The X-Files (1993–…): Season 1, Episode 24 - The Erlenmeyer Flask - full transcript

Deep Throat tips Mulder to a critically important case involving a missing fugitive and the cloning of extraterrestrial viruses.

I got your request
for assistance, 50.

What is your present location?

Unit 50, go ahead.

Suspect now westbound.

Has entered the gate
of the shipworks

off April Street.

Unit 50 still in pursuit. Over.

All right, Unit 50, I copy.

Keep me advised...

This is the police!

Pull your vehicle over and stop!



Stop your vehicle!

Put your hands on
the roof and freeze!

Hold it!

Get on the ground!

Do it!

You hear me?!

Face down! Do it!

Stay down!

Unit 106, go ahead.

Stop!

Armed officer!

I hit him.

I know I hit him.

Where the hell
did he go?



He'd be bleeding bad.

The Lipari Island group
off the coast of Italy.

But-but theirs is a very
light lava, sir.

That's exactly
what stumped me.

Because inside,
there must be something

the weight of the heaviest
rock in existence.

But, Professor, that-that would
be Icelandic peridotite.

Precisely.

There's a piece chipped off.

By me.

Well, what's
the rock inside?

Icelandic peridotite,
naturally.

When I saw this,
I stopped chipping.

But how could
a rock from Iceland...

Mulder.

Are you watching channel eight?

...across the world?

What's your conclusion?

Science does not
jump to conclusions.

Science is not
a guessing game.

...where a 60-mile
high-speed car chase

ended early this evening--

the suspect alluding capture
by leaping into the harbor,

but not before reportedly

injuring several
Ardis police officers.

We have Captain Roy Lacerio
standing by.

Captain, how was the
man able to escape

and how seriously injured
were the officers involved?

Those details
are still unclear.

I'll be talking
with several of the...

We need you, Captain.

I'm sorry,
you'll have to excuse me.

Captain Roy Lacerio
being pulled away here

during an intense manhunt.

No additional information
has been released.

...Lacerio being
pulled away here

during an intense...

Mulder, you've been through
this tape 100 times.

What exactly are you
hoping to find?

I don't know.

And all he told you

was to watch
channel eight?

Yeah, that's all he said.

Do we even know why the
suspect was being chased?

As far as I can tell,

he wouldn't pull over
for a moving violation.

Well, that ought
to put him

on the ten
most wanted list.

There's got to be
something here.

Some detail-- something
we're not seeing.

How do you know he's not just
yanking your chain,

this Deep Throat character?

Why would he do that?

Well, he has lied to you,
by his own admission.

I don't think he'd call
if there wasn't something here--

something I'm supposed to see,

something he
wants me to see.

Then what are you missing?

I don't know if you're aware,
but there were

three different law enforcement
agencies out here last night.

Hunting a man
on a moving violation?

I know it's not
Silence of the Lambs,

but it's what we do.

This man in the photograph
doesn't appear to be

wearing a badge or a uniform.

- He's not one of yours?
- No, sir.

But, like I said,
it was a zoo out here.

You say the suspect was shot.

Any explanation why the body
hasn't been recovered?

As you can see, we got
our search ongoing.

Divers down
there in shifts.

We're quite certain
he will be found.

It's been almost 18 hours,
Captain.

Where could the body be?

There are cables and debris
all over the bottom.

It's a painstaking business.

Can I ask what the FBI's
interest in this case would be?

The suspect matches

the description
of a federal fugitive.

Really? How's that?

No description of the suspect
has been released.

If you don't mind,
can we take a look

at the car, please?

It's been taken to impound.

The report says that the car
was registered

to a rental agency
in Gaithersburg.

They had no idea
the car was even missing.

You know, Mulder, I think that
we're wasting our time here.

I don't know what the hell
I'm supposed to find.

You can't make out
the license plate in this photo.

Hey, Scully, look at this.

What?

Look at the car
in the photo.

Look at the windshield.

It's not the same car.

It's called a caduceus.

It's sort of the adopted symbol

of the medical profession.

So probably only a doctor
would have that on his car.

Mm-hmm.

I had the picture enhanced,
and the plate is different.

"3 A-Y-F."

Fast-forward.

That's all you can make out;
the rest is obscured.

Hey, Danny, it's Mulder.

I need you to run
a Maryland plate for me.

All I got
is a partial.

Registered to a doctor--
or used to be.

Yeah, I'll hold.

They switched cars on us,
Scully, and they lied about it.

Why would they do that?

Maybe the real owner of the car
has got something to hide.

Dr. Berube?

Yes?

We're with the FBI.

Can we have a minute
of your time?

- I'm actually very busy.
- I'm sorry.

Are you aware
that a car registered to you

was involved
in a high-speed chase

in Ardis yesterday?

Excuse me?

A silver Ciera, Doctor.

Do you own a silver Ciera?

Yes.

It was used for what?

A crime. Were you aware
it was even missing?

Not until you
mentioned it.

I have a housekeeper,
and she often uses the car.

It's a second car...

Please!

They should
not be excited.

Nothing should be touched.

I'm sorry,
I thought they were friendly.

They're part of an experiment.

What kind of experiment?

Am I under some kind
of suspicion?

No.

Then I think I've answered

all your questions.

Now if you'll excuse me,
I have more work than time.

Thank you.

Did he bite you?

No, but he tried to.

Well, it's almost 5:00.

We should check with
the doctor's housekeeper

about the car while
we're out here.

No.

No? What do you mean, no?

I mean, this has reached
the point of absurdity, Mulder.

We're out here on half a hunch,
off of a cryptic phone call,

chasing down a clue that's based
on nothing but speculation.

Well, that's all we've got.

That's all he's given us.

Who is this
Deep Throat character?

I mean, we don't know
anything about him--

what his name is,
what he does.

He's in a delicate position.

He has access to information,

and indiscretion
could expose him.

You don't know that this isn't
just a game with him.

He's toying with you.

Rationing out the facts.

You think he does it
because he gets off on it?

No. I think he does it
because you do.

Calling it a night,

Mr. Mulder?

My mother usually likes me home

before the street lights
come on.

I'm surprised at you.

Why?

Your level of commitment
seems to have diminished.

My level of commitment?

I should've expected that you'd
be working through the night

trying to put
the pieces together.

Well, maybe if you'd given me
something more to work with.

Under the circumstances,
I've given you all I can.

A news report?

And where has it led you?

Not very far.

It may be further
than you realize.

You know, from day one, this
has always been on your terms.

I've gone along,
been the dutiful son.

But maybe this time we can just
cut out the Obi-Wan Kenobi crap

and you can save
me the trouble.

I fear you've become
too dependant on me.

Let me tell you something.

I've got plenty to do without
chasing down your vague leads

or trying to decode
your circular logic.

Maybe it's you who's become
too dependant on me--

on my willingness
to play your games.

Mr. Mulder?

What?

Don't give up on this one.

Trust me.

You've never been closer.

Closer to what?

Hello?

Hello?

Who's there?

Working late tonight, Doctor?

What do you want here?

He's alive, isn't he?

Has he contacted you?

Please.

You're going to have to leave.

If you're from the FBI,

I've already answered
all your questions!

What questions?

I had nothing to say to them.

I have nothing to say to you.

Where's Dr. Secare?

I don't know
what you're talking about.

Please.

My work is very important.

I must get on with my work.

I'm afraid...

your work is done.

Anybody see anything?

No.

Nothing.

That's it,
I'm calling it off.

- Let's get those guys out of the water.
- Yes, sir.

Shore to RC-1,

bring it in.

Visibility...

There's nothing down there--
three days.

Forget it.

The county sheriff's office

is conducting
the investigation.

On the preliminary
reports,

it's being listed
as a suicide.

Suicide?

Yeah, they think that,
for whatever reason,

he trashed his lab
and then killed himself.

How?

Well, it says he tied one end
of a roll of medical gauze

around his neck

and the other end
to this gas outlet.

Then he jumped.

I don't suppose
there were any witnesses.

Nope.

The man we met
yesterday

kept this place like he was

waiting for the people from
Good Housekeeping to show up.

I would never have pegged him
as someone to do this.

Or a Greg Louganis
out the window.

I know. That gauze is troubling.

It's a bit too calculated, huh?

Almost as if someone wanted
to make doubly sure

he'd break his neck
before he hit the ground.

What else do we know
about Dr. Berube?

Um...

"Terrence Allen Berube.

Harvard Med, 1974."

He was working
on the Human Genome Project.

Are you familiar
with that?

Yeah. The mapping
of all human genes.

Maybe the most ambitious
scientific endeavor

in the history
of mankind.

Right, but there's nothing
extraordinary about that.

I mean, there were
thousands of scientists

working on that project.

Yeah, but only one who owned
a silver Ciera and went

bungee jumping with medical
gauze wrapped around his neck.

I'm sorry, Mulder,
I'm seeing the pieces,

but I'm not seeing
the connection.

Well, maybe that's just it.

Maybe we're not
seeing it because...

it can't be seen,
not in any obvious way.

What do you think this is?

I don't know.

Can you find out for me?

What are you gonna do?

I'll see what else
I can find out

about Dr. Terrence Allen Berube.

Okay, Mulder,
but I'm warning you.

If this is monkey pee,
you're on your own.

Yeah.

My first impression is it's
some kind of bacteria specimen.

Can I ask you
where you got it?

It was recovered
at a crime scene.

We've come a long way

from Colonel Mustard in the den
with a rope, haven't we?

I'm expecting it'll turn
out to be nothing.

No.

No, you've definitely
got something here.

Wow. Look at this.

What are they?

Well, they're the size
of bacteria,

but no bacteria
I've ever seen.

How do you mean?

Well, most bacteria are
symmetrical and smooth.

These are...
I don't know...

strange.

You have no way
of identifying them?

Well, we could do
a freeze fracture.

Take a thin slice off

and see what's going on
inside these babies.

If you don't mind
waiting.

No. No, I'll wait.

Hi, Danny.
Yeah, it's Mulder again.

Look, I got a number this time.

555-2804, area code 301.

I need an address,
a name if you can get it for me.

All right. I'm at, uh...

same prefix, 1517.

All right. Thanks, Danny.

That was fast.

Terry, is that you?

Yeah.

Who's this?

They shot me, Terry.

Oh, God.

I've been in the water
for three days.

I'm hurt.

Where are you now?

I'm at a pay phone.

I'm gonna pick you up.
Where are you?

Terry...

Hello? Hello?

You okay?

Are you there?

Hello?

Hello. This man's
been hurt here.

I think he needs
medical attention.

What's the street?
What's the street?

I'm going to call
an ambulance.

Sir?

Don't hang up.

I got it.

Hi, Danny.

Let me get the address.

- All right, you ready?
- Let me just...

Mulder?

I'm just writing it down now.
Go ahead.

All right, the number belongs to
a company called Zeus Storage.

1616 Pandora Street.

Yeah. 1616 Pandora Street.

That's it.

All right, thanks.

Okay, we've got
a white male, 40, weak vitals,

with signs of severe
dyspnea and hypotension.

He also what appears
to be a green fluid

coming from a wound in
his right upper quadrant.

I don't know
what the hell that is.

Is he responding to ventilation?

No, and we're noticing
those rope veins at the neck

and a hypersonant
sounding chest.

He's going real blue
on us now.

Okay, you've got
a tension pneumothorax.

I want you to perform
a thoracotomy

and release the pressure
in his chest.

Okay, I'm gonna
need a cannula.

We're gonna do
a needle decompression.

Mobile van, what's going on?

Mobile men, can you hear me?

Mobile men, answer me!

Mobile men,
what is the problem?!

Mobile men, come in please!

Mulder.

It's me.

He's alive, Scully.

Who?

The fugitive,
the driver of the silver Ciera.

He called the doctor's house
while I was there.

Where is he now?

I don't know. Where are you?

I'm at the Georgetown
Microbiology Department.

I've got something for you.

Is it smaller
than a silver Ciera?

Much.

And it's not silver.
It's green.

What is it?

Some kind of bacteria,
each containing virus.

And it looks as if Berube
may have been cloning them.

They also contain something
that looks like chloroplasts--

plant cells.

But they've never seen
anything like it here.

Any idea what he could've
been doing with them?

Well, the only reason why you'd
clone a virus inside a bacteria

is in order to inject it
into something living.

It's called gene therapy,

and it's still
highly experimental.

Well, maybe that's what he was
doing with those monkeys.

Can they tell you
anything else there?

Yeah, they're just about to run
some primary cell cultures

and a DNA sequence.

Now, I may be understating
the strangeness of this, Mulder.

Bacteria like this--

it may have existed,
but not for millions of years.

Not since before our ancestors
first crawled out of the sea.

Are you there, Mulder?

Mulder?

Yeah.

Scully, keep up the good work.

Agent Scully.

Oh, Dr. Carpenter,
I fell asleep.

I've done some work.

These are
the DNA sequences

from the bacteria sample
you brought in.

You seem to know something
about molecular biology.

You know what
you're looking at?

Yeah, I think
those are genes.

Right.
They're called base pairs.

Each pair is made up of
something called a nucleotide.

Only four nucleotides
exist in DNA-- four.

And through
some miracle of design

that we have yet
to fathom,

every living thing
is created

out of these four
basic building blocks.

What you're looking at
is a sequence of genes

from the bacteria sample.

Normally, we'd find no gaps
in the sequence.

But with these bacteria,
we do.

Why is that?

I don't know why.

But I tell you,
under any other circumstances,

my first call would have been
to the government.

What exactly did you find?

A fifth and sixth
DNA nucleotide--

a new base pair.

Agent Scully,
what you are looking at--

it exists nowhere in nature.

It would have to be
by definition...

extraterrestrial.

Hello.

Mulder? Where on God's earth
have you been?

I've been trying
to call you all night.

I had a situation.

I left my phone in the car.

Mulder...

that bacteria I had analyzed--

they're saying
that it doesn't exist in nature.

They're saying that
it could be extraterrestrial.

Scully...

What?

How soon can you be here?

There's something
I got to show you.

Wait a second.

Mulder...

I just want to say
that I was wrong.

That's all right.
Don't worry about it.

No, um...

if you'd have listened to me,
we wouldn't be here right now.

I should know by now
to trust your instincts.

Why? Nobody else does.

You know, I've always

held science as sacred.

I've always put my trust
in the accepted facts.

And what I saw last night...

for the first time in my life,
I don't know what to believe.

Whatever it is
you do believe, Scully,

when you walk into that room...

nothing sacred will hold.

There were tanks here...

and five bodies
suspended in solution.

There were computers
monitoring them.

They were alive, Scully,
underwater.

What happened to them?

God only knows.

Most likely
they've been destroyed.

Miss Scully.

I believe we met
ever so briefly.

Destroyed by whom?

I don't know.

I don't believe you.

There are limits
to my knowledge,

Mr. Mulder.

Inside the intelligence
community,

there are so-called
black organizations--

groups within groups
conducting covert activities

unknown at the highest
levels of power.

There were three men
last night; I was chased.

If you were chased,
you would have been killed.

Those men are trained
for that sort of business,

and they are
trained well.

Were those the same men
who killed Dr. Berube?

Presumably.

Why?

Why?

Good Lord.

You've worked so hard

and you still
don't see it.

Dr. Berube was conducting
human experiments

with extraterrestrial viruses.

Yes, but that's been going on
for years.

We've had the tissue since 1947,

but not
the technology.

Roswell?

Roswell was a smoke screen.

We've had a half a dozen
better salvage operations.

Dr. Berube was killed

because his work
was too successful.

You're standing
in the room

where the first
DNA transplant took,

the first human-alien
hybrid was created.

Six volunteer patients,
all terminally ill.

One, Dr. William Secare,

an old friend of Dr. Berube's
was dying of melanoma cancer.

And as a result of
the E.T. gene therapy,

all six patients
treated in this room

began to recover
from their illnesses.

Dr. Secare
was able to live

a more or less
normal life--

as normal as possible

for a man who has developed
inhuman strength

and the ability
to breathe underwater.

That's how he was able
to elude capture.

What was he running from?

Dr. Secare was never
supposed to have survived.

Dr. Berube's research was

part of a top secret
government project

being run out of Los Alamos.

All they were interested in
was the technology, the science.

To have a hybrid

living out in the real world--
too great a liability.

What if he should need

emergency
medical procedure?

The man has
a blood chemistry

that is alien

and very likely toxic.

That story should hit the press.

It was just easier
to kill Dr. Secare.

Of course.

Only one problem:
he was Dr. Berube's old friend.

He was able
to warn him.

There's just one thing
I don't understand:

why you gave us so little
to go on in the beginning.

And why are you
giving us so much now?

I didn't anticipate
the speed and precision

of their clean-up operation.

They're systematically
destroying all the evidence--

Dr. Berube, the bodies here.

Without the evidence,

you two have no case.

Who would believe the story
I just told you?

You must put together
everything that you have found,

and you must find Dr. Secare
before they do.

I'll have no further contact
with you on this matter.

I'm going to get back
to Georgetown

and get all the lab work.

I'm going to find
Dr. Secare.

Where?

I don't know.

I'm going to trust my instincts.

Excuse me, I'm looking
for Dr. Ann Carpenter.

I've been unable
to reach her by phone,

and she's not in her office.

She was in
a terrible car accident--

her whole family.

And Dr. Carpenter
is, um, dead.

Dr. Secare?

Wait!

I'll protect you.

Your cellular phone's
been ringing off the hook.

I'm a popular guy.

Why don't you answer it for me?

Oh, I don't like
talking on the phone.

I have this thing
about unsecured lines.

When you feel like talking,
let me know, though.

He's not home.

Where is he?

He's been gone
all night.

I wish I knew.

Something's
happened to him.

They won't kill him.

How do you know that?

He's become too high-profile,

and you've got evidence
that could expose them.

I don't have any evidence;
they took the evidence,

and they may have killed
in order to get it.

Listen to me.

- Evidence still exists.
- Where?

It might be difficult to obtain,

but with
your medical background,

I might be able
to get you inside.

Inside where?

High containment facility,

Fort Marlene, Maryland.

What do they have there?

The wellspring, Miss Scully--

the original tissue.

If they've got
Agent Mulder,

they might be willing
to make a deal.

It could save his life.

Clear.

Name?

Dana Scully.

Company or institution?

Federal government.

Project password?

Project password?

Purity control.

Log in, please.

You're late.

Do you have it?

Yes.

Good.

They're willing
to make the exchange.

You spoke to them?

Yes.

I'll take the parcel.

No, sir.

I'll make the exchange.

I made the deal, Scully.

They're expecting me.

I don't trust you.

You've got no one else to trust.

I don't know who you are.

I know nothing about you.

Oh, for God's sake,

don't screw this up!

Let me tell you something
you should know.

In 1987, a group of children
from a Southern state

were given
what their parents thought

was a routine inoculation.

What they were injected with

was a clone DNA from the
contents of that package

you're holding
as a test.

That's the kind of people
you're dealing with.

So, why give it back to them?

To save Mulder's life.

At the risk
of so many other lives?

It's the tip of the iceberg.

You and Mulder are the only ones
who can bring it to light.

Now, give me the parcel.

Give me the parcel, Scully.

No!

Mulder.

Mulder.

Trust...

Trust...

no one.

Hello.

Hey, Scully, it's me.

Where are you?

They're shutting us down,
Scully.

What?

They called me in tonight,

and they said they're going to
reassign us to other sections.

Who told you that?

Skinner.

He said word came down
from the top

of the executive branch.

Mulder...

It's over, Scully.

Well, you have to lodge
a protest. They can't...

Yes, they can.

What are you going to do?

I'm...

...not going to give up.

I can't give up.

Not as long as
the truth is out there.