left behind a career in medicine
	because I thought I might make a
	difference at the FBI. When they
	recruited me they told me women made
	up nine percent of the bureau. I felt
	this was not an impediment, but an
	opportunity to distinguish myself. But
	it hasn't turned out that way. And
	now, if I were to be transferred to
	Omaha, or Wichita or some field office
	where I'm sure I could rise, it just
	doesn't hold the interest for me it
	once did. Not after what I've seen and
	done.

		MULDER
	You're... quitting?

		SCULLY
	There's really no reason left for me
	to stay anymore.
		(off his look)
	Maybe you should ask yourself if your
	heart's still in it, too.

The door opens to the hearing room again now. A.D.
Skinner steps part way out, gesturing to him.

		SKINNER
	Agent Mulder. You're up.

		SCULLY
		(regretfully)
	I'm sorry. Good luck.

Mulder rises. Scully studying his poorly disguised hurt.
Before he turns and goes into the room.

Scully watching the door close behind him. Her feelings
poorly disguised, too.

						CUT TO:


INT. DOWNSCALE D.C. BAR - NIGHT

CLOSE ON A SHOOTER OF TEQUILA being poured. CAMERA
ADJUSTING to reveal the ATTRACTIVE BARMAID tipping the
bottle. Pushing it across the bar to where TWO EMPTY
SHOOTERS sit, making the exchange.

		BARMAID
	I'd say this about exceeds your
	minimum daily requirement.

The person she's talking to us:

MULDER

He sits by himself on a stool, staring down at the bar.
Staring at the shooter which he spins with his fingers.

		BARMAID
	Gotta train for this kind of heavy
	lifting.

Mulder tosses back the shooter anyway. She watches him
as she retrieves the small shot glass, intrigued by his
dark silence.

		BARMAID
	Poopy day?

		MULDER
	Yup.

		BARMAID
	A woman?
		(Mulder shakes his head no)
	Work.

Mulder nods, pointing to the tequila bottle again. The
Barmaid agrees to pour another one, reluctantly.

ANGLE OVER TO A MAN AT THE END OF THE BAR

Staring at Mulder intently. He's older than Mulder,
dressed in an old Brooke Brothers light summer suit.
Mulder notices him, feels his gaze, but doesn't give it
thought.

RESUME BARMAID, MULDER

		BARMAID
	What do you do?

		MULDER
	What do I do.
		(off her curious look)
	I'm a key figure in an ongoing
	government charade. An annoyance to my
	superiors. A joke among my peers.
	"Spooky," they call me. Spooky Mulder.
	Whose sister was abducted by aliens
	when he was a kid. Who now chases
	little green men with a badge and a
	gun, shouting to the heavens and
	anyone who'll listen that the fix is
	in. That our government's hip to the
	truth and a part of the conspiracy.
	That the sky is falling and when it
	hits it's gonna be the shitstorm of
	all time.

She stares at him for a moment, startled by his drunken
screed. She pulls back the shooter she's just poured
Mulder.

		BARMAID
	I think that about does it, Spooky.

		MULDER
	Does what?

		BARMAID
	Why don't you go home to the old lady
	--

		MULDER
	Sorry. Don't have one.

Mulder slides off his stool, noticing:

MULDER'S POV

The Watchful Man is gone.

RESUME MULDER

He feints toward the door, then reverses direction.
Heads to the back of the place.


INT. REAR OF DOWNSCALE BAR - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS

Mulder appears, moving to the bathroom door. Only to
find an OUT OF ORDER sign on it. He moves to the woman's
room, but it's locked. Gathering what's left of his
wits, Mulder does what any red-blooded man would do in
this situation. He goes to the back door of the bar and
exits into the alley.


EXT. ALLEY BEHIND BAR - NIGHT

Mulder has found a place against a wall, between two
dumpsters. Jerking around in surprise at the sound of a
VOICE.

		WATCHFUL MAN'S VOICE
	That official FBI business?

		MULDER
		(startled)
	What?


ANGLE TO INCLUDE THE MAN FROM THE BAR

He's not far from Mulder. His name is KURTZWEIL.

		KURTZWEIL
	Bet the Bureau's accusing you of the
	same thing in Dallas.

Mulder's weirded out as the stranger moves to him un-
threateningly.

		MULDER
	How's that?

		KURTZWEIL
	Standing around holding your yank
	while bombs are exploding.

Kurtzweil enjoys a little laugh over this.

		MULDER
	Do I know you?

		KURTZWEIL
	No. I've been watching your career for
	a good while. Back when you were just
	a promising young agent -- before
	that.

Mulder stares at this man as he finishes, zipping up.

		MULDER
	You follow me out here for a reason?

		KURTZWEIL
	Yeah, I did.

Kurtzweil unzips his own pants now. There is a moment;
one of those awkward moments where Mulder's not sure
what's about to happen. But Kurtzweil's just relieving
himself, too. Shuffling up to the wall, Mulder takes
this as an opportunity to head back toward the bar. But
Kurtzweil hails him again.

		KURTZWEIL
	My name's Kurtzweil. Dr. Alvin
	Kurtzweil.

		MULDER
	I know the name. Why?

		KURTZWEIL
	Old friend of your father's.

Kurtzweil continues peeing. Knows this got Mulder's
attention.

		KURTZWEIL
	Back at the Department of State. We
	were what you might call fellow
	travelers, but his disenchantment
	outlasted mine.
		(beat)
	I never believed in the Project.

Mulder stares at Kurtzweil now. He's being toyed with.
He turns, opens the door into the bar. As Kurtzweil gets
a little louder.

		KURTZWEIL
	Oh, come on. Don't pretend you don't
	know about the Project. Your father
	died for it. Your sister was taken
	because of it.

Kurtzweil finishes nature's call. Zips up. Heads after
Mulder.

						CUT TO:


INT. DOWNSCALE D.C. BAR - NIGHT

Mulder is coming from the back. Kurtzweil moving to
catch up. And he does, at the coat stand. The place has
pretty much cleared out, except for the Barmaid and some
help.

		MULDER
	How'd you find me?

		KURTZWEIL
	Heard you come here now and again.
	Figured you'd be needing a little
	drinky tonight.

		MULDER
	You a reporter?

		KURTZWEIL
	I'm a doctor, but I think I mentioned
	that. OB-GYN.

		MULDER
	Who sent you?

		KURTZWEIL
	I came on my own. After reading about
	the bombing in Dallas.

		MULDER
	Well, if you've got something to tell
	me, you've got as long as it takes me
	to hail a cab...

Mulder starts out the door, but Kurtzweil grabs his
arm.

		KURTZWEIL
	They're going to pin Dallas on you,
	Agent Mulder. But there was nothing
	you could've done. Nothing anyone
	could've done to prevent that bomb
	from going off. Because the truth is
	something you'd never have guessed;
	never have predicted.

Mulder pulls away from Kurtzweil, but Kurtzweil dogs him
to:


EXT. STREET OUTSIDE DOWNSCALE BAR - NIGHT

The street is empty, the hour is late. Mulder moves to
the curb.

		MULDER
	And what's that?

		KURTZWEIL
	S.A.C. Darius Michaud never tried or
	intended to defuse the bomb.

		MULDER
		(rhetorical disbelief)
	He just let it explode.

		KURTZWEIL
	What's the question nobody's asking?
	Why that building? Why not the Federal
	Building?

		MULDER
	The Federal Building was too well
	guarded.

		KURTZWEIL
	No. They put the bomb in the building
	across the street because it DID have
	federal offices. The Federal Emergency
	Management Agency had a provisional
	medical quarantine office there. Which
	is where the bodies were found. But
	that's the thing...

Mulder's got his hand up for a taxi coming. It's pulling
over as Mulder steps from the curb, stepping away from
Kurtzweil.

		KURTZWEIL
	...the thing you didn't know. That
	you'd never think to check.

Mulder's got the taxi door open, turning to Kurtzweil.

		KURTZWEIL
	Those people were already dead.

		MULDER
	Before the bomb went off?

		KURTZWEIL
	That's what I'm saying.

Mulder stares at Kurtzweil for a moment.

		MULDER
	Michaud was a twenty-two year veteran
	of the bureau --

		KURTZWEIL
	Michaud was a patriot. The men he's
	loyal to know their way around Dallas.
	They blew that building to hide
	something. Maybe something even they
	couldn't predict.

		MULDER
	You're saying they destroyed an entire
	building to hide the bodies of three
	firemen...?

		KURTZWEIL
	And one little boy.

Mulder gets in the cab, closes the door. Rolls down the
window.

		MULDER
	I think you're full of shit.

		KURTZWEIL
	Do you?

Kurtzweil raps the top of the roof and steps away from
the car. As the taxi takes off. WE STAY WITH KURTZWEIL,
watching Mulder's cab speed away. (NOTE: This should
also be covered from inside the cab with Mulder, to play
the scene out on him.)

						CUT TO:


INT. AGENT SCULLY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

Scully is in bed, lying awake. Staring at the ceiling.
When she reacts to a POUNDING AT HER DOOR.

						CUT TO:


INT. SCULLY'S APARTMENT - NIGHT

CLOSE ON THE FRONT DOOR. Scully peeks in the peephole.
Then she removes the safety chain, opening the door.

		MULDER
		(strangely intense)
	I wake you?

		SCULLY
	No.

		MULDER
	Why not? It's three AM.

Scully gets a whiff of his breath. As he moves past her
into the apartment. Radiating a kind of manic
intensity.

		SCULLY
	Are you drunk, Mulder?

		MULDER
	I was until about an hour ago.

		SCULLY
	Is that before or after you got the
	idea to come here?

Mulder looks at her curiously.

		MULDER
	What are you implying, Scully?

		SCULLY
		(frowning)
	I thought you may have gotten drunk
	and decided to come here to talk me
	out of quitting.

		MULDER
	Is that what you'd like me to do?

Scully hesitates. Long enough to indicate her own
wavering heart.

		SCULLY
	Go home, Mulder. It's late.

		MULDER
	Get dressed, Scully.

		SCULLY
	Mulder -- what are you doing?

		MULDER
	Just get dressed. I'll explain on the
	way.

						CUT TO:


EXT. TEXAS FLATLAND - NIGHT

The moon is rising over the horizon, across the
curvilinear distance of endless scrub and sagebrush.
When FLYING OBJECTS cross between it and us, their forms
unidentifiable in the rising heat waves off the earth.
But they are moving towards us, SILHOUETTES in the
background of the moon.

They move silently, their size INCREASING as they move
closer. And then we hear them, moments before they
arrive at our position, UNMARKED HELICOPTERS just
overhead. Hugging the ground as they blast across the
dark Texas night.


INT. UNMARKED BLACK HELICOPTERS - NIGHT

Flying at dangerously low altitude over the almost
featureless night landscape. Heading for something that
we see ahead in the distance. What looks like a LARGE
GLOWING DOME surrounded by the lights of a residential
area we've already seen, on the edge of suburban Dallas
sprawl.

						CUT TO:


EXT. SMALL DIRT FIELD - CENTRAL TEXAS - NIGHT

The field where the kids had been digging has been
transformed into some kind of worksite.

A LARGE WHITE DOMED TENT has been erected over almost
the entire patch of ground, surrounded by the CARGO
TRUCKS that we saw earlier, and more unmarked vans and
trucks. There are men in black fatigues moving about,
and scientists in haz-mat suits.

As the UNMARKED BLACK HELICOPTERS bank overhead. Coming
in for a landing in the glow cast from the tents. CAMERA
MOVING TOWARD one of the helicopters as it lightly
touches down and its black door swings open. A man
stepping out, and as CAMERA PUSHES UP INTO HIS FACE we
recognize him as The Cigarette Smoking Man.

The figure that we've come to know as an assassin and a
model of modern self-interest and amorality. One of the
central protagonists in the conspiracy to keep the truth
from the American people about the existence of
extraterrestrial life.

Something known only as: "The Project."

He walks out from under the whirring prop, just far
enough to get a flame from his lighter, to get a
cigarette lit. As we:

						CUT TO:


INT. LARGE WHITE TENT - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS

A SCIENTIST in a haz-mat suit is moving through the maze
of clear plastic tubing that divides work areas within
the tent. Areas where scientists are working at tables
doing what appears to be some kind of high-tech
archeological work. It is a hive of activity within, as
the Scientist leads us past the REFRIGERATION UNITS to
the earthen hole where Dr. Bronschweig (we've met him
earlier, coming out of a med-evac chopper that landed
when the tent city was erected) appears out of the
earthen hole, which is reason for all this excitement.
Climbing out A CLEAR HATCH which has been fashioned to
cover the hole. Seeing:

THE CIGARETTE SMOKING MAN

Now suited up himself. Bronschweig approaches him.

		CIGARETTE SMOKING MAN
	You've got something to show me.

		DR. BRONSCHWEIG
		(nervous excitement)
	Yes.

						CUT TO:


INT. ICE CAVE - CONTINUOUS

What we originally established as icy, and what later
became the unfrozen Texas field where the boys
discovered the human skull, has been turned to its
previously icy state. Thanks to two large vents that Dr.
Bronschweig is pointing at:

		DR. BRONSCHWEIG
	We brought the atmosphere back down to
	freezing in order to control the
	development, which is nothing like
	we've ever seen.

		CIGARETTE SMOKING MAN
	Brought on by what?

		DR. BRONSCHWEIG
	Heat, I think. The coincident invasion
	of a host, the fireman, and an
	environment that raised his basic body
	temperature above ninety eight point
	six.

They step over to a section of the cave which has been
draped with more plastic, the lights from inside this
are giving off a cool blue light (passing by TWO
PORTABLE DRILLING RIGS which have been erected, their
pumps moving up and down like rocking horses.)
Bronschweig pushes away the plastic, revealing A MAN
lying on a gurney draped in plastic. he is hooked up to
various and sundry machines which are monitoring his
life signs.

His skin has turned almost translucent, the veins and
capillaries now clearly visible, as is his pulse. His
heartbeat sending life-sustaining blood and energy
through his body.

		CIGARETTE SMOKING MAN
	This man's still alive.

		DR. BRONSCHWEIG
	Technically and biologically, though
	he'll never recover.

The CSM is shaking his head in nervous, uneasy wonder.

		CIGARETTE SMOKING MAN
	How can this be?

		DR. BRONSCHWEIG
	The developing organism is using his
	life energy, digesting bone and
	tissue. We've just slowed the
	process.

Bronschweig redirects a light so that it shines hard
into the man's face and; then we see it. Movement.

CLOSE ON MAN'S FACE

Though the man's eyes still blink occasionally, we can
actually see through his tissue and the bones in his
skull to see something IS LIVING INSIDE HIM.

ANGLE UP ON CSM AND BRONSCHWEIG

The Cigarette Smoking Man's mind is working intently on
all the possibilities, and consequences.

		DR. BRONSCHWEIG
	Do you want me to destroy this one,
	too? Before it gestates?

		CIGARETTE SMOKING MAN
	No. No...we need to try our vaccine on
	it.

		DR. BRONSCHWEIG
	And if it's unsuccessful?

		CIGARETTE SMOKING MAN
	Incinerate it. Like the others.

		DR. BRONSCHWEIG
	This man's family will want to see the
	body laid to rest.

		CIGARETTE SMOKING MAN
	Tell them he was trying to save the
	young boy's life, and that he died
	heroically like the other firemen.

		DR. BRONSCHWEIG
	Of what?

		CIGARETTE SMOKING MAN
	They seemed to buy our story about the
	Hanta virus. You'll make sure the
	families are taken care of
	financially, along with a sizeable
	donation to the community.
		(beat)
	Maybe a small roadside memorial.

He watches the CSM exit, then back to the prostrate
fireman.

CLOSE ON PROSTRATE FIREMAN

There is more movement within his body. Within his chest
and neck, as if the creature gestating inside is
continuing to stretch and grow. So that now we can see
one of its BLACK EYES staring from through the clear
flesh of the fireman. An eye which BLINKS at us. As we:

						CUT TO:


INT. BETHESDA NAVAL HOSPITAL - NIGHT

Mulder and Scully appear at the end of a long hall.
Moving TOWARD CAMERA where a YOUNG NAVAL GUARD sits in
f.g. As a LEGEND appears, to establish.

Mulder and Scully moving the long distance to the
Guard's station. Where the Guard looks up at them with
military scrutiny.

		YOUNG NAVAL GUARD
	ID and floor you're visiting.

They both show their FBI IDs.

		MULDER
	We're going to the morgue.

		YOUNG NAVAL GUARD
	That area is currently off limits to
	anyone other than authorized medical
	personnel.

		MULDER
	On whose orders?

		YOUNG NAVAL GUARD
	General McAddie's.

Mulder doesn't miss a beat.

		MULDER
	General McAddie is who requested our
	coming here. We were awakened at three
	AM and told to get down here
	immediately.

		YOUNG NAVAL GUARD
	I don't know anything about that.

		MULDER
	Well, call General McAddie.

		YOUNG NAVAL GUARD
	I don't have his number.

		MULDER
	They can patch you in through the
	switchboard.

The Guard is nervous about this, checking his watch. He
picks up the phone, going through a large directory.

		MULDER
	Hey! We don't have time to dick around
	here watching you demonstrate your
	ignorance in the chain of command. The
	order came direct from General
	McAddie. Call him. We'll conduct our
	business while you confirm
	authorization.

Mulder is already directing Scully past the Naval Guard
who tentatively picks up the phone again.

		YOUNG NAVAL GUARD
		(to their backs)
	Why don't you go on ahead head and
	I'll confirm authorization.

		MULDER
	Thank you.

LEADING Mulder and Scully, moving they've pulled off a
con.

		MULDER
	Why is a morgue suddenly off limits on
	orders of a general?

						CUT TO:


INT. BETHESDA NAVAL HOSPITAL - MORGUE FREEZER - NIGHT

TRACKING TABLE HEIGHT across gurneys where white
sheet-wrapped bodies lie. CAMERA LANDING ON Scully.
Standing next to Mulder who is undoing the peculiar
ropey stitching on the sheet used to secure the bodies.

		SCULLY
	This is one of the firemen who died in
	Dallas?

		MULDER
	According to this tag.

		SCULLY
	And you're looking for?

		SCULLY
	I can tell you that without even
	looking at him.
		(off Mulder's look)
	Conclusive organ failure due to
	proximal exposure to source and flying
	debris.

Scully pulls out an autopsy report that was laid on the
gurney under the body of the sheet-wrapped corpse.

		SCULLY
	This body has already been autopsied,
	Mulder. You can tell from the way it's
	been wrapped and dressed.

Undeterred, Mulder works to get the sheet off. The first
thing we notice is that he's still in his fireman's
uniform. His face looks familiar to us, not because we
know him, but because of the translucency of skin we saw
in the other fireman. (We will also notice he's
missing an arm, a leg and large part of his torso.)

		MULDER
	Does this fit the description you just
	read me, Scully?

Scully comes around, reacting to what she sees.

		SCULLY
	Oh my God. This man's tissue...

Scully is quickly removing a pair of latex gloves,
stretching them on to palpate the man's tissue.

		MULDER
	It's like jelly.

		SCULLY
	There's some kind of cellular
	breakdown. It's completely edematous.

She palpates the spongy skin on the man's face, neck.
Unbuttoning the uniform now, seeing:

		SCULLY
	And there's been no autopsy performed.
	There's no Y incision here; no
	internal exam.

		MULDER
	You're telling me the cause of death
	on the report is false. That this man
	didn't die from an explosion, or from
	flying debris.

		SCULLY
	I don't know what killed this man. I'm
	not sure if anybody else could claim
	to either.

Off Mulder's reaction to this:

						CUT TO:


INT. MORGUE - PATHOLOGY LAB - NIGHT - MINUTES LATER

The gurney with the fireman is pushed through a pair of
swinging doors into the darkened lab. Scully flips the
lights on, looking around at the giant facility.

		SCULLY
		(pushing him)
	You knew this man didn't die at the
	bomb site before we got here.

		MULDER
	I'd been told as much.

		SCULLY
	You're saying the bombing was a
	cover-up. Of what?

		MULDER
	I don't know. But I have a hunch what
	you're going to find here isn't
	anything that can be categorized or
	easily referenced.

		SCULLY
	Mulder, this is going to take some
	time, and somebody's going to figure
	out soon enough we're not even
	supposed to be here.
		(beat)
	I'm in serious violation of medical
	ethics.

		MULDER
	We're being blamed for these deaths.
	Scully, I want to know what this man
	died of. Don't you?

Scully stares at Mulder, then back down at the body. How
can she refuse, given the finality and the personal
appeal of the request? After a moment's hesitation, she
turns to the body, and to the tray table of tools
nearby. Resigned, if not resolved.

						CUT TO:


EXT. WASHINGTON D.C. - NIGHT

A LEGEND appears: WASHINGTON D.C., DUPONT CIRCLE. 4:00
AM. The street is fairly empty, save for a garbage truck
picking up the stacks of green garbage bags laid out on
the sidewalks. Then A TAXI turns off a main street,
MOVING TOWARDS US.


INT. WASHINGTON D.C. STREET - TAXI - NIGHT

OVER MULDER to the street: Where the taxi is moving
forward toward a spot where two ARLINGTON PD cruisers
are pulled up to the curb. Mulder checks the address he
has written down.

		MULDER
		(to the Cabbie)
	I think this is it up here.


EXT. SIDE STREET - NIGHT

The taxi pulls over and Mulder exits, starting up the
steps of a walk up where the door is open.


INT. KURTZWEIL'S APARTMENT - NIGHT

There are UNIFORMED OFFICERS inside, and a DETECTIVE.
Mulder steps into an office. FOUR PAIRS of eyes give him
the once over. The Detective stepping over to him.

		MULDER
	Is this Dr. Kurtzweil's residence?

		DETECTIVE
		(suspiciously)
	You got some kind of business with
	him?

		MULDER
	I'm looking for him.

		DETECTIVE
	Looking for him for what?

Mulder pulls out his ID, flashes it at the Detective.

		DETECTIVE
		(to his partners)
	Feds are looking for him, too.
		(turns to Mulder)
	Real nice business he's got, huh?

		MULDER
	What's that?

		DETECTIVE
	Selling naked pictures of little kids
	over his computer.

Mulder nods, though this is news to him. He steps in a
little further, noticing a shelf lined with books. Their
spines all have the author's name written large: DR.
ALVIN KURTZWEIL.

Mulder picks up one of these books, with the title: THE
FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE GLOBAL DOMINATION CONSPIRACY.

		DETECTIVE
	You looking for him for some other
	reason?

		MULDER
	Yeah, I had an appointment for a
	pelvic examination.

They stare at Mulder like he's a sicko. He smiles and
they break into RAUCOUS LAUGHTER.

		DETECTIVE
	You want a call if we turn up
	Kurtzweil?

		MULDER
	No. Don't bother.

Mulder puts the book back among the others on the shelf.
And exits. Onto:


RESUME EXT. KURTZWEIL'S APARTMENT - NIGHT

Mulder starting up the street when he notices:

MULDER'S POV

Kurtzweil has stepped from between two apartments. He's
staring at Mulder, nodding furtively to him. Then
stepping back.

RESUME MULDER

Slows, then speeds up.


EXT. SPACE BETWEEN TWO APARTMENTS - NIGHT

Mulder appears at the end of the narrow walkway, finding
Kurtzweil tucked a few yards in.

		KURTZWEIL
	See this bullshit...? Somebody knows
	I'm talking to you.

		MULDER
	Not according to the men in blue.

		KURTZWEIL
	What is it? Kiddie porn again? Sexual
	battery of a patient? I've had my
	license taken away in three states.

		MULDER
	They want to discredit you -- for
	what?

		KURTZWEIL
	For what? Because I'm a dangerous man.
	Because I know too much about the
	truth.

		MULDER
	You mean that apocalyptic trash you
	write? I knew your name was familiar.
	I just didn't know why.

		KURTZWEIL
	You know my work?

		MULDER
		(pointedly)
	Dr. Kurtzweil, I'm not interested in
	bigoted ideas about race or genocide.
	I don't believe in the Elders of Zion,
	the Knights Templar, the Bilderburg
	Group or in a oneworld Jew run
	government --

		KURTZWEIL
	I don't either, but it sure sells
	books.

He says it with an ironic smile. Causing Mulder to turn
and start off. But Kurtzweil hurries to grab him, to
prevent this.

		KURTZWEIL
	I was right about Dallas. Wasn't I,
	Agent Mulder?

		MULDER
	How?

		KURTZWEIL
	I picked up the historical document of
	the venality and hypocrisy of the
	American government. The daily
	newspaper.

		MULDER
	You said the firemen and the boy were
	found in the temporary offices of the
	Federal Emergency Management Agency.
	Why?

		KURTZWEIL
	According to the newspaper, FEMA had
	been called out to manage an outbreak
	of the Hanta virus. Are you familiar
	with the Hanta virus, Agent Mulder?

		MULDER
	It was a deadly virus spread by field
	mice in the Southwest U.S. several
	years ago.

		KURTZWEIL
	And are you familiar with FEMA? What
	the Federal Emergency Management
	Agency's real power is? FEMA allows
	the White House to suspend
	constitutional government upon
	declaration of a national emergency.
	To create a non-elected government.
	Think about that.
		(beat)
	What is an agency with such broad
	sweeping power doing managing a small
	viral outbreak in suburban Texas?

		MULDER
	Are you saying it wasn't such a small
	outbreak?

Kurtzweil is getting intense now.

		KURTZWEIL
	I'm saying it wasn't the Hanta virus.

They are both given a start when a POLICE CRUISER rolls
by on the street, giving a burp of its siren. It rolls
past as the two men tuck in tighter.

		MULDER
	What was it?

		KURTZWEIL
	When we were young men in the
	military, your father and I were
	recruited for a project. They told us
	it was biological warfare. A virus.
	There were rumors about its origins.

		MULDER
	What killed those men?

		KURTZWEIL
	What killed them I won't even write
	about. I tell you, they'd do more than
	just harass me. They have the future
	to protect.

		MULDER
	I'll know soon enough.

		KURTZWEIL
		(worked up)
	What killed those men can't be
	identified in simple medical terms. My
	god, we can't even wrap our minds
	around something as obvious as HIV.
	We have no context for what killed
	those men, or any appreciation of the
	scale in which it will be unleashed in
	the future. Of how it will be
	transmitted; of the environmental
	factors involved.

		MULDER
	A plague?

		KURTZWEIL
	The plague to end all plagues, Agent
	Mulder. A silent weapon for a quiet
	war. The systematic release of an
	indiscriminate organism for which the
	men who will bring it on still have no
	cure. They've been working on this for
	fifty years. While the rest of the
	world was fighting gooks and commies
	these men have been secretly
	negotiating a planned Armageddon.

		MULDER
	Negotiating with whom?

		KURTZWEIL
	I think you know. The timetable has
	been set. It will happen on a holiday,
	when people are away from their homes.
	When our elected officials are at
	their resorts or out of the country.
	The President will declare a state of
	emergency, at which time all federal
	agencies, all government will come
	under the power of the Federal
	Emergency Management Agency. FEMA,
	Agent Mulder. The secret government.

		MULDER
	And they tell me I'm paranoid.

		KURTZWEIL
	Something's gone wrong -- something
	unanticipated. Go back to Dallas and
	dig. Or you're only going to find out
	like the rest of the country, Agent
	Mulder. When it's too late.

Kurtzweil turns, starts off. Mulder stares after him.
Then:

		MULDER
	How can I reach you?

		KURTZWEIL
	You can't.

Mulder moves to catch up to Kurtzweil, pulling out his
cell phone. Kurtzweil stops, turns. Truly and intensely
paranoid. Mulder makes him take the cell phone.

		MULDER
	No calling Hawaii.

Mulder turns and moves back out onto the street.

						CUT TO:


INT. MORGUE - PATHOLOGY LAB - NIGHT

Agent Scully wears a surgical mask, latex gloves.
Working on the body of the fireman...when she reacts to
a NOISE. Doors opening, closing somewhere o.s. CAMERA
MEDIUM WHIPS to a door where she and Mulder entered the
morgue. Where...the Young Naval Guard and TWO MPs push
through and enter. They stand looking at:

THEIR POV

Where Scully stood moments ago, there is now just an
unattended gurney. A sheet over the fireman's body.
Scully is gone.

RESUME YOUNG NAVAL GUARD, MPs

Tense. Listening, watchful. Moving into the room.

						CUT TO:


INT. BETHESDA NAVAL HOSPITAL - MORGUE FREEZER - NIGHT

Scully enters the space where she and Mulder found the
fireman's body. Trying to quietly click the door shut.
Standing now near the door, tense, listening. When the
CHIRPING of her cell phone breaks the tense silence. She
pats frantically at her coat, trying to get it answered
before it rings again. Unsuccessfully. Finally getting
a hold of it and hitting the send button. Scully sits
breathing heavy, nervous breaths -- waiting for the
Young Naval Guard to come running in.

		MULDER'S VOICE (FILTER)
	Scully...?

She puts the phone slowly up to her face.

		SCULLY
		(low whisper)
	Yeah.

INTERCUT WITH:


INT. PHONE BOOTH - WASHINGTON D.C. - MORNING

Mulder's at the pay phone.

		MULDER
	Why are you whispering?

		SCULLY
	I can't really talk right now.

		MULDER
	What did you find?

		SCULLY
	Evidence of a massive infection.

		MULDER
	What kind of infection?

		SCULLY
	I don't know.

		MULDER
	Scully -- listen to me. I'm going
	home, then I'm booking a flight to
	Dallas. I'm getting you a ticket,
	too.

		SCULLY
	Mulder --

		MULDER
	I need you there with me. I need your
	expertise on this. The bomb we found
	was meant to destroy those bodies and
	whatever they were infected by.

		SCULLY
	I've got a hearing tomorrow --

		MULDER
	-- I'll have you back for it, Scully.
	Maybe with evidence that could blow
	that meeting away.

		SCULLY
	Mulder -- I can't -- I'm already way
	past the point of common sense here
	--

Scully hears VOICES in the hall outside the freezer.

						CUT TO:


MULDER

		MULDER
	Scully...? Hello...?

But the line OFF, goes dead. Mulder  hangs up the
phone, frustrated. Exits the booth in a hurry.

						CUT TO:


INT. BETHESDA NAVAL HOSPITAL - MORGUE FREEZER - NIGHT

The door opens and the Young Naval Guard steps inside,
followed by the MPs. Moving into the room.

LOW ANGLE - TRACKING

with the Naval Guard's feet as they pass by the rolling
carts on which bodies are laid. TRACKING to find SCULLY,
where she hides under one of the carts. Huddled and
cold.

The Guard's feet stop near here. He stands motionless
for a moment, then moves off. HOLD her until the door
slams shut.


INT. FBI OFFICE - DALLAS - MORNING - MULDER

enters a forensics lab with a FIELD AGENT. A LEGEND
reads: FBI FIELD OFFICE, DALLAS : 11:20 AM.

		FIELD AGENT
	You're looking for what amounts to a
	needle in a haystack. I'm afraid the
	explosion was so devastating there
	hasn't been a whole lot we've been
	able to put together just yet.

They are walking amid BOXES of evidence. STACKS of
debris. There are FORENSIC TECHS sorting through this
material. It looks like the most tedious and painstaking
job in the world.

		MULDER
	I'm looking for anything out of the
	ordinary. Maybe something from the
	FEMA offices where the bodies were
	found.

		FIELD AGENT
	We weren't expecting to find those
	remains, of course. They went right
	off to Washington.

		MULDER
	Was there anything in those offices
	that didn't go to D.C.?

		FIELD AGENT
	Some bone fragments came up in the
	sift this morning. We thought there'd
	been another fatality, but we found
	out FEMA had recovered them from an
	archeological site out of town.

		MULDER
	Have you examined them?

		FIELD AGENT
	No. Just fossils, far as I know.

Mulder is nodding, when both men look off at something
that's caught their attention o.s.

		MULDER
	I'd like this person to take a look,
	if you don't mind.

THEIR POV - AGENT SCULLY

Standing in the doorway to the lab. She looks at Mulder
as if she's come in spite of her misgivings. Moving
toward them now.

		FIELD AGENT
	Let me just see if I can lay my hands
	on what you're looking for.

The Field Agent nods to Scully as he passes, exiting
deeper into the room. Leaving Mulder and Scully by
themselves momentarily.

		MULDER
	You said you weren't coming?

		SCULLY
	I wasn't planning on it. Particularly
	after spending a half hour in cold
	storage this morning. But I got a
	better look at the blood and tissue
	samples I took from the firemen.

		MULDER
	What did you find?

		SCULLY
		(voice lowering pointedly)
	Something I couldn't show to anyone
	else. Not without more information.
	And not without causing the kind of
	attention I'd just as soon avoid right
	now.
		(off Mulder's look)
	The virus those men were infected with
	contains a protein coat I've never
	seen before. What it did to them it
	did extremely fast. And unlike the
	AIDS virus or any other aggressive
	strain, it survives very nicely
	outside the body.

		MULDER
	How was it contracted?

		SCULLY
	That I don't know. But if it's through
	simple contact of blood to blood, and
	if it doesn't respond to conventional
	treatments, it could be a serious
	health threat.

Mulder's reaction is postponed, or at least subdued by
the reappearance of the field agent.

		FIELD AGENT
	Like I said, these are fossils, and
	they weren't near the blast center, so
	they aren't going to tell you much.

		SCULLY
	May I?

He offers Scully the small glass vials in which the bone
fragments have been separated. She takes them, looking
at them on her way over to the microscope. Tapping out a
tiny fragment onto the viewing bed. She puts her eyes
down to the stereoscope eyepieces, then almost
immediately looks up at Mulder who translates this look
almost instantly.

		MULDER
	You said you knew the location of the
	archeological site where these were
	found.

		FIELD AGENT
	Show you right on a map.

Off Mulder and Scully's traded looks:

						CUT TO:


EXT. SMALL PUBLIC PARK - WEST TEXAS - DAY

The domed white tent is still in place, the fleet of
trucks and equipment surrounding it unmanned. Several
large sound-dampened generators still hum away, but the
work being done here would be a mystery to anyone who
didn't have access to the tent.

						CUT TO:


INT. DOMED TENT - DAY

An electric Bobcat-like bulldozer maneuvers a very high
tech-looking CLEAR CONTAINER to the edge of the earthen
hole. The container has monitors and gauges on it,
oxygen tanks and what looks like a circulation
refrigeration unit. A self-contained life support
system. The inside of the container is covered with a
thin layer of frost.

When the small bulldozer gets the container over near
the hole, several technicians lift it down off the
shovel, hand carrying it toward the hole opening. As Dr.
Bronschweig APPEARS, moving to a ladder that leads down
into the hole. He's dressed in a haz-mat suit, with the
hood off.

		DR. BRONSCHWEIG
	I need to have those settings checked
	and re-set. I need a steady minus two
	Celsius through the transfer of the
	body, after I administer the vaccine.

The men nod to Bronschweig, begin checking the settings
as Bronschweig puts his hood on, starts down into the
hole, through the clear hatch.


INT. SMALLER ICE CAVE - DAY

The refrigeration vents are still pumping in arctic air
when Dr. Bronschweig appears descending a fixed ladder.
It is dark in here, save for the ice blue glow of light
coming from the plastic draped area where we saw the
fireman acting as an incubator/host for some kind of
organism growing inside him.

Bronschweig steps over to this area, moves aside the
plastic drapery to enter.


ANGLE INSIDE, PLASTIC LINED AREA

Where the body of the fireman is still inside the
quarantine bubble litter in f.g. Bronschweig takes out of
his pocket a SYRINGE and an AMPULE. Turning now to the
body. Stepping to it. Moving a work light, as he had
done for the Cigarette Smoking Man, so that it shines on
the face of the fireman. But when he does this,
Bronschweig nearly JUMPS, his breath stolen away.
Reacting to:

ANGLE ON FIREMAN'S BODY

The chest and torso have imploded. It has been turned
into a muddy mass of blood-stained jelly; bone and
tissue melted into an oozing mass which has sunken due
to the fact that the creature which was inside is now
gone.

CAMERA WHIPS from Bronschweig to the wall. To the
temperature gauge which reads about 6 degrees Celsius.
WHIPPING BACK to Bronschweig who is now panicked.

						INTERCUT WITH:


INT. DOMED TENT - DAY

ANGLE DOWN ON EARTHEN HOLE, where the Technicians
Bronschweig was speaking to minutes ago react to
Bronschweig's MUFFLED VOICE. He's down below them in the
cave, looking up.

Pulling his haz-mat hood off. Yelling up to them.

		DR. BRONSCHWEIG
	It's gone!

		TECHNICIAN
	It's what?

OVER THE TECHNICIANS TO BRONSCHWEIG DOWN BELOW

		DR. BRONSCHWEIG
	It's left the body. I think it's
	gestated --

Bronschweig is starting up the ladder when something
stops him.


RESUME INT. ICE CAVE

CREATURE'S POV OF BRONSCHWEIG

He stands frozen on the ladder, squinting into the
darkness.

		DR. BRONSCHWEIG
	Wait -- I see it --

BRONSCHWEIG'S POV

In the shadows there is movement, the creature edging
into the light cast from the draped area. We see it is
fully formed -- a replica of the Creature we saw at the
opening of our story. Though it does not make any kind
of aggressive move. As if, newborn, it is tentative.

RESUME BRONSCHWEIG - CREATURE'S POV

He remains standing on a rung of the ladder for a
moment, then takes a gentle step back down to the
ground.

		DR. BRONSCHWEIG
		(nervous wonder)
	Oh my god. Oh my god.

		TECHNICIAN
	You see it?

		DR. BRONSCHWEIG
	Yes. It's...amazing. You want to get
	down here --
		(sotto to himself)
	Jesus Lord...so much for little green
	men.

Dr. Bronschweig moves shakily to put the syringe in the
ampule again...when, suddenly, the Creature STRIKES.
CAMERA RUSHING FORWARD TO BRONSCHWEIG.

						MATCH CUT TO:

OVERHEAD ANGLE - OVER THE TECHNICIANS

As the Creature slams into Bronschweig, knocking him out
of the line of sight from the top of the earthen hole.

There are SCREAMS OF PAIN from Bronschweig, then they
abate.

RESUME INT. ICE CAVE

Bronschweig can be heard, but not clearly seen. He is in
the shadows himself now.

Trying to pick himself up, and when he manages to do
this, teetering back into the light we see that he is
bloodied. He is hurt, injured. Making his way back
toward the patch of light that comes from the hole
above. Hoping to see that help is on its way, while
keeping a watchful, wary and worried eye on the shadows,
for another attack by the Creature.

		DR. BRONSCHWEIG
	Hey -- I need help.

But the Technicians looking down on him offer him
nothing of the sort. All they do is quickly close the
clear hatch that seals Bronschweig inside the cave.

		DR. BRONSCHWEIG
	Hey!

But he gets no answer, climbing the ladder shakily. A
moment later the first Bobcat shovel-full of dirt falls
onto the clear hatch and partially obscures the light.
They are burying Bronschweig alive.


INT. DOMED TENT - DAY

ANGLE DOWN ON BRONSCHWEIG through the glass hatch. His
SCREAMS continue. ADJUSTING to the small bulldozer which
is quickly hauling the mound of excavated earth into the
hole from which it came. While, all around, there is a
hive of activity. Men running everywhere.

						CUT TO:


RESUME INT. ICE CAVE

Bronschweig reacts in silent horror now, only to turn in
further horror when he feels the impending attack of:

THE CREATURE

Right behind and just below him. Its grotesque features
in momentary high resolution, BEFORE IT ATTACKS CAMERA.
Over and over, savaging Bronschweig in a violent fury.
Its hideous teeth tearing at his flesh - AT CAMERA -
driving him off the ladder where the attack continues in
momentary glimpses of teeth, of bloody flesh, and of
OILY BLACK BLOOD being spattered about. At the
height of the violence we hear Bronschweig SCREAM.
Matching the wound of this, as we:

						CUT TO:


EXT. ESTATE SOMEWHERE OUTSIDE LONDON - EARLY EVENING

A CHILD'S SCREAM OF JOY. ENGLISH CHILDREN are playing
tag or some kind of children's game in the
well-manicured garden of a man who the CAMERA FINDS IN
F.G. -- the man we have come to know as THE
WELL-MANICURED MAN. He is also a member of the syndicate
running "The Project", though his venality is cloaked in
civility and statesmanship. Right now he's watching the
children from the back steps of his mansion, charmed by
their game. When he is called by someone o.s.

		VALET'S VOICE
	Sir -- you have a call.

The Well-Manicured Man turns to see:

HIS VALET

Holds the door. After a moment the W.M.M. enters past
the Valet. As the screams of the children continue to
rise and fall.

						CUT TO:


INT. SUBURBAN LONDON ESTATE - A BEAUTIFUL STUDY -
EVENING

The Well-Manicured Man enters, picks up a blinking line.
Through a window he can still see the children playing.

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	Yes.

		CIGARETTE SMOKING MAN
		(FILTER)
	We have a situation. The members are
	assembling.

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	Is it an emergency?


INTERCUT WITH TIGHT CSM AT INT. KENSINGTON BUILDING
(NEXT LOC.)

		CIGARETTE SMOKING MAN
	Yes. A meeting is set. Tonight in
	London, to determine a course.

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	Who called this meeting?

		CIGARETTE SMOKING MAN
	Strughold. He's just gotten on a plane
	in Tunis.

This pronouncement has the power of ending any further
questions. An immediate sense of gravity of the
situation. The W.M.M. hangs up, moves to the window
where he sees some of the HELP is running from the
house. The children have all gathered around a BOY who
seems to have hurt himself. He's lifted and being
carried by the man who's called the W.M.M. into the
house.

Off the Well-Manicured Man's concern, we:

						CUT TO:


EXT. LONDON STREET - NIGHT

A discreet Town Car pulls up out front an understated
building in a better West End neighborhood. A driver
exits coming around for the Well-Manicured Man who is
already exiting, moving to the building. As a LEGEND
appears: KENSINGTON, LONDON: 8:01 PM.

						CUT TO:


INT. KENSINGTON BUILDING - NIGHT

The Well-Manicured Man is admitted by a Valet. The
interior has the well-heeled look of money, or a finely
appointed residence that no one lives in. The Valet
takes the W.M.M.'s coat.

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	Has Strughold arrived?

		VALET
	They're in the library.

He leads the W.M.M. down a hall, to:


INT. LARGE STATELY LIBRARY - NIGHT

A GROUP OF MEN are standing, looking at something on a
TV monitor. A surveillance video. They turn when the
W.M.M. enters. CAMERA FAVORING A SMALL LEAN MAN with
close-cropped hair.

He is at once elegant and imposing with eyes that hold
you with laser-like acuity. He is CONRAD STRUGHOLD.

The others are of various ethnicities, tailored and
dignified. This might be a collection of U.N. delegates.
Indeed some are.

Their business here, however, doesn't represent anyone's
interests but their own. As tipped by the attendance of
a GROUP ELDER from the U.S. who we've come to know.

But, more importantly, by the Cigarette Smoking Man who
holds the VCR remote. He pauses the picture.

		STRUGHOLD
	We began to worry. Some of us have
	traveled so far, and you are the last
	to arrive.

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	I'm sorry. My grandson fell and broke
	his leg.

The non-response to this has the same effect as a
reprimand. But the W.M.M. will not apologize of kowtow.

		STRUGHOLD
	While we've been made to wait, we've
	watched surveillance tapes which have
	raised more concerns.

The Well-Manicured Man glances to the TV, sees the
frame paused.

HIS POV OF TV MONITOR

Where Mulder and Scully's faces are seen in a hallway
that we recognize as the Bethesda Naval Hospital.

RESUME WELL-MANICURED MAN

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	More concerns than that?

		STRUGHOLD
	We've been forced to reassess our role
	in Colonization by new facts of
	biology which have presented
	themselves.

		GROUP ELDER
		(speaking up)
	The virus has mutated.

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	On its own?

		CIGARETTE SMOKING MAN
	Its effect on the host has changed.
	The virus no longer just invades the
	brain as a controlling organism. It's
	developed a way to modify the host
	body.

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	Into what?

		STRUGHOLD
	A new extraterrestrial biological
	entity.

It takes a moment to sink in. The weight of this fact.

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	My god...

		STRUGHOLD
	The geometry of mass infection
	presents certain conceptual
	re-evaluations for us. About our place
	in their Colonization.

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	This isn't Colonization, it's
	spontaneous repopulation. All our
	work... if it's true, then they've
	been using us all along. We've been
	laboring under a lie!

		2ND ELDER
	It could be an isolated case.

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	How can we know?!

		STRUGHOLD
	We're going to tell them what we've
	found. What we've learned. Turn over a
	body infected with the gestating
	organism.

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	In hope of what? Learning that it's
	true?! That we are nothing more than
	digestives for the creation of a new
	race of alien lifeforms?!

		STRUGHOLD
	Let me remind you who is the new race.
	And who is the old.
		(beat)
	What could be gained by withholding
	anything from them; By pretending to
	ignorance? Our knowledge may forestall
	their plans to step up the timetable.
	To start Colonization early.

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	And if it doesn't? By cooperating now
	we're but beggars to our demise! Our
	ignorance was in cooperating with the
	Colonists at all.

		STRUGHOLD
	Cooperation is our only chance of
	saving ourselves.

		CIGARETTE SMOKING MAN
	They still need us to carry out their
	preparations.

		STRUGHOLD
	We'll continue to use them as they do
	us. If only to play for more time, to
	continue work on our vaccine.

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	Our vaccine may have no effect!

		STRUGHOLD
	Well, without a cure for the virus,
	we're nothing more than digestives
	anyway.

All eyes go to the Well-Manicured Man. He is respected,
if not the odd man out in this room. But he is all
restrained anger now.

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	My lateness may have well been
	absence. A course has already been
	taken.

		CIGARETTE SMOKING MAN
	There are complications.

He turns back to the TV monitor where Mulder and Scully
remain frozen on the screen.

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	Do they know?

		CIGARETTE SMOKING MAN
	Mulder was in Dallas when we were
	trying to dispose of evidence. He's
	gone back there again. Someone has
	tipped him.

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	Who?

		CIGARETTE SMOKING MAN
	Kurtzweil, we think.

		STRUGHOLD
	We've allowed this man his freedom.
	His books have actually helped us to
	facilitate plausible denial. Has he
	outlived his usefulness to us?

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	No one believes Kurtzweil or his
	books. He's a toiler. A crank.

		STRUGHOLD
	And Mulder?

		ELDER
	Our new situation makes us vulnerable.
	If he learns information as we do, he
	could jeopardize the Project's
	secrecy.

		2ND ELDER
	Control of information means control
	of Mulder.

		CIGARETTE SMOKING MAN
	I can control Mulder. I've always
	controlled Mulder.

		STRUGHOLD
	This may take another approach.

He says this, casting his look toward the Well-Manicured
Man. A look of cold malevolence. The W.M.M.'s reaction
is disdain.

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	You can't kill Mulder. He's got too
	much light on him.

		STRUGHOLD
	You need not kill a man to destroy
	him.

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
		(personalizing the
		inference)
	No, you need only take away what is
	most precious to him.

						HARD CUT TO:


EXT. SMALL PUBLIC PARK - CENTRAL TEXAS - DAY

AGENT SCULLY

She stands against a backdrop of Texas flatland,
squinting into the sun. Shaking her head.

		SCULLY
	I don't know, Mulder...

We are:

WIDE ANGLE REVERSE, TO INCLUDE MULDER, standing in the
middle of a park, replete with jungle gyms, playground
equipment. All brand spanking new. They are standing
right where there had once been a hard scrabble, parched
and barren little field. Where the earthen hole had been
dug by the young boys. And what had later been the site
of so much activity by the group of scientists. But
where there's now a park, thick green grass covering the
parch of ground, including the spot where the hole had
been.

		SCULLY
	He didn't mention a park.

		MULDER
	This is where he marked on the map,
	Scully. Where he says those fossils
	were unearthed.

		SCULLY
	I don't see any evidence of an
	archeological or any other kind of
	digsite. Not even a sewer or a storm
	drain.

Mulder scans the area, confounded. Shaking his head as
they walk.

		MULDER
	You're sure the fossils you looked at
	showed the same signs of deterioration
	you saw in the fireman's body in the
	morgue?

		SCULLY
		(nodding)
	The bone was porous, as if the virus
	of the causative microbe were
	digesting it.

		MULDER
	And you've never seen anything like
	that?

		SCULLY
	No.  It didn't show up on any of the
	immunohistochemical tests --

Mulder is listening to all this while looking down at
his feet:

		MULDER
	This looks like new grass to you?

		SCULLY
	It looks pretty green for this
	climate.

Mulder stops, kneels, touches the thick green carpet of
turf. He digs around, lifting up a corner of a new
square.

		MULDER
	Ground's dry about an inch down.
	Somebody just laid this down. Very
	recently, I'd say.

		SCULLY
		(looking off)
	All the equipment is brand new.

		MULDER
	No irrigation system. Somebody's
	covering their tracks.

They both turn, looking at something that's caught their
attention on the street where their rental car is
parked. Three kids, all of whom we recognize from
earlier. Stevie's "friends".

Tooling down the street on new BMX bikes. Reacting to
Mulder's loud WHISTLE. This stops them, staring at
Mulder blankly across the distance.

		MULDER
	Hey!

They don't answer. Just keep staring, squinting into the
sun. Mulder and Scully start walking toward them.

		SCULLY
	Do you live around here?

		2ND BOY
	Yeah.

As the Agents approach.

		MULDER
	You see anybody digging here?

The kids don't answer quickly.

		2ND BOY
	Not supposed to talk about it.

		SCULLY
	You're not supposed to talk about it?
	Who told you that?

		3RD BOY
	Nobody.

		MULDER
	Nobody. Same nobody who put this park
	in? That new equipment...
		(off the boys guilty looks)
	They buy you these bikes?

The kids shift uncomfortably.

		SCULLY
	I think you better tell us.

		2ND BOY
	We don't even know you.

		SCULLY
	Well, we're FBI agents.

		2ND BOY
	You're not FBI agents.

		MULDER
	How do you know?

		2ND BOY
	Cause FBI agents wear like suits and
	goofy ties. And dresses like my mom
	wears to church. Like on that one
	show.

Mulder and Scully pull their badges. The kids' mouths
drop.

		MULDER
	Maybe you've been watching too much
	TV.

		3RD BOY
	They all left twenty minutes ago.

		4TH BOY
	Going that way.

The kids all pointing in the same direction.


EXT. CENTRAL TEXAS HIGHWAY - LATE DAY

As Mulder and Scully's rental car RACES by at high
speed.

						CUT TO:


INT. MULDER AND SCULLY'S RENTAL CAR - DAY - CONTINUOUS

Mulder at the wheel, foot to the floor. Scully's got a
map out. The mood is urgent, tense.

		MULDER
	Unmarked tanker trucks... what are
	archaeologists hauling out in tanker
	trucks?

		SCULLY
	I don't know, Mulder.

		MULDER
	And where are they going with it?

		SCULLY
	That's the first question to answer,
	if we're going to find them.

						CUT BACK TO:


EXT. CENTRAL HIGHWAY - LATE DAY

Mulder slows down to a stop. They've come to a three-way
intersection in the middle of absolutely nowhere that
offers them three choices. The car sits idling for
several beats.


RESUME INT. RENTAL CAR

Mulder's got his hand on his face rubbing his eyes.

		MULDER
	What are my choices?

		SCULLY
	About a hundred miles of nothing in
	each direction.

		MULDER
	Where would they be going?

		SCULLY
	We've got two choices. One of them is
	wrong.

They are both looking in different directions. The car
idling.

		MULDER
	You think they went left?

		SCULLY
	I don't know why I think they went
	right.

A few moments of silence. Then Mulder steps on the gas
and goes straight. Heading out onto the only unpaved
road. Accelerating away.

Scully looks at him, wondering. As they bump along at
speed. Mulder won't look at her for a few moments. Then,
turning to her:

		MULDER
	Five years together -- how many times
	have I been wrong.

						DISSOLVE TO:


EXT. TEXAS HIGHWAY - NIGHT

HEADLIGHTS appear in the distance on a long, dusty
stretch of road. GROWING as they approach, then coming
to a stop in a cloud of dust as they move into f.g.

Where a LINE OF FENCEPOSTS, BARBWIRE blocks their path.

As the car brakes, the passenger door opens and Scully
exits. A hot Texas wind blows. A dog is BARKING
somewhere. Scully walks into the headlight wash, looking
at a sign on the fence.

After a moment, the driver's door opens and Mulder
exits.

		MULDER
	Hey, I was right about the bomb,
	wasn't I?

		SCULLY
	This is great. This is fitting.

REVERSE ON SCENE

On the fence sign, painted in crude letters, are the
words: SOME HAVE TRIED, SOME HAVE DIED. TURN BACK -- NO
TRESPASSING.

		MULDER
	What?

		SCULLY
	I've got to be in Washington D.C. in
	eleven hours for a hearing -- the
	outcome of which might possibly affect
	one of the biggest decisions of my
	life. And here I am standing out in
	the middle of nowhere Texas, chasing
	phantom tanker trucks.

		MULDER
	We're not chasing trucks, we're
	chasing evidence --

		SCULLY
	-- of what exactly?!

		MULDER
	That bomb in Dallas was allowed to go
	off, to hide something: bodies
	infected with a virus you detected
	yourself.

		SCULLY
	They haul gas in tanker trucks, they
	haul oil in tanker trucks -- they
	don't haul viruses in tanker trucks.

		MULDER
	Yeah, well they may this one.

		SCULLY
	What do you mean by haul?
		(off his reaction)
	What are you not telling me here?

		MULDER
	This virus -- it...
		(afraid to say)

		SCULLY
	Mulder --

		MULDER
	It may be extraterrestrial.

		SCULLY
	I don't believe this. I don't fucking
	believe this.
		(reaching her limit of
		impatience)
	Y'know, I've been here... I've been
	here one too many times with you,
	Mulder.

		MULDER
	Been where?

		SCULLY
	Pounding down some dirt road in the
	middle of the night. Chasing some
	elusive truth on a dim hope, only to
	find myself standing right where I am
	right now: at another dead end --

As she says this A BELL starts to sound. A flashing
light hits Mulder and Scully. They both turn to see:

HIGH ANGLE OVER A RAILROAD CROSSING SIGN

Sitting all by its lonely self. No swinging arms or
gate. Just one little sign between Mulder and Scully and
their car.

CAMERA PANNING to the light of a locomotive speeding
toward us.

WIDE ANGLE OVER TRACKS TO MULDER AND SCULLY

They move toward their car, but the train is coming
fast. Mulder and Scully stop and wait, watching the
train. As the engine breaks frame, eclipsing Mulder and
Scully from view. And as it passes by we see TWO VERY
FAMILIAR WHITE TANKERS loaded piggyback atop flat bed
cars.

The train, which is not much longer than this, passes.
And Mulder and Scully make a mad dash for their car. The
lights come on and Mulder swings the vehicle into a hard
accelerating turn, taking the spoke of the intersection
that parallels the tracks. As the car hauls ass after
the train, we:

						DISSOLVE TO:


EXT. OPPOSITE END OF MOUNTAIN PASS - NIGHT

The rails come up a grade where they appear out of a
long bending turn. Exiting the mountain pass near the
summit of the mountain. And now HEADLIGHTS appear,
bouncing toward us. It's Mulder and Scully's rental
chugging up the grade.

And now pulling to a stop as it REACHES CAMERA. Then the
car doors open and Mulder and Scully exit. Putting
jackets against the cold desert night. Running over the
gravel on the rail bed into sharp f.g.

		SCULLY
	What do you think it is?

		MULDER
	I have no idea.

They start out toward it anyway, whatever it is. But the
image that we see next might cause us to ask the same
question.

REVERSE ANGLE -- MULDER AND SCULLY'S FORMER POV

The Agents are moving off the tracks now, picking their
way toward the horizon where, at the edge of the great
plateau that lays out before them, there are TWO GIANT
GLOWING WHITE DOMES.

It is otherwise pitch dark out, almost giving the
impression that the domes are floating.

It would give the distinct impression of
otherworldliness, if we hadn't seen a similar, smaller
glowing dome over the dirt field where the boys found
the skull. And if we could not see the lights of the
TRAIN rolling to a stop near the mysterious domes.

						CUT TO:


EXT. GREAT PLATEAU - NIGHT - HIGH WIDE ANGLE

SLOWLY CRANING DOWN as Mulder and Scully move through
the low scrub of the high desert. Moving towards us as
CAMERA CONTINUES ITS SLOW CRANE DOWN, REVEALING in f.g.
the tops of CORN STALKS (yes, corn stalks.) What is the
perimeter edge of:

REVERSE CRANE DOWN (TO MATCH)

Acres and acres of corn fields, laying out before us in
the dark night. Running all the way to the WHITE DOMED
TENTS in the b.g.

Mulder and Scully enter the perimeter edge, disappearing
into:


EXT. ACRES OF CORN - NIGHT

TRACKING WITH Mulder and Scully as they move through the
field.

		SCULLY
	This is weird, Mulder.

		MULDER
	Very weird.

		SCULLY
	Any thoughts on why anybody'd be
	growing corn in the middle of the
	desert?

		MULDER
	Not unless those are giant Jiffy Pop
	containers out there.

CONTINUE TRACKING as they move through the tall uniform
rows.

ANGLE BEHIND THE AGENTS

Shooting down the long straight rows. CRANING UP to
REVEAL DOMES once again. Like space ships that have
landed.

						CUT TO:


OPPOSITE PERIMETER OF THE FIELD OF CORN

The Agents exit the edge of the crop field. They have
come upon the glowing tents now. Tall and pillowy
against the dark sky.

There is no evidence of anyone about. No sound, no
signs.

Mulder and Scully stand at the edge of the field for a
moment. Then move cautiously across an open area to one
of the domes.

						CUT TO:


INT. WHITE DOME TENT - NIGHT

Mulder pulls open the steel door leading in. It opens
with a SUCKING SOUND which suggests the interior is
pressurized. And as he and Scully step in -- they both
JUMP when LARGE FANS just overhead hit them both with
hard blasts of air.

Stepping quickly out of the downward blasting air, into
the still silence of the space beyond.

		SCULLY
	Cool in here. Temperature's being
	regulated.

		MULDER
	For the purpose of what?

HIGH OVERHEAD ANGLE

Our view is down through the crosswires and cables that
create the tension support. The effect is a combination
of simplicity and perfect function. Stark and high tech.
The flooring is gray and flat, featureless. But we don't
yet see from this angle exactly what the white domed
tent houses.

Though the air is still and there is no movement of any
kind, there is a sound that permeates the interior. A
STEADY HUM. Almost electrical hum, but different.

Mulder and Scully move together toward the middle of the
space.

WIDE ON TENT - MULDER AND SCULLY'S POV

Laid out in a grid, low to the ground, are what look
like BOXES. Fixed in place like roof vents, except these
are on the floor, no more than three feet tall, and
about the same measure square.

NEW ANGLE - TRACKING WITH MULDER AND SCULLY

As they continue to move cautiously, walking out into
the grid of box-shaped objects. Coming to the center of
the capacious, arena-sized space. Standing over one of
the mysterious boxes, which we now see have LOUVERED
TOPS. The louvers, however, are shut so that whatever is
inside the boxes cannot be seen.

		SCULLY
	I think we're on top of something. I
	think these are some kind of venting.

Mulder lays his head and ear to the top of the box.

		MULDER
	You hear that?

		SCULLY
	I hear the humming. Like electricity.
	High voltage maybe.

		MULDER
	Maybe. Maybe not.

Scully looks skyward.

		SCULLY
	What do you think those are for?

Mulder takes his ear off the box, looking up now, too.

THEIR POV

At the top of the dome are two LARGE corresponding
LOUVER VENTS.

RESUME MULDER AND SCULLY

Looking up at these vents.

						CUT TO:


INT. WHITE DOME TENT - NIGHT

HIGH WIDE ANGLE OVER MULDER AND SCULLY, staring up JUST
PAST CAMERA at the louvered vents at top center of the
tent. When A LOUD METALLIC NOISE makes them jump.

AGENTS POV THE LOUVERED VENTS ABOVE THEM

One of the vents is opening automatically, its large
metal louvers straining from their flat closed position
into an up-and-down open position. When this is
complete, the SECOND LOUVER does the same.

The straining sound of galvanized metal-on-metal.

LOW ANGLE ON MULDER AND SCULLY

As Mulder turns his look from the ceiling back down to
the mysterious box they're standing next to. Something
occurs to him. Something frightening.

		MULDER
	Scully....?

		SCULLY
	Yeah...?

		MULDER
	Run.

Mulder grabs her hand, pulling her along. Though she
doesn't know why. Or what's about to happen. TRACKING
FAST WITH THEM as Mulder leads her back toward the door
they entered, which is a good hundred yards away.

		SCULLY
		(yelling, on the run)
	What are you doing?

		MULDER
		(yelling back)
	Come on!

When the LOUVERED VENTS on all the low grid-arranged
boxes OPEN IN DOMINO-LIKE SUCCESSION -- out of them
pouring THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF BEES, rapidly filling
the atmosphere of the domed space.

As if the insects are being shot out of non-stop
cannons.

HIGH ANGLE

THICK STREAMS of bees head RIGHT AT CAMERA, flying for
the open louvers at the top of the dome. As Mulder and
Scully run for it down below.

TRACKING WITH MULDER AND SCULLY

Scully's hand slipping from Mulder's as she pulls her
jacket up over her head. Mulder doing the same now,
ducking his head inside his own jacket. The Agents are
slowed by the bees but still make their zigzag way
toward the door -- bees clinging to their clothes. But
motion seems to be the key.

As Mulder RUNS TOWARD CAMERA -- where the downward blast
of air knocks all the bees off him. In the b.g., we see
that Scully has fallen behind. Still running, but losing
her way in the process, losing her bearings as the
thickening swarm of bees descends.

CLOSE ON SCULLY

When Mulder enters frame, jacket pulled over his head
again. Taking Scully by the back of her coat and
swinging her toward the direction of the door.
Whipsnapping her the rest of the distance to the
doorfans. Following right behind her as the fans
BLASTING them and the Agents continue right out the
doors. To:


EXT. WHITE DOMED TENT - NIGHT

Scully and Mulder comes blasting out themselves now, but
they haven't even had time to catch their breaths when
they react to MOVEMENT. Something coming at them in the
night.

THEIR POV'S - STRAIGHT DOWN THE ROWS OF DOMED TENTS

Where BRIGHT BEAMS BLAST ON, moving fast toward them.
The RUSHING WHIR of the turbine engines of the unmarked
choppers. The bright beams skimming across the ground
toward Mulder and Scully, traveling right along the
edges of ends of the white domed tents. Threatening to
spot the Agents, unless they -- RUN.

And they do -- bolting just as the beams and the
helicopters blast over the spot they held just moments
before. Running to:


EXT. ACRES OF CORN - NIGHT - MULDER AND SCULLY - VARIOUS
HANDHELD

Running flat out now, knocking away the stalks and
leaves that block their way.

Following and leading shots.

POVs and Tracking shots.

And chasing angles, as the Agents run through the only
cover they've got. As:

ANGLE JUST OVER THE TOP OF CROPS

The unmarked helicopters swoop right overhead, their
BRIGHT SPOTLIGHTS searching and cutting through the
cornrows. As the Agents zig and zag just out of the
discovering beams. As the choppers zoom right over their
heads.

REVERSE ON CHOPPERS

Traversing the field, then doing sharp banking turns and
swooping back over the field now in low drifting hovers.
The wash from the blades knocking the corn stalks down
so as to reveal anything hidden within.

The bright spots making sure that nothing might escape
detection.

LOW ANGLE - CAMERA SEARCHING AND FINDING SCULLY

as she runs up INTO FRAME. She's lost sight of:

		SCULLY
	Mulder?!


ANGLE ELSEWHERE ON MULDER

As he too runs to a stop. Hearing his name.

		MULDER
	Scully?!


RESUME SCULLY

Reacting to the sound of her name, but there's no time
to find her bearings on Mulder. Not before she has to
take flight again. As one of the choppers appears
overhead, hovering into view. Knocking the corn down in
a path moving straight toward her.

CAMERA LEADING HER as she runs from the oncoming craft.
PASSING CAMERA to the left, as the chopper passes CAMERA
RIGHT.

						CUT TO:


TRACKING FAST WITH MULDER

Beating his way through the corn like Bomba through the
jungle.

Matching this action, as Mulder runs toward us. When one
of the unmarked helicopters BREAKS INTO FRAME in an
intersecting path, its BEAM passing right over Mulder
and ILLUMINATING HIM. But while it doesn't slow Mulder
down, the helicopter maneuvers into a hard banking turn,
sweeping over the far end of the corn field and heading
RIGHT BACK AT MULDER - AT US.

						CUT TO:


NEW LOW ANGLE ON EDGE OF CORN FIELD

Where Mulder bursts out of the perimeter, turning on a
quick dime and running an out pattern, just before the
chopper BURSTS into frame overhead, its search beam
narrowly missing Mulder.

NEW ANGLE ON MULDER

Running the corner of the field, looking frantically
down each corn row until he comes to a stop. No sign
of:

		MULDER
	Scully?!

Mulder reacting to the sound of her response:

		SCULLY
		(distant o.s.)
	Mulder!


NEW ANGLE ON SCULLY

She's exiting the field behind him. Running toward him,
and when she gets to him they both break into a run
across the desert. CAMERA FOLLOWING THEM as they sprint
away.

FOLLOWING THEM until they both start to slow. Slowing to
a stop in the darkness. Turning to see:

THEIR POV

The helicopters have disappeared.

RESUME MULDER AND SCULLY

Reacting to this.

		SCULLY
	Where'd they go?

		MULDER
	I don't know.

Then they both turn again and continue running. As fast
as their feet will take them. Back towards the bluff
where their car is parked.


EXT. BLUFF OVERLOOKING CORN FIELDS - NIGHT

Where Mulder and Scully's car is parked. Stillness,
until Mulder and Scully's heads appear as they climb up
from the direction of the corn fields. They get in their
car and start it quickly. Mulder turns the ignition, but
the car doesn't start immediately. He turns it over and
over but it won't kick.

As he does this, unbeknownst to the agents ONE OF THE
BLACK HELICOPTERS rises up from below the bluff,
appearing in their rear windshield. Hovering just behind
the car like a giant bumblebee. Just as...

...Mulder gets the car started, throwing the
transmission in gear and spinning the tires. As they
head off back in the direction they came, without their
lights on. As they do this, the black chopper continues
to hover for a moment, then BANKS OFF AND AWAY. Into the
night.

Mulder and Scully speed off in the opposite direction.
As we:

						DISSOLVE TO:


INT. FBI OFFICE OF PROFESSIONAL REVIEW - DAY

CLOSE ON A FILE

Being leafed through by a woman's hands. CAMERA TILTING
UP to Special Agent Cassidy, the woman we met earlier
running the OPR hearing. She takes a quick glance at her
watch, looking up when:

THE DOOR TO THE ROOM

opens. A beat, then Skinner enters with a wearied look.

		SKINNER
	She's coming in.

Skinner ducks his head back out to look at:

						INTERCUT WITH:


INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE OPR HEARING ROOM - DAY

Where Scully stands looking into the glass of a display
case, trying to put her hair and clothes and person
together. She's still in the same clothes we saw her in.
Seeing Skinner now moving toward him.

RESUME OPR HEARING ROOM

Scully enters past Skinner. Though she has straightened
them, and her hair, there is no mistaking that she's
been to the dust bowl and back to get here. Her manner
is chastened.

Scully tries to keep her eyes on the table where she'll
be sitting. Venturing only a brief, polite look to:

ANGLE TO INCLUDE CASSIDY AND THE OTHER PANEL MEMBERS

They reshuffle their papers, pulling up their chairs.
Ready to get down to business now.

		CASSIDY
	Special Agent Scully --

		SCULLY
	I apologize for making you wait --
	I've brought some new evidence with me
	--

		CASSIDY
	Evidence of what?

CLOSE PROFILE ON SCULLY

Reaching into her satchel, pulling out an evidence bag.
Whatever she's reaching for she's reluctant to present
with confidence.

		SCULLY
	These are fossilized bone fragments
	I've been able to study, gathered from
	the bomb site in Dallas...

As Scully speaks we see A BEE crawl out from under the
collar of her suit jacket, crawling toward the back of
her neck. Crawling slowly, as if stretching its legs
from its long journey. CAMERA DOLLYING around Scully as
the bee does, moving into an OVER to:

		CASSIDY
	You've been back to Dallas?

		SCULLY
	Yes.

		CASSIDY
	Are you going to let us in on what
	exactly you're trying to prove --

		SCULLY
	That the bombing in Dallas may have
	been to destroy the bodies of those
	firemen, so their deaths and the
	reason for them wouldn't have to be
	explained --

		CASSIDY
		(challenging)
	-- those are very serious allegations,
	Agent Scully --

		SCULLY
	Yes. I know.

There is a hush of murmured responses to this, the panel
members speaking to one another. Assistant Director
Skinner shifts uneasily in his chair. He's been here
before with Agents Mulder and Scully. He's sensing
something outrageous.

		CASSIDY
	And you have conclusive evidence of
	this? Something to tie this claim of
	yours to the crime --

		SCULLY
		(grudgingly)
	Nothing completely conclusive --

We have returned to the OVER ANGLE on Scully, where we
see the BEE just below her jacket collar on the back of
her neck.

It CRAWLS back under her collar, DISAPPEARING from
sight.

		SCULLY
	I hope to. We're working to develop
	this evidence --

		CASSIDY
	Working with?

		SCULLY
	Agent Mulder.

Off Cassidy's knowing nod, a general shifting in chairs,
we:

						CUT TO:


INT. DOWNSCALE D.C. BAR - LATE DAY

Mulder pushes through the front, scanning the room for:

ANGLE ON KURTZWEIL

Sitting at a booth at the dark rear of the
establishment. Mulder enters frame, sitting down across
from him. Kurtzweil is jumpy, but he sees from Mulder's
expression that something's up.

		KURTZWEIL
	You found something?

		MULDER
	Yes. On the Texas border. Some kind of
	experiment. Something they excavated
	was brought there in tanker trucks.

		KURTZWEIL
	What?

		MULDER
	I'm not sure. A virus --

		KURTZWEIL
	-- You saw this experiment?

		MULDER
	What did it look like?

		MULDER
	There were bees. And corn crops.

Kurtzweil smiles at Mulder, laughs with nervous
excitement. Mulder doesn't quite realize it yet, but
this is news to him.

		MULDER
	What are they?

Kurtzweil slides from his seat, rising.

		KURTZWEIL
	What do you think?

		MULDER
	A transportation system. Transgenic
	crops. The pollen genetically altered
	to carry a virus.

		KURTZWEIL
	That would be my guess.

		MULDER
	Your guess?

But Kurtzweil doesn't respond to this. He's moving
toward the back of the bar. Mulder slides out, pursuing
him.

ANGLE ON BARMAID

The few PATRONS sitting at the bar, all turning in
reaction to this sudden flurry of activity.


INT. REAR OF DOWNSCALE BAR - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS

Near the bathrooms. Mulder catches up to Kurtzweil.

		MULDER
	What do you mean, your guess?

Kurtzweil doesn't stop. So Mulder must physically stop
him.

		MULDER
	You told me you had answers.

		KURTZWEIL
	Yeah, well I don't have them all.

		MULDER
	You've been using me --

		KURTZWEIL
	I've been using you?!

		MULDER
	You didn't know my father --

		KURTZWEIL
	I told you -- he and I were old
	friends --

		MULDER
	You're a liar. You lied to me to
	gather information for you. For your
	goddamn books. Didn't you?

Mulder is getting heated, rough with Kurtzweil. When,
unexpectedly A MAN suddenly exits the bathroom. REACTING
to this scene. Kurtzweil uses the moment to break from
Mulder. Slipping out the back door. Mulder takes a beat,
then goes after him.

Pushing out the back door into the blinding brightness.

						CUT TO:


EXT. ALLEY BEHIND BAR - DAY

Mulder busts out the back door, chasing Kurtzweil.

		MULDER
	Kurtzweil!

Kurtzweil turns to him. With restrained ferocity.

		KURTZWEIL
	You'd be shit out of luck if not for
	me. You saw what you saw because I led
	you to it. I'm putting my ass on the
	line for you.

		MULDER
	Your ass? I just got chased across
	Texas by two black helicopters.

		KURTZWEIL
	And why do you think it is you're
	standing here talking to me? These
	people don't make mistakes, Agent
	Mulder.

And with that he turns now, striding off. Leaving Mulder
to deal with the excellent logic of this. When suddenly
Mulder reacts to A NOISE. Somewhere above him.

MULDER'S POV

Up on a fire escape, A MAN is moving. Mulder can only
see his feet and legs from this angle, but it is clear
he has been watching Mulder. Upon being spotted, the
figure slides away and disappears.

ANGLE FROM INSIDE FIRE ESCAPE BUILDING

We get a glimpse of the man who was watching him. A face
we recognize as that of the man who brushed past Mulder
coming out of the vending room, not long before the
building in Dallas blew. He is moving quickly now,
disappearing into the shadows. CAMERA TILTING DOWN to
find:

MULDER. He stands staring up, but only for a moment
until he turns and hurries off in the opposite direction
Kurtzweil disappeared in.

						CUT TO:


INT. MULDER'S APARTMENT - MAGIC HOUR

ANGLE OVER MULDER'S DESK at the far end of the living
room. The sound of keys in the door, then Mulder enters
his apartment in a hurry. Moving to the desk and going
at this pace through the drawers. Looking for... A
PICTURE ALBUM.

Which he takes now, leafing through it. Flipping the
pages, looking for:

ANGLE OVER MULDER

Finding old pictures of young Fox Mulder with his
SISTER, Samantha. With his father and mother. The
plastic-covered page is peeled back and one of these
photos is removed. It is an old family snapshot. A
picnic possibly.

Mulder stares at the picture.

INSERT PHOTO - In the b.g. of the picnic, his head
turned to camera, is a young KURTZWEIL.

Mulder studies the photo intensely, when there's a KNOCK
at his door. Mulder turning to see:

SCULLY

In his haste, Mulder had neglected to lock his door.
Scully is pushing it open. She's still in the same
clothes. She looks beat. Her eyes meeting Mulder's. A
gaze that says bad news.

		MULDER
	What? What's wrong?

		SCULLY
	Salt Lake City, Utah. Transfer
	effective immediately.

Mulder is shaking his head. Not wanting to hear this.

		SCULLY
	I already gave Skinner my letter of
	resignation.

		MULDER
	You can't quit, Scully.

		SCULLY
	I can, Mulder. I debated whether or
	not to even tell you in person,
	because I knew --

		MULDER
	We're close to something here -- we're
	on the verge --

		SCULLY
	You're on the verge, Mulder -- please
	don't do this to me --

		MULDER
	After what you saw last night -- after
	all you've seen -- you can't just walk
	away --

		SCULLY
	I have. I did. It's done.

		MULDER
	Just like that --

		SCULLY
	I'm contacting the state board Monday
	to file medical reinstatement papers
	--

		MULDER
	I need you on this, Scully --

		SCULLY
	You don't Mulder -- you've never
	needed me. I've only held you back.
		(beat)
	I've got to go.

And with that she exits his apartment, the argument too
painful, and her ability to be persuaded too clear to
herself.


INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE MULDER'S APARTMENT - NIGHT

WIDE ANGLE FROM END OF HALL where we see Scully,
leaving Mulder's apartment. Moving at a hurried clip to
the elevator -- TOWARD CAMERA. As if anticipating her
own impulse to turn around and go back. As she moves
into f.g. Mulder exits his apt. door.

		MULDER
	You're wrong --

He hurries to catch her. As she turns on him.

		SCULLY
	Why was I assigned to you? To debunk
	your work. To reign you in. To shut
	you down.

		MULDER
	You saved me, Scully.
		(off her look)
	As different and frustrating as it's
	been sometimes, your goddamn strict
	rationalism and science have saved me
	a thousand times; have kept me honest
	and made me whole. I owe you so much,
	Scully, and you owe me nothing.
		(beat)
	I don't want to do this without you. I
	don't know if I can. If I quit now,
	they win.

She is silent, moved. In spite of all her desire not to
be. She moves to Mulder, holds him. They break slightly
and she looks up at Mulder with deep respect, admiration
and... kisses him on the forehead. When...

...suddenly a physical intimacy we've never seen. A
heat and passion that can't be denied. The opportunity
for the inevitable has presented itself.

The moment of truth has arrived. Mulder is staring at
Scully as she's looking back at him. His head moves
slightly toward hers -- as one of his hands moves up to
her neck, drawing her to him. Where there is hesitation
on her part, there is also desire. When:

		SCULLY
	OUCH!!!

Scully pulls away from Mulder, RUBBING at her neck where
his hand had been.

		MULDER
	What? What happened?

		SCULLY
	I think... something stung me.

Scully's hand comes out with THE SQUIRMING BEE, which
she holds in her hand while Mulder moves around her,
checking her neck.

		MULDER
	It must...

But he doesn't finish his sentence before he has to
catch Scully from falling. Her head bobs and she has to
catch it.

		MULDER
	Scully...

		SCULLY
	Something's wrong...
		(fighting for clarity)
	I'm having -- lancinating pain -- my
	chest. My... motor functions are being
	affected. I'm...

Mulder lays her down on the floor during this. Scully
continues to speak, though her eyes are not focusing.
She is limp in Mulder's arms.

		SCULLY
	...my pulse feels thready and I've
	got a funny taste in the back of my
	throat.

		MULDER
	I think you're in anaphylactic shock
	--

		SCULLY
	No -- it's --

Her voice is getting thin now, too.

		MULDER
	Scully --

		SCULLY
	I've got no allergy. Something...
	this... Mulder... I think... I think
	you should call an ambulance.

And Mulder is on his feet in a flash, running for:

						CUT TO:


INT. MULDER'S APARTMENT - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS

CLOSE OVER PHONE as Mulder races into the apartment,
dashing TOWARD CAMERA, picking up the receiver, dialing.
HOLDING ON THE PHONE during this action. TILTING UP
for:

		MULDER
	This is Special Agent Fox Mulder. I
	have an emergency -- I have an agent
	down --


INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE MULDER'S APARTMENT - NIGHT

SCULLY - HANDHELD

Picked up and one-two-three loaded on a gurney by TWO
PARAMEDICS.

		1ST PARAMEDIC
	Can you hear me? Can you say your
	name?

Scully is trying, but the words won't come out.

		1ST PARAMEDIC
	She's got constriction in the throat
	and larynx -- are you breathing okay?

He lays his head down to her mouth.

		1ST PARAMEDIC
	Passages are open. Let's get her in
	the van --

NEIGHBORS are in the hall now, along with Mulder. Who is
moving beside the Paramedics as they hustle the gurney
down the hall.

		1ST PARAMEDIC
	Coming through people -- here we go.
	Coming through --

						CUT TO:


EXT. MULDER'S APARTMENT - NIGHT - CONTINUED HAND HELD

The Paramedics bang out the front door, stutter-stepping
the gurney down to the walk, to their EMT VAN which sits
at the curb with the LIGHT BAR FLASHING. Mulder
following close by.

		MULDER
	She said she had a taste in the back
	of her throat -- there was no
	pre-existing allergy to bee-stings --
	the bee that stung her may have been
	carrying a virus --

		2ND PARAMEDIC
	A virus?

		1ST PARAMEDIC
	Get on the radio, tell them we have a
	cytogenic reaction, we need an advise
	and administer --

They get her to the back of the vehicle, guiding the
gurney in with experienced hands. Scully's eyes are on
Mulder as she's slid into the brightly lit interior.

The 1st Paramedic blocks Mulder somewhat as he steps
toward the van, anticipating that he's going with them
to the hospital. But the doors are closing on him before
he gets an opportunity.

FOLLOWING MULDER around to the driver's side of the van
now, moving to the driver's window where THE DRIVER can
be seen in the rear view mirror, his eyes watching
Mulder.

ON MULDER

A moment of vague recognition -- a catch in his step.

RESUME

As Mulder's momentum carries him to the driver's window
where se see again the man from the vending room, who
was also surveilling Mulder. And he has a HANDGUN
pointed at Mulder, which he FIRES THROUGH THE WINDOW.
The glass shattering.

RESUME MULDER

Throwing himself away backward, but the bullet catches
him in the head. Blood and glass spraying onto the side
of the van. He goes down to the ground -- as the
paramedic van accelerates fast away.

LOW ANGLE REVERSE ON MULDER

Lying in the street, his head bleeding profusely. While
in the b.g., A SECOND AMBULANCE IS SPEEDING TO THE
SCENE. As it skids to a stop and TWO NEW PARAMEDICS jump
out, we:

						DISSOLVE TO:


EXT. WASHINGTON NATIONAL AIRPORT - NIGHT

A MEDIUM SIZED PRIVATE JET is taxiing down an alley off
the main runway where a 747 is speeding toward takeoff.
The private jet turning TOWARD CAMERA and nosing into
f.g.

NEW ANGLE ON TARMAC

Where MEN IN FAMILIAR BLACK FATIGUES are unloading
something from an unmarked cube truck that is also
familiar: the very high tech-looking CLEAR CONTAINER,
with its monitors and gauges, its oxygen tanks and
refrigeration unit. A self-contained life support
system. The inside of the container is covered with a
thin layer of frost, through which we can see AGENT
SCULLY.

She lies as if in a state of paralysis, but a blink of
her eyes is enough to tell us that she is... alive.

TRACKING WITH THE MEN moving the container. As they
hustle it to the waiting jet. As The Cigarette Smoking
Man is descending the steps of the plane onto the
tarmac. Watching as the container is moved to the cargo
hold and loaded inside.

The hold is closed and the jet engines wind back up. As
the Cigarette Smoking Man reboards the aircraft and it
taxis away.

FADE SLOWLY TO BLACK


INT. HOSPITAL - NIGHT

Voices fade in slowly, inaudible at first. For regular
viewers of the show, they will recognize the voices of
the Lone Gunmen.

Three nerdish paranoiacs who publish a magazine which
charts and cataloged conspiracies past and present,
among other government malfeasance. They are Langly,
Byers and Frohike.

		BYERS
	I think he's coming out --

		LANGLY
	He's coming to.

		FROHIKE
	Hey, Mulder...

FADE UP, as if our eyes are blinking open. We are in
Mulder's POV, and the face right above us is Frohike's.

		FROHIKE
	Mulder...?

Behind Frohike, looking down at Mulder, are Byers and
Langly.

REVERSE ON MULDER

Staring at the diminutive Frohike, the long-haired
Langly and the courtly Byers with dawning recognition.

		MULDER
	Oh god...

		LANGLY
	What's wrong?

		MULDER
		(to Byers, then Langly)
	Tin Man. Scarecrow.
		(to Frohike)
	Toto.

Mulder sits up now, rubbing his face, feeling the
BANDAGE he's got on his head.

		MULDER
	What am I doing here?

		BYERS
	You were shot in the head. The bullet
	broke the flesh on your right brow and
	glanced off your temporal plate.

		MULDER
		(woozy)
	Penetration but not perforation.

		LANGLY
	Three centimetres to the left and we'd
	be playing the harp.

Mulder is still shaking out the cobwebs.

		BYERS
	They gave you a craniotomy to relieve
	the pressure from a subdural hematoma.
	But you've been unconscious since they
	brought you in.

		MULDER
	When was that?

		FROHIKE
	Two days ago. Your guy Skinner's been
	here with you around the clock.

		LANGLY
	We got the news and made a trip to
	your apartment. Found a bug in your
	phone line.

		FROHIKE
	And one in your hall.

Byers holds up the first small device. Frohike holds up
a vial containing A BEE. Mulder realizing:

		MULDER
	Scully had a violent reaction to a bee
	sting --

		BYERS
	You called 911. Except the call was
	intercepted.

		MULDER
		(sitting up)
	They took her --

Mulder pushes the covers off. Swinging his legs to the
ground. As A.D. Skinner enters the room. Surprised to
see Mulder up.

		SKINNER
	Agent Mulder --

		MULDER
	Where's Scully?!

As he says this he loses his balance slightly, has to
hold onto one of the Gunmen. Struggling with his
faculties.

		SKINNER
	She's missing. We've been unable to
	locate her or the vehicle they took
	her in.

		MULDER
	Whoever they are -- this goes right
	back to Dallas -- it goes right back
	to the bombing --

		SKINNER
	I know.
		(off Mulder's reaction to
		this)
	Agent Scully reported your suspicions
	to OPR. On the basis of her report, I
	sent techs over to S.A.C. Michaud's
	apartment. They picked up PSTN
	residues on his personal effects
	consistent with the construction of
	the vending machine device in Dallas.

		MULDER
		(reeling)
	How deep does this go?

		SKINNER
	I don't know.

Mulder sees A MAN IN A SUIT passes by the small window
in the door, casting a furtive glance in, then moving
off. He turns his look back to Skinner.

		MULDER
	Are we being watched?

		SKINNER
	I'm not taking any chances.

Mulder nods. Pulling now at the bandage on his head.
Peeling it away and revealing the wound beneath.

		MULDER
	I need your clothes, Byers.

		BYERS
	Me?

		SKINNER
	What are you doing?

		MULDER
	I've got to find Scully.

		FROHIKE
	Do you know where she is?

		MULDER
	No. But I know someone who might have
	an answer. Who better.

Mulder is undoing his hospital gown now, his white buns
gracing the screen for the first time in history. As he
ducks into the bathroom. As the men left standing in the
room all look to Byers, reluctantly removing his duds.
Off this:

						CUT TO:


INT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY - NIGHT

ANGLE OVER MAN IN A SUIT standing with his back to
Mulder's room, reading a section of a newspaper (the
rest of the paper sitting on a chair, as if the man's
possibly set up here.) As the door to Mulder's room
opens in the b.g. and Frohike appears.

Frohike keeps his eyes on the Man as Langly appears now,
followed by...Byers? We can't see clearly as the other
two block our POV and the third man out doesn't show us
his face. The threesome starts down the hall, their
footsteps drawing the attention of the Man in a Suit.

ANGLE OVER MULDER AND THE OTHER GUNMEN

As they head TOWARD CAMERA. Walking at a pace. In the
b.g. the Man in the Suit is drifting toward Mulder's
hospital room.

ANGLE ON MAN IN SUIT

Suspicious. He moves to the door, looks in the little
glass window. Seeing...Byers, the sheets pulled up to
his nose to hide his beard and mustache. Skinner
standing next to him, talking on the phone.

The Man in the Suit looking down to the end of the hall
again.

RESUME ANGLE OVER MULDER AND THE GUNMEN

As Mulder and his two flankers MOVE RIGHT TO CAMERA.
Mulder is taking a cell phone being handed to him by
Frohike. Dialing on the move.

						CUT TO:


EXT. ALLEY BEHIND DOWNSCALE D.C. BAR - NIGHT

A FIGURE appears at the end of the alley, moving toward
us. It could be Mulder from this distance, but as the
figure comes closer we recognize him as Kurtzweil.
Moving into the f.g., checking behind him, ahead of him.
Jumpy.

He takes a cautious beat, then moves to the door leading
into the bar (established), reaching for the knob.
Opening it, finding the Well-Manicured Man standing
there.

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	Dr. Kurtzweil, isn't it? Dr. Alvin
	Kurtzweil?

		KURTZWEIL
	Jesus Christ.

Kurtzweil is shaken by the sight of this man.
Backpedaling a bit, looking around and behind him for an
ambush.

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	You're surprised. Certainly you've
	been expecting some response to your
	indiscretion.

The W.M.M. steps out of the doorway, following
Kurtzweil.

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	I'm quite sure whatever you told Agent
	Mulder, you have your good reason.
	It's a weakness in men our age; the
	urge to confess.
		(stopping his walk)
	I forgive you that.

Kurtzweil is thrown by the words, and the delivery.
Stopping his backward progress. Studying this upright
and civil man.

		KURTZWEIL
	What are you doing here? What do you
	want from me?

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	You must try to understand, what I'm
	here to do is only to protect my
	children. You and I have but short
	lives left. I can only hope the same
	isn't true for them.

On this note, Kurtzweil turns and hoofs it back in the
direction from which he came. TRACKING BACK WITH HIM
until HEADLIGHTS hit his face.

REVERSE ANGLE

A TOWN CAR has pulled into the alley behind him.
Accelerating fast down the narrow corridor. Effectively
trapping Kurtzweil in. As he squints into its
headlights, then turns back with fear in his eyes to the
W.M.M.

						CUT TO:


EXT. STREET OUTSIDE DOWNSCALE BAR - NIGHT

Where a figure is coming down the street toward us.

Running, it's Mulder, going balls out. Running to the
entrance of the bar and yanking open the door.


INT. DOWNSCALE D.C. BAR - NIGHT

Moderately crowded as Mulder enters, stopping to catch
his breath. Moving to the back of the bar. Looking for:

THE BOOTH WHERE HE MET KURTZWEIL EARLIER

It's empty.

RESUME MULDER

Moving through the bar -- real panic in his expression.
He heads to the back.


INT. REAR OF DOWNSCALE BAR - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS

Mulder passing the bathrooms, moving to the door where
we saw the Well-Manicured Man standing just a short bit
ago. But there is no one back here now. Mulder moves to
the back door, the one leading to the alley, pushing it
open and finding:

The Well-Manicured Man stands with HIS DRIVER closing
the trunk on the idling Town Car (which has been turned
around.) The W.M.M. turns to see:

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	Mr. Mulder.

		MULDER
	What happened to Kurtzweil?

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	He's come and gone.

The W.M.M. moves to Mulder, who doesn't trust him for a
second. Mulder is still breathing hard, sizing up this
scene.

		MULDER
	Where's Scully?

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	I have answers for you.

		MULDER
	Is she alive?

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	Yes.

Mulder stares at the W.M.M. - measuring him.

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	I'm quite prepared to tell you
	everything, though there isn't much
	you haven't guessed.

		MULDER
	About the conspiracy?

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	I think of it as an agreement. A word
	your father liked to use.

		MULDER
	I want to know where Scully is.

The Well-Manicured Man suddenly reaches into his jacket
pocket, without warning or explanation. Mulder tensing
slightly. He removes a thin felt envelope.

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	The location of Agent Scully. And the
	means to save her life.
		(off Mulder's look)
	Please...

He gestures toward the car where the Driver stands with
the back door open. Mulder hesitates, then steps from
the doorway. Moving past the W.M.M., sliding in. The
W.M.M. gets in after him, closes the door. The car pulls
away.

						CUT TO:


INT. LIMOUSINE - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS

WE SEE MULDER in the back seat, reflected in the
rear-view mirror. Where we also see the eyes of the
DRIVER watching him. Mulder is handed the felt envelope
by the W.M.M.

		MULDER
	What is it?

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	A weak vaccine against the virus Agent
	Scully has been infected with. It must
	be administered with ninety six
	hours.

		MULDER
		(beat)
	You're lying.

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	No. Though I have no way to prove
	otherwise. The virus is
	extraterrestrial. We know very little
	about it, except that it is the
	original inhabitant of this planet.

		MULDER
		(dubious, to say the least)
	A virus?

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	A simple, unstoppable lifeform. What
	is a virus but a colonizing force that
	cannot be defeated? Living in a cave,
	underground, until it mutates. And
	attacks.

		MULDER
	This is what you've been conspiring to
	conceal? A disease?

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	No! For God sake you've got it all
	backwards.

This outburst comes suddenly, unexpectedly.

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	Aids, the ebola virus -- on the
	evolutionary scale they are newborns.
	This virus walked the planet long
	before the dinosaurs.

		MULDER
	What do you mean, walked?

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	Your aliens, Agent Mulder, your little
	green men, first landed here millions
	of years ago. Those that didn't leave
	have been laying dormant underground
	since the last Ice Age. In the form of
	an evolved pathogen. Waiting to be
	reconstituted when the alien race from
	which it came returns to colonize the
	planet. Using us as hosts. Against
	this we have no defense. Nothing but a
	weak vaccine.
		(beat)
	Do you see why it was kept secret? Why
	even the best men -- men like your
	father -- could not let the truth be
	known?

The force and conviction of his delivery leave Mulder
shaken.

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	Until Dallas, we believed the virus
	was simply a controlling organism.
	That mass infection would make us a
	slave race.

		MULDER
	That's why you bombed the building.
	The infected firemen, the boy --

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	Imagine our surprise when they began
	to gestate. My group has been working
	cooperatively with the alien
	colonists, facilitating their
	programs. To give us access to the
	virus. In false hope we might be able
	to secretly find a cure. So that we
	might save ourselves, as the last of
	the species.
		(beat)
	Your father wisely refused to believe
	this, choosing hope over selfishness.
	Hope is the only future he had: his
	children,
		(beat, then self-revealing)
	The only future any of us have.

This draws a look back in the mirror from the Driver.

		MULDER
	But... he sacrificed his own daughter.
	My sister, Samantha.

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	The only true survivors of the viral
	holocaust will be those immune to it:
	those vaccinated against it and
	human/alien hybrids. Your father
	arranged for your sister's abduction.
	He allowed her to be taken to an alien
	hybrid program, so that she would
	survive. As a clone.
		(beat)
	He had different hopes for you. That
	you would uncover the truth about the
	Project. That you would stop it. That
	you would fight the future.

Mulder sits stunned by this. As if somehow his destiny
has been validated, if not pre-ordained. Or maybe just
justified.

		MULDER
	Why are you telling me this?

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	I thought it only fair you should
	know, given how hard you've worked.

		MULDER
	What happened to Kurtzweil?

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	As your father knew, things need to be
	sacrificed to the future.

		MULDER
	Where is he?

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	Dr. Kurtzweil is in the trunk.

Mulder stares at the W.M.M., at his cold-blooded
expression.

		MULDER
	Let me out. Stop the car.

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
		(motioning)
	Driver.

Mulder reaching to this as the limo pulls to a stop.
Trying the door, but the door is locked. When he turns
back to the W.M.M. he has produced a handgun, which is
now pointing at Mulder. Laid casually across a folded
arm. Mulder reacts on seeing it.

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	The men I work with will stop at
	nothing to clear the way for what they
	believe is their stake in the
	inevitable future. I was ordered to
	kill Kurtzweil. A necessary action to
	protect my grandchildren's lives.
		(beat)
	I might just as easily kill you.

Mulder is recoiling as he says this. Then, without
hesitation in one quick move, he SHOOTS the Driver in
the head.

The blood spattering on the front windshield -- and on
Mulder who has barely had a chance to react.

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	Trust no one, Mr. Mulder.

Mulder looks at The Well-Manicured Man, expecting to be
next. And for a moment, we do too. But the W.M.M. simply
opens the door and steps out of the car. Holding the
door open for Mulder who is still frozen by the actions
that went just before.


EXT. DESOLATE D.C. STREET - NIGHT

Mulder steps out of the car, holding the felt envelope.
The Well-Manicured Man stands with a sober, intense
look.

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
		(with quiet force)
	You have precious little time. What
	I've given you the alien colonists
	have no idea exists. You hold in your
	hand the power to end the project.

		MULDER
	How?

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	The vaccine you hold is the only
	defense against the virus. Its
	introduction into an alien environment
	may have the power to destroy the
	delicate plans we've so assiduously
	protected for the last fifty years.
		(beat)
	Or it may not.

		MULDER
	What alien environment?

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	Find Agent Scully. Save her. Only her
	science can save the future.

		MULDER
	What about you?

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	My life is over.
		(beat)
	Go.

Mulder stands speechless for a moment. Until the W.M.M.
points the weapon he's still holding at him.

		WELL-MANICURED MAN
	Go now!

And Mulder does. Moving away from the car, looking back
over his shoulder. As the Well-Manicured Man gets back
into the limousine, closes the door. A moment later...
THE CAR EXPLODES INTO FLAMES, knocking Mulder to the
ground.

ANGLE ON MULDER

The felt envelope has been jarred from his grasp. Its
contents loosed from inside: a piece of paper with
COORDINATES on it and an AMPULE and SYRINGE.

Mulder gets up, looks back. Then he picks up the
envelope and its contents -- and begins to run. Running
as fast as he can go. Until, far down the block, he
disappears.

As the SCREEN DISSOLVES TO WHITENESS -- under which we
hear an ominous low end Dolby THX Big Screen rumble. The
same sound that opened our story.

Then there is movement, as the curvilinear line of a
horizon becomes visible, bi-secting the screen between
the white of the earth and the white of the sky. We
are:


EXT. POLE OF INACCESSIBILITY - ANTARCTICA

Across the expanse of whiteness, a DARK IMAGE appears on
the long flat horizon. Moving toward us. As a LEGEND
appears, to establish.

CLOSER ON A SNOW TRACTOR

Crawling across the harsh frozen land like a domed
insect.


INT. SNOW TRACTOR

Agent Mulder sits behind the controls of the enclosed
cabin, several days growth on his face. Dressed in
thick, bundled outerwear. He maneuvers the vehicle to a
stop. Reaching for a handheld GPS monitor to check his
position. Catching his breath for a moment -- all
movement is exertion in this climate. Mulder stares hard
out the front window, the wipers beating time, but there
is nothing out there but whiteness. He wipes the fog
from a side window with his gloved hand, seeing nothing
but more whiteness. Checking the GPS device again, then
reaching for the door latch.

RESUME WIDE EXTERIOR

Agent Mulder exits the vehicle, hopping down onto the
snowscape crust. Setting out on foot with the GPS device
held before him. In this forbidding environment he might
as well be taking a space walk -- without the security
of a lifeline. Which is the impression we get as his
tiny figure trudges across the ice, increasing the
distance between himself and the snow tractor.

MOVING WITH MULDER

Up a gentle grade, the snow tractor now behind him.
Moving into tight f.g. where he stops, seeing something
now which allows him to pocket the GPS device. Dropping
instinctively to his knees, so as to avoid being seen
by:

MULDER'S POV

In the distance is an ICE STATION. A row of
interconnecting WHITE DOME TENTS, whose design is now
familiar to us. There are what look like snow tractors
and other snow vehicles parked alongside the
structures.

RESUME MULDER

Pulling a compact pair of binoculars from one of his
deep jacket pockets. Training them on:

THE ICE STATION - BINO MATTE

PANNING across the domes and vehicles, where there is no
sign of personnel -- until MULDER PANS off the building,
finding in his field glasses AN APPROACHING SNOW
TRACTOR. Moving across the landscape toward the ice
station. When it pulls to a stop, A MAN exits out of one
of the domes: THE CIGARETTE SMOKING MAN. Moving to the
vehicle and getting in.

The vehicle reverses now, transporting the CSM back
away from the ice station.

CLOSE ON MULDER

Taking the field glasses away from his eyes. The
excitement he feels expressed now in his breathing,
which has become harder and shallower. Mulder rises,
beginning to move the still great distance between
himself and the ice station.

						CUT TO:


WIDE ON SCREEN

Mulder moving slowly across the white horizon toward the
domed tents.


LOW ANGLE ON MULDER'S FEET

Moving cautiously, and with effort on the snowscape
crust. CAMERA RISING up to Mulder's face, determined and
watchful.


FOLLOWING MULDER

The ice station still several hundred yards in the
distance, when MULDER SUDDENLY FALLS OUT OF FRAME,
disappearing into a hole in the snowscape crust that
just moments earlier had been stable footing.

						HARD CUT TO:


INT. SNOW ICE BUBBLE - CONTINUOUS

Where Mulder's body falls through a ceiling of snowscape
crust, landing on his back with a THUD on a hard
surface. It takes him a moment to catch his breath,
somewhat reminiscent of Stevie at the beginning of the
picture. Wincing through the pain. Until he turns over,
regaining his wits, and his bearings.

NEW ANGLE

Mulder has fallen on a hard, narrow metallic structure.
Its dull black color a stark contrast to the white ice
it's encased in. The bubble has been created by air
coming out of vents in the structure, carving out
corresponding patterns in the ceiling; softening the ice
and snow above.

CLOSER ON MULDER

rising to his knees, the AIR from one of these vents
blowing onto his face. Pulling off the hood of his
jacket, looking deep into the vent which is open,
ungrated.

And big enough for a man to crawl into. Which, after
considering the hole he's fallen through high above him,
is really Mulder's only choice.

						CUT TO:


INT. RIBBED CORRIDOR DUCT - CONTINUOUS

Mulder pulls himself forward through the ribbed corridor
duct with his elbows, moving lizard-like into the
constricted darkness.

						CUT TO:


INT. UPPER RIBBED CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS

Above a frozen ice lith, Mulder's head appears,
squeezing his shoulders and body out of a venting. With
effort, Mulder slides out of the small space, using some
architecture above as a handhold. Pulling his legs free
and dropping onto the floor.

MULDER'S POV

It is dark in here, the features of the corridor
ill-defined.

RESUME MULDER - WIDER

Mulder pulls a flashlight from a pocket in his parka,
snicks it on. Its beam reflecting off tall frozen liths
of ice regularly spaced on both sides of the corridor.

NEW ANGLE ON MULDER

Training the light down the corridor, which curves away
in both directions. Then pointing it at something right
in front of his nose: something that gives him a start.

Reaching up with his hand to brush away frost from the
lith. Finding A MAN FROZEN IN ICE. Naked, his eyes
staring into some long-forgotten distance. His hair is
dark, his flat features familiar to us. He is the
prehistoric hunter from the opening scenes of the movie.
His flesh has the opaque, see-through quality that we've
seen before. Inside of which, frozen along with the man,
is an EMBRYONIC CREATURE.

REVERSE ON MULDER

Reacting to this sight, then moving off down the
corridor, his pace quickened.

						CUT TO:


EXT. POLE OF INACCESSIBILITY - ANTARCTICA

LOW ANGLE on the great white expanse. Across which a
snow tractor is moving. PANNING with the vehicle to...

Mulder's snow tractor, where the first tractor stops,
its headlights trained on Mulder's ride.

A beat, then the discovering machine moves out again,
following the tracks that Mulder has left, which brings
it STRAIGHT TOWARD CAMERA. As it passes us, we can see
the DRIVER and the Cigarette Smoking Man sitting in the
cabin. As we:

						CUT BACK TO:


INT. UPPER RIBBED CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS

MULDER comes to the end of the dim ice corridor where
soft light is penetrating through several low, arched
openings.

Mulder has to drop down to his knees to see into the
openings.

ANGLE FROM OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE BALCONY PASSAGEWAY

Where Mulder is seen looking TOWARD CAMERA. The Balcony
passageway is short. Mulder drops to his stomach again,
pulling himself through, toward us. When he reaches the
opposite end, Mulder pokes his head out, looking up in
wonder at:


INT. CENTRAL THEATER - BALCONY - CONTINUOUS - WIDE ON
A STADIUM-SIZED DOME -- (CGI SET EXTENSION)

Imagine a domed sports arena -- this is the scope and
scale of the space that Mulder has penetrated. We see
him as only a small speck on a balcony midway between
floor and ceiling. Pulling himself out of the balcony
passageway, which is like countless other passageways.
Which are actually ventilation ports.

ANGLE OVER MULDER

Pulling himself to his feet. Beholding the space before
him. Looking down to the center floor where a large
central theater gives off a light different from
elsewhere in the dome. An icy, bright glow. Leading down
to the central theater far below are several LARGE
TUBULAR SPOKES. (One of which leads up right next to
Mulder's position.)

ANGLE ON MULDER

Reacting to this. Then something captures his
attention.

MULDER'S POV

There on the floor, far down below, is THE BUBBLE LITTER
Scully was transported in. (NOTE* Scully's clothes are
still in the bubble litter.) Standing out as a rather
human artifact against the otherwise dull gray bulwarks
and architecture surrounding it.


INT. CENTRAL THEATER - BALCONY - CONTINUOUS - WIDE ON
MULDER

looks beside him where the joint that connects two
sections of one of the long tube spokes is designed with
an allowance -- a separation that might allow a man to
slip through the joint into the tube. Which is what
Mulder does here.

						CUT TO:


INT. TUBULAR SPOKE - CONTINUOUS

WIDE ANGLE FROM INSIDE TUBE TERMINUS

Mulder squeezing through into the tube, looking down
past what looks like a chair lift-like track, on which
the chairs are actually empty cryopod mechanisms; the
same structures Mulder saw in the ribbed corridor in
which bodies were encased in ice. Except these cryopods
are empty.

Mulder begins to creep down TOWARD CAMERA, picking his
way around the empty cryopods.

REVERSE ANGLE ON MULDER

Creeping away from us. Heading toward:


INT. LOWER CRYOPOD CORRIDOR

Where Mulder pops out at the lower tube terminus. Which
leads into this bulwarked corridor at the base of the
large stadium structure. Where:

REVERSE ON THIS CORRIDOR

Where Mulder is walking past frozen CRYOPODS hanging on
a track. Each icy pod containing a HUMAN BODY frozen
within. Partially visible behind clear blue ice. But
these are modern men, and women. Their expressions a
confused horror, as if they have been somehow frozen
alive. They are slowly tracking.

Walking along the slowly moving carousel of frozen
humanity. Stopping, turning, almost as if having
sensed:

NEW ANGLE OVER OPPOSITE CRYOPOD

PUSHING IN ON MULDER'S FACE. Recording the horror and
fear he's experiencing, on seeing:

CAMERA RISING UP A FROSTY WALL OF BLUE ICE

Where a woman's body is encased, its naked features
hidden behind the opacity of the newly frozen blue
crust. But whose face is unmistakable as that of Agent
Scully's. Frozen in a similar expression of far-away
horror, her eyes cast slightly heavenward.

MULDER

hurries to get his jacket unzipped. Removing the FELT
ENVELOPE, removing the syringe body, the needle and the
AMPULE.

Hastily putting the syringe together, getting the needle
poked into the soft rubber cap of the ampule. Bleeding
the syringe now, the substance inside squirting out of
the end of the needle onto the floor of the ship.

And the moment it does, the whole floor SIZZLES like
water being dropped onto a hot skillet. Spreading out
from Mulder in every direction. A VIOLENT CHEMICAL
REACTION, as predicted by the man who gave him this
substance. A moment later the entire structure Mulder is
in SHUNTS. Shuddering violently and setting up a low-end
RUMBLE. Causing Mulder to accidentally drop the
syringe.

LOW CLOSE ANGLE

on the floor, where the syringe hits and bounces, but
does not break or leak. Mulder scrambling into frame to
re-collect it. Seeing the floor where the liquid from
the syringe hit -- where it has been ETCHED AWAY by the
substance.


EXT. HULL OF SPACESHIP/ICY BUBBLE - CONTINUOUS

Where Mulder crawled into the duct. Condensed air is
streaming out of all the ducts now. The ice and snow
above beginning to melt from the force and heat of the
blasting all.

						CUT BACK TO:


EXT. ICE STATION - CONTINUOUS

We can hear low end rumble and vibration. TWO DOZEN MEN
are streaming out of the dome tents. Moving to their
carious snow tractors and starting the vehicles.

A small exodus, the tractors pulling out of camp in a
rush. Heading off in various directions.

CAMERA FINDING THE CIGARETTE SMOKING MAN moving to his
tractor, with THE MAN WHO SHOT MULDER. Taking the last
drag of his cigarette before throwing it into the snow.
He stares down at it a moment, as if caught in the grip
of some emotion conflicting with duty.

The Man who shot Mulder inside the tractor now, throwing
open the door for the CSM.

		MAN WHO SHOT MULDER
	C'mon. It's all going to hell.

He climbs up onto the vehicle, gets in and closes the
door. And the vehicle pulls away as we:

						CUT BACK TO:


INT. LOWER RIBBED CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS - AGENT MULDER

Back on his feet, SMASHING now at the crust of brittle
blue-ice that encases Scully. BASHING, SMASHING and then
finally breaking through the hard outer later, its inner
slushy contents spilling out of the puncture that
exposes Scully's face and shoulder. Watery aqua-tinted
liquid drains from her mouth and nose. But Scully is not
conscious, and there is no indication she is even alive,
her face frozen in a blank, almost beatific expression.

OVER MULDER TO SCULLY

As he plunges the needle into Scully's arm at the front
of her shoulder. To which there is an immediate reaction
-- as if given a shot of adrenalin. Her eyes blinking
away the cold moisture.

		MULDER
	Scully --

Scully's lips move goldfish-like as she tries to suck in
air, an almost fearful expression overcoming her like a
swimmer who's been held under too long. But no words are
coming out yet.

		MULDER
	Breathe -- can you breathe?!

Scully is straining to do just that -- when liquid
suddenly SPEWS from Scully's mouth. And she begins to
cough and gag -- taking big gulps of air as her eyes
focus on Mulder as if on a phantom, or a miracle.

Finally faint words ushering forth, whispering breaths
that Mulder cannot discern.

		MULDER
	What?

CLOSE ON MULDER AND SCULLY

As he leans into her, putting his ear up to her mouth.
As the softest sound comes out in Scully's frosty
breath.

		SCULLY
	Cold...

		MULDER
	Hang on. I'm going to get you out of
	here.

As she continues to suck air.

						CUT TO:


EXT. HULL OF SPACESHIP/ICE BUBBLE - CONTINUOUS

The hot air blasting from the ducts is causing the ice
pack above to melt and collapse.

						CUT TO:


EXT. ICE STATION - CONTINUOUS - WIDE

As the ice tractors head away in all directions from the
domed structures. A misty fog now emanating from the
seams of the domes. Heat and condensation.

						CUT BACK TO:


INT. UPPER RIBBED CORRIDORS - CONTINUOUS

Filling with misty condensation, too. The small beams of
light that lighted Mulder's way earlier are now small
shafts piercing the gathering interior cloud.
Illuminating:


THE PREHISTORIC MAN

Frozen in his icy pod, the hard semi-translucent surface
of which is now etched with small streams of water
running to the floor. Everything is melting and in
motion.

Including the CREATURE which is vaguely visible inside
the frozen man. It TURNS slightly inside the body, like
an animal in utero. Its eyes now looking at us,
blinking. As it presses against its own fleshy
container, the body of its human host.

						CUT BACK TO:


INT. LOWER RIBBED CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS

It, too, is filling with misty condensation.

VARIOUS SHOTS

Of the ice encasing the human forms sweating and
melting.

CAMERA ADJUSTING UP TO REVEAL Mulder pulling Scully
along in a fireman's carry. She is dressed now in
Mulder's snow parka and the outer nylon pants he was
wearing. Scully's legs are weak beneath her. Her body
limp, but not lifeless. Mulder laboring to get her up
the INTERIOR of the steep curving cylinder spoke, as the
air fills with mist.


INT. LONG TUBE TERMINUS

NEW ANGLE ON MULDER AND SCULLY - LOOKING DOWN THE TUBE

Moving toward along the now-halted cryopod carrier
hanging from the transport track. Mulder struggling
against his own fading energy, pulling Scully up
toward:


ANGLE ON BALCONY/CATWALK

Mulder pushing Scully up, though she seems to have at
least some limited ability to do this on her own. The
DEEP, LOW RUMBLE we heard in the open frames of the
movie reaching full volume now. The whole environment
vibrating as Mulder boosts Scully up on the catwalk.
Climbing up over the prostrate body. Picking her up from
the floor, pulling her back into the fireman's carry.


INT. LOWER RIBBED CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS

Where the bodies are all beginning to melt.

VARIOUS SHOTS of rivulets of water forming on the
icy liths that encase the bodies. The water from them
seeping onto the circular central floor. The condensing
mist thick and swirling.

CLOSE ON PODS

Where the body it houses seems to move. Though AS CAMERA
PUSHES IN we see that it is the creature inside this
body moving, as if the heat and the defrosting are
bringing the embryos to life.


INT. UPPER RIBBED CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS - ANGLE DOWN
CORRIDOR

Scully's head pokes through now, as she's pushed through
the opening that Mulder used earlier to get into the
vaulted arena. Pushed in fits and starts until she's all
the way through. Mulder now straining and squeezing to
do the same on his own.

The corridor is filled with heavy condensed mist now as
Mulder finally slips out of the low passageway, trying
to get his bearing now as he huddles low over Scully.
Turning his attention to her as she COUGHS HOARSELY --
in some kind of acute spasm of pain -- but alive.

		MULDER
	We've got to keep moving.

		SCULLY
		(weakly)
	Where are we?

		MULDER
	You got me. But I think I know what
	they did with Jimmy Hoffa.

Scully is struggling now as Mulder tries to pull her to
her feet again. In real physical pain.

		SCULLY
	I can't...

Scully can't finish speaking, her voice becoming a
hoarse cough.

		SCULLY
		(barely a whisper)
	I can't go any farther.

		MULDER
	Yes you can. You're going to make it,
	Scully.

Mulder hauling Scully up off the floor AWAY FROM CAMERA
now.


NEW ANGLE ON RIBBED CORRIDOR

CAMERA MOVING THROUGH SPACE in the empty corridor,
moving at a speed equal to Mulder and Scully's as they
round the semi-circular ribbed corridor to meet us.
Coming out of the mist, Scully back in the fireman's
carry. Approaching the place where Mulder slipped down
into the corridor.

Mulder stopping and seeing:

THE BODY IN THE MELTING ICE LITH

As it too moves, the embryonic creature inside it
turning slightly, as if coming awake.

REVERSE ON MULDER

Reacting to this -- and then to Scully who suddenly
starts GASPING FOR BREATH.

Falling now from Mulder's grasps as her legs buckle and
she goes down.

LOW ANGLE ON SCULLY

Her face is going red, straining for air. Her eyes
rolling, seeking relief. As Mulder drops down beside
her.

		MULDER
	Shit --

But she is unable to answer. Mulder hastening to unzip
her/his jacket. To get to her neck and find a pulse.

		MULDER
	Scully --

Mulder cannot find a pulse. Scully straining harder now
as Mulder reaches his fingers into her mouth, clearing
her passageway. Moving on top of her now, and pumping
forcefully on her chest -- trying to get air into her.
One - two - three.

And putting his mouth down to hers (FINALLY!), breathing
his life into her. Pulling away from her to see that he
is unsuccessful at this -- that Scully is continuing to
strain. Pumping her chest again --

		MULDER
	You're not dying on me now -- godammit
	godammit godammit --

As he pumps her chest. Placing his mouth over hers again
and BREATH - BREATH -- BREATH.

Lifting his mouth from hers, feeling for a pulse again,
putting his eat down to her mouth, praying he'll feel
the breeze of a breath. Nothing. While:


ANGLE OVER HIM TO THE CREATURE IN THE ICY POD

As it moves again, MORE VIOLENTLY NOW. As the ice around
it continues to melt and fissure.


RESUME MULDER

His hands going to a pocket on the inside of the jacket
Scully is wearing -- his jacket -- finding again the
syringe that he used on Scully. It is still partially
full of vaccine. Mulder finding this, getting ready to
use it when --

-- Scully's body suddenly comes back to life beneath
him. Labored breaths which turn into a coughing spasm.
Mulder breaths relievedly for a moment, watching Scully
coughing, coming back to life. Her eyes trying to focus
on him, finding him. Seeing his labored relief. The
panic melting away.

		SCULLY
		(weakly, pained whisper)
	Mulder...

She wants to tell him something. He leans down next to
her.

		SCULLY
		(continued weak)
	Had you big time.

Mulder has but a moment to savor this weary victory
though when he REACTS to something, that causes him to
WHIP HIS HEAD AROUND.


MULDER'S POV DOWN RIBBED CORRIDOR

Through the condensed mist he can see CREATURES
BEGINNING TO HATCH, sprouting from the melted
ice-encased bodies they have gestated in. Their THREE
FINGERED HANDS beating at the soft ice. Their powerful
feet kicking at it, too.


RESUME MULDER

Looking the other way down the corridor, seeing --

MORE CREATURES

The slushy material that makes up the inner core
spilling out with them as the creatures KICK out of
their tombs.

RESUME MULDER

Lifting Scully up with all his strength he has left in
him. He's got to get her overhead now, back up the
venting that he slipped down from. She is weak and of
little help.

Mulder gets her propped up on his strength so that he
can use the power of his legs to boost her toward the
opening. Which puts him face to face with THE EMBRYONIC
CREATURE. Its eye looking directly at him, blinking,
before it goes into another FITFUL SPASM inside its host
body.


ANGLE DOWN FROM VENT

Where Scully is boosted up TOWARD CAMERA. Her hands
reaching feebly for something to grab onto. Finding a
handhold.

		MULDER
	Keep breathing, Scully.

She utters something guttural, unintelligible as the
next thrust up from Mulder gets her head and shoulders
into the opening of the vent.


RESUME MULDER

Beneath her, pushing with all his might. His hands under
her shoes now, forcing her up into the vent like a
rolled carpet into the rafters.


RESUME SCULLY

Struggling with her arms and elbows, barely conscious,
but somehow able to manage herself forward.


RESUME MULDER

Pushing Scully up the last little way. Then reaching up
to find a handhold for himself. Grabbing hold and
lifting himself as one of his feet kicks at the ice --
where the creature he was just face to face with BURSTS
from its icy pod. One hand, then the other shooting out
of the ice where they have broken through the host.
Ripping open the front of the body, including the man's
face. Making a slimy, gaping tear in what was formerly
flesh.

Its hands grabbing at Mulder as he thrashes to free
himself from it getting a grip.

As Mulder struggles to pull himself up, fighting off the
creature which he cannot see beneath him.


RESUME CREATURE

As it emerges from the ice, still grasping and TEARING
at Mulder's legs with its claws. But as it BURSTS
COMPLETELY from its place, Mulder is able to pull
himself up and into the vent in one athletic movement.


ANGLE FROM INSIDE THE VENT - SCULLY

lies motionless in the ducting, her body forced forward
by Mulder's in this last surging move.

TIGHT ANGLE ON MULDER

Drawing his legs up quickly inside. Not wasting a moment
shoving Scully's butt forward in front of him.

		MULDER
	Scully -- you breathing?

RESUME SCULLY

Letting out another low, guttural sound -- which STRAINS
out of her with each push forward.

						CUT TO:


EXT. SNOW/ICE BUBBLE - CONTINUOUS

Scully's head and arms push up through the vent where
Mulder first entered. The ice and snow surrounding it,
which had created the bubble structure, have melted and
fallen. So that above Scully's larger hole has opened up
to the surface. The air is full of condensation,
swirling around them.

ANGLE FROM ABOVE - THROUGH THE HOLE IN THE ICE

Where, through the swirling steam we see Mulder push
Scully clear of the vent. Climbing free himself now.
When the surface they are upon SHUDDERS AND QUAKES. As
if it has come unloosed, destabilized.

And with this comes A MIGHTY FORCE OF STEAM from the
vent Mulder and Scully just crawled from. Blasting up
past them with terrible HISSING FORCE. Causing Mulder to
throw Scully away from its superheated energy.

Pulling her up the now climbable embankment created by
the melting snow; pulling her toward the surface of the
ice sheet.

						CUT TO:


EXT. POLE OF INACCESSIBILITY - ANTARCTICA - WIDE

Where a wide radius of steam rises from similar and
regularly spaced holes in the ice sheet, defining a
circular structure beneath. The White Domed Tents of the
ice station are in the center of this, dwarfed by the
enormity of the melting radius.


RESUME MULDER AND SCULLY

Mulder pulling her up the softened and collapsed snow.
The hot steam blasting up with hideous force behind
them. The sound DEAFENING.

NEW ANGLE OVER MULDER AND SCULLY

Pulling her to the surface of the ice sheet where behind
them in the distance the ICE STATION can be seen through
the atmosphere of condensed air. When suddenly the ice
beneath it gives way and the ice station falls away,
caving in to the center of the radius. Which is what
begins to happen to the rest of the ice sheet that
spreads out to where Mulder and Scully are standing.
Causing Mulder to realize:

		MULDER
		(over the din)
	We've got to run!

She is weak, but is able to find her footing. Dragged
behind Mulder as the ice behind them begins to break
away, falling down into an ever-expanding center and
sending up magnificent geysers of steam created by the
superheated surface below.


WIDE ON SCENE

Mulder and Scully running AT CAMERA just ahead of the
collapsing center. The mass of ice around them beginning
to break up. Steam vents erupting instantaneously
everywhere.

						CUT TO:


HIGH ANGLE ON SCENE

A black dome is becoming visible through the giant
circle of steam, in the ever-widening center hole that
Mulder and Scully are running from. Which is chasing
them to the edge of the radius.

						CUT TO:


ANGLE FOLLOWING MULDER AND SCULLY

As Mulder struggles to pull Scully fast enough to
outrace the icy debris that is tumbling away just behind
them. Large chunks falling and bouncing off the
superheated surface below, blown back up like water
being dropped onto a hot skillet.

						CUT TO:


EXTREMELY HIGH AND WIDE

The Agents mere specks fleeing the circle of churning
ice and steam. As it cascades away in three hundred and
sixty degrees. From here the deafening sound if absorbed
into the vastness, tricking us of the reality of the
massive movement of frozen material down below.

						CUT TO:


ANGLE LEADING MULDER AND SCULLY

As Scully loses her footing, falling to the ground.
Mulder dragging her back up to her feet, though,
maintaining forward momentum. While behind them the
thundering force of the superheated melting snow and ice
is moving in on them.

And then suddenly -- MULDER AND SCULLY are gone!

The radial edge of the falling snow continuing only a
few feet beyond where they disappeared. The violent
upheaval of snow abating but slightly. Beat, beat...

THEN THE AGENTS APPEAR AGAIN. Thrust upward by a RISING
BLACK PRECIPICE which catapults them off its leading
edge. As they fall the distance to the sheet of ice
below.

						CUT TO:


LOW ANGLE ON ICE SHEET

Where the Agents hit hard on the ice sheet. The rain of
ice chunks pounding all around them. As the monolithic
wall of the craft continues to rise.

Mulder trying to get to Scully in this hail of debris
which he shields his face from.


WIDE ON LEADING EDGE

Rising faster now out of the earth as it begins to
increasingly shed and break free of the frozen weight it
carried. Until the bottom of the edge of the wall
appears, lifting clear of the ice sheet and the crater
that held it.

						CUT TO:


EXTREME HIGH WIDE ANGLE ON SPACE SHIP

Where now we see the scope and shape of the ship, which
is breathtaking. The domed center sloping off to a
gentle gradient, which is the surface that Mulder and
Scully were running on. The ship is now slowly rotating
as it moves upward in a gently rising hover.

Mulder and Scully are on the ice sheet below.


RESUME MULDER AND SCULLY

Scully face down on the ice. Mulder lifting his head
when THE HEAVY SHADOW of the ship comes over them.
Looking up from this position to see:

THE SPACE SHIP

Moving slowly, laterally just overhead. Thunderously
rumbling. The dark detail of its underside visible in
this angle. As it continues to rise, the shadow passing
over Mulder and Scully.

						CUT TO:


NEW ANGLE OVER MULDER AND SCULLY

Scully is still face down on the ice, as Mulder watches
the ship's shadow cast over Mulder's SnowCat which is
still parked in the distance. Moving up and off.

The ship continues up into the Antarctic sky where it
rises toward the sky where it begins to get WHITEHOT.
Transforming itself into pure energy. It is visible for
several moments during transformation. Then it
disappears completely. As it does the RUMBLE, which
dopplers across the white, barren landscape. Then it is
gone.


MULDER

Watches this then lays his head down on Scully's back.
He is spent, at the brink of complete exhaustion. His
whole body heaving. But now starting to shiver, and to
lose consciousness.

Scully's body is motionless beneath him, for a moment we
might believe that this is the way it might end. Out
here on the ice with Mulder and Scully freezing to
death. A chill wind blows off the Antarctic plain, the
same LOW RUMBLE, the only taint of silence in vastness
of this literal end of the world.

Then Scully coughs -- the same hoarse cough. She's
alive. Struggling to consciousness. Her head lifting
slightly, TURNING TO CAMERA. Her eyes blink open and she
coughs again. Feeling Mulder's weight on top of her,
unaware of his condition or even where she is.

		SCULLY
		(weakly)
	Mulder...

There is no answer. Scully struggling to pull herself
out from under the weight of his body. Rolling over so
that her face is opposite Mulder's now. Seeing that he
has lost consciousness. Finding the strength to roll him
over, so that she can cradle him and warm him.

HIGH WIDE ANGLE ON THIS SCENE

With the Snowcat a short distance away, Mulder and
Scully in each others arms. The way it should end.

FADE TO BLACK

Silence. Longer than we would like. Long enough to make
us nervous, then certain, then angry. Then...we FADE UP
a prelap of the sound of a CRACKLING FIRE.

FADING UP ON:


EXT. ACRES OF CORN - MAGIC HOUR

TRACKING LOW WITH MEN IN FATIGUES, moving along the
perimeter of the corn field as they set fire to the corn
stalks with small handheld butane burners. While other
Men in Fatigues are moving between the rows dousing the
furrows with accelerant.

						DISSOLVE TO:


INT. FBI FIELD OFFICE - DALLAS - NIGHT

The large room filled with the evidence and debris from
the bombing. It is dark. Until A FLASHLIGHT BEAM pricks
the blackness, moving toward us into f.g. Carried by the
man we now recognize as The Man Who Shot Mulder. He
moves with directness, purpose. Finding what he's
looking for amid the cataloged material, he finds on a
work bench. Next to the microscope Scully had used. It
is the BONE FRAGMENTS, held in an evidence container.

He pockets them and exits as quiet and directly as he
entered.

						DISSOLVE TO:


EXT. ACRES OF CORN - WIDE - CGI PLATE

The sky aglow with orange flames as the crops burn to
the ground. We hold on this shot, PRELAPPING the sound
of:

		JANA CASSIDY'S VOICE
	... in light of the report I've got
	before me; in light of the narrative
	I'm now hearing...


INT. FBI OFFICE OF PROFESSIONAL REVIEW - DAY

Jana Cassidy sits at the head of the desk, just as when
we first met her.

She is flanked by the other members of the review board,
including A.D. Skinner who sits at the end of the
table.

Cassidy flips through a file she's referred to before
she continues. Looking up with consternation as she
resumes.

		CASSIDY
	... my official report is incomplete
	pending these new facts I'm being
	asked to reconcile. Agent Scully...

AGENT SCULLY

Sitting where she last sat, at the small table. The seat
next to her conspicuously empty. Her face bears the
signs of slight frostbite, somewhat healed. Her
expression is even, her attitude composed, but her eyes
are filled of dark, restrained defiance.

		CASSIDY
	...while there is direct evidence now
	that a federal agent may have been
	involved in the bombing... the other
	events you've laid down here seem too
	incredible on their own, and quite
	frankly implausible in their
	connection.

PANNING THE OTHER BOARD MEMBERS - curious, bemused like
Cassidy. Skinner shifts uncomfortably.

		SCULLY
	What is it you find incredible?

		CASSIDY
	Well...where would you like me to
	start? Antarctica is a long way from
	Dallas, Agent Scully. I can't very
	well submit a report to the Attorney
	General that alleges the links you've
	made here. Bees and corn crops do not
	quite fall under the rubric of
	domestic terrorism.

		SCULLY
	No, they don't.

		CASSIDY
	Most of what I find in here is lacking
	a coherent picture of an organization
	with an attributable motive. I realize
	you're very lucky to be alive Agent
	Scully. The ordeal you've endured has
	clearly affected you -- though the
	holes in your account leave this panel
	with little choice but to delete these
	references from our final report to
	the Justice Department. Until which
	time hard evidence becomes available
	that would give us cause to pursue
	such an investigation.

Scully has her hand in her coat pocket now. Moving
around the table and approaching Cassidy. Removing
something which she puts on the desk in front of her. A
small vial.

		SCULLY
	I don't believe the FBI currently has
	an investigation unit qualified to
	pursue the evidence in hand.

Cassidy picks up the vial, studying the contents of this
vial: the dead bee that stung Scully. Studying it as
Scully turns and moves to the door, without permission,
no further adieu.

ANGLE TO INCLUDE A.D. SKINNER

Watching Scully exit.

		CASSIDY (O.S.)
	Mr. Skinner....?

CAMERA PIVOTING TO INCLUDE CASSIDY. Looking at him.

		     CASSIDY
	Please ask Agent Scully to come back
	to this hearing. We're not quite
	finished.

As Skinner rises, unsure of the intent behind this
directive, we:

						DISSOLVE TO:


EXT. WASHINGTON D.C. - DAY

We are JUST ABOVE THE TREETOPS. The Capitol Dome is in
the far distance. CAMERA CRANING DOWN to find Mulder
sitting by himself on a park bench. We are WIDE. There
is no one else around.

Until the Cigarette Smoking Man appears. Walking through
the otherwise deserted park. Joining Mulder on the park
bench.

CLOSER ON MULDER, THE CIGARETTE SMOKING MAN

They do not speak for several moments. A quite tension
as the CSM lights up a trademark smoke. Inhaling,
exhaling. Then:

		CIGARETTE SMOKING MAN
	Congratulations on your survival. Your
	life is worthless now, I hope you know
	that.

		MULDER
	And yours?

		CIGARETTE SMOKING MAN
		(derisive)
	You think you've stopped it. What I've
	worked for fifty years to create. You
	haven't stopped it. You can't stop
	it.
		(takes a drag)
	You're just one man.

		MULDER
	You're wrong.

WIDE ANGLE

Mulder rises from the bench heading TOWARD CAMERA. The
CSM rising, watching him.

As Mulder continues toward us. ADJUST TO REVEAL Agent
Scully in the f.g. Mulder moving to her as the CSM
watches from the distance. Their eyes meet, an unspoken
restored bond exchanged in this moment. Before Mulder
takes Scully by the arm, leads her off. Leaving the CSM
standing alone in the distance. As we:

						DISSOLVE TO:


EXT. CORN FIELDS/WHITE DOMES - TUNISIA - DAY

TRACKING LOW WITH A PAIR OF FEET

The wearer of them sporting peasant sandals. We realize
shortly that while the feet are moving across sandy
ground, that the foliage in the near b.g. is corn. And
that the person we are tracking with is passing row
after row of stalks.

CAMERA RISING AS IT TRACKS

REVEALING A TUNISIAN MAN dressed in peasant clothes. He
is carrying a piece of paper. Moving with hasty purpose.
Stopping at the end of one of the long rows of corn
where CONRAD STRUGHOLD is coming toward him. Making his
way between rows of stalks. The Peasant waits patiently
as Strughold approaches, handing him the piece of
paper.

Strughold reads it, his otherwise steely countenance
reflecting a disturbance seen only in the slight
narrowing of his eyes.

He looks up at the Peasant and says something to him in
Tunisian Arabic. Said as command, which causes the
Peasant to nod dutifully and move off as he came.

Strughold stands for a moment, then crumples the paper
slightly and drops it. Moving off down the same corn row
in which he approached.

CAMERA DROPPING TO THE GROUND where we find the paper on
which we see a flat section that is not so crumpled we
cannot read the words: X-FILES RE-OPENED. STOP. PLEASE
ADVISE. STOP.

CAMERA RISING NOW. Rising up past the stalks. Where we
can still see Strughold walking. RISING UP AND UP to
reveal ACRES AND ACRES OF CORN. Many times more than we
had seen previously. Stretched out across the Tunisian
Desert, ending only where THREE WHITE DOMES stand on the
distant horizon.

Off this image we FADE OUT.

		 THE END