Original Air Date: 09/29/95 Written by Chris Carter Directed by Rob Bowman
AS A GOVERNMENT HIT SQUAD CLOSES IN ON THE AGENTS, MULDER SEARCHES FOR CLUES ABOUT HIS FATHER’S INVOLVEMENT IN A SECRET PROJECT.
As the standoff between Scully and Skinner (from the previous episode) continues… Mulder bursts through the front door of his apartment and orders Skinner to drop his weapon. Skinner complies, then produces the computer disk containing the Defense Department’s top secret files on extraterrestrial life. He realizes the disk is the only leverage the trio has in bringing Mr. Mulder’s killers to justice, and insists on keeping it himself. Mulder and Scully examine an old group photograph of Mr. Mulder with his government colleagues. With the Lone Gunmen’s help, Mulder and Scully identify a man named Victor Klemper from the group. Klemper is a Nazi War criminal and a participant in Operation Paper Clip, a U.S. government operation that provided safe haven for war criminals in exchange for their scientific knowledge. Before the agents interview Klemper, Scully learns that her sister Melissa is in critical condition at a nearby hospital. But fearing an ambush by assassins, Scully joins Mulder in his quest to locate Klemper.
The agents elicit little information from the elderly Klemper, except that the group photo was taken at the Strughold Mining Company in West Virginia, and his mention of Napier’s Constant, the base of all natural logarithms.
When the agents visit the ramshackle mine, they discover heavy metal doors built into the rocky walls of the mountainside. The agents gain access by entering Napier’s Constant into an electronic keypad. Inside, they find a seemingly endless row of
filing cabinets containing files and tissue samples on hundreds of U.S. citizens. Their search is interrupted when a UFO drops from the sky. Simultaneously, a government hit squad surrounds the building. Mulder comes under fire and runs for cover. He and Scully find an escape route and make their way to safety.
Skinner pays a visit to the hospital where Melissa is being monitored. There he meets Mrs. Scully, and Albert Hosteen, who prays for Melissa’s recovery. Skinner is alerted to a shadowy figure monitoring the room. In a darkened stairwell, he is attacked by Krycek and his accomplice. They overpower Skinner and steal the computer disk.
Mulder and Scully make a second trip to question Klemper, but when they arrive, they are informed by the Well−Manicured Man (WMM) that Klemper is dead. Mulder recognizes him as one of the people in his father’s group photograph. WMM recounts how, in 1947, a spacecraft was reportedly recovered in New Mexico. This event coincided with the formation of Operation Paper Clip. Mulder suspects that Klemper was experimenting with the creation of a super race – a hybridization of humans and aliens. The files stored in the mountain, Mulder realizes, are vaccination records on hundreds of millions of Americans who received smallpox vaccinations – a DNA database of virtually everyone born since the 1950s.
Skinner threatens to expose the Cigarette− Smoking Man if any harm should befall Mulder or Scully. He reveals that Albert Hosteen – who read the computer disks – spread the contents amongst his Navajo people in the ancient oral tradition, chapter and verse, file for file.
Later, Mulder visits Scully at the hospital, and learns that Melissa passed away during surgery.
D.P.O.
Production Code: #3X03 Original Air Date: 10/06/95 Written by Howard Gordon Directed by Kim Manners
THE AGENTS INVESTIGATE THE DEATHS OF SEVERAL YOUNG PEOPLE WHO WERE APPARENTLY STRUCK BY LIGHTNING IN THE SAME SMALL TOWN.
Darin Oswald, a nineteen−year−old resident of Connerville, Oklahoma, argues with twenty−one− year−old Jack Hammond over a video arcade game. The altercation escalates, and Jack, by far the bigger of the two, knocks Darin to the floor. Moments later, the electricity within the arcade seemingly falls under Darin’s power. Frightened, Jack runs to his automobile and attempts to drive away. But an intense electrical field engulfs the car, killing Jack.
As Mulder and Scully examine Jack’s body, the local coroner describes how five other young people were killed in the same manner. Sheriff Jack
Teller corrects the coroner’s statement, noting four people died but one survived. Scully believes it is statistically improbably for so many people in such a small area to have been struck by lightning – especially when only 60 people die of being struck by lightning each year in the United States.
Nonetheless, Mulder and Scully visit the video arcade. Darin’s friend, Zero, who works at the arcade and witnessed the killing, acts suspiciously and provides little help. But Mulder notices the initials “D.P.O.” logged on a video game’s list of top scorers. The initials match those of Darin Peter Oswald – the one victim who survived being stuck by lightning.
While working at a local garage, Darin approaches Sharon Kiveat, a former high school teacher. Darin harbors a crush on the attractive woman, but he is unable to act upon his fantasies because Sharon is married to his boss, Frank. Later, the agents pay a visit to the garage and interview Darin about Jack’s death. Darin claims he was so wrapped up in his game he did not notice what had happened. During the interview, Mulder’s cell phone suddenly and inexplicably melts.
The next day, the agents examine a field where several cows were killed by lightning. They discover a fulgarite, an area where the lightning fused sandy soil into glass. Imbedded within the fulgarite is a shoe print. Scully makes a cast of the print and discovers it came from a size eight and a half military boot. She also finds a small quantity of antifreeze within the glass, which Mulder deduces came from the garage. The agents visit Darin’s home, and discover that his shoe size is eight and a half. They also find Sharon Kiveat’s photograph.
Using his powers, Darin alters a traffic light signal and causes an automobile accident. Frank drives his tow truck to the scene to remove the vehicles. Darin then causes Frank to collapse. Paramedics rush to his aid, but find their defibrillator inoperative. Darin rushes to Frank’s side and revives him.
Scully examines Darin’s medical history and discovers he suffers from a severe chemical imbalance. Mulder theorizes how the electrolyte imbalance might enable Darin to generate electricity levels much higher than normal. The agents take Darin into custody, but Sheriff Teller releases him do to the improbable nature of the charges. Darin travels to the video arcade. There, a terrified Zero insists he did not squeal on his friend. Zero tries to escape, but Darin kills him by generating a lightning bolt.
Darin proceeds to the hospital and enters Frank’s room looking for Sharon. Instead, he finds Scully, her gun drawn. Sharon ends the showdown by agreeing to follow Darin outside. Sharon suddenly breaks free and runs to safety. When Teller and Mulder surround the teenager, he summons a lightning bolt. The energy kills Teller and knocks Darin to the
ground, unconscious. He is arrested and placed in a psychiatric hospital.