The X-Files (1993–…): Season 2, Episode 18 - Fearful Symmetry - full transcript

They don't pay you to dance,
Roberto!

Okay, okay.

God is watching.

Yeah, okay.

Santa Maria san locos.

What the hell is that?

- Hey.
- Get out!

Get out of the way!

Get over there!

Ray's hurt bad, man!

Hurry up!



Get an ambulance!

This is Wesley Brewer
out on Route 7.

Looks like about an 8:00 E.T.A.
on that trailer pickup.

This fog's going
to slow me down.

10-4, Wesley.

See you when you get here.

Mother of God!

She was just lying there
when they found her, Officer.

Stay back.

Thank you.

So you saw nothing when the
window broke? No one outside?

No. Nothing.

We heard a noise
like thunder.

Then glass everywhere.



Okay. Thank you.

What did the janitors say?

They claim
they didn't see anything.

That's not surprising;
the security monitors

don't have a recording
of anything, either.

Just a giant
implosion of glass,

like some kind
of giant shock wave.

What the janitors describe
sounds more like a sonic boom.

No sonic boom
did this.

Construction worker
who was killed

had his spine crushed
like a string of seashells,

a circular abrasion
on his torso

in roughly the shape
of an elephant's foot.

Other workers at the site said
they felt the ground shake

followed by a faint whiff
of animal odor in the wind.

Mulder, if you're
still suggesting

that the elephant did this,
it just defies logic.

Somebody would have seen it.

Well, if somebody would have
seen it, Scully,

we wouldn't be here.

Another vehicle

would have left evidence
of a collision--

distress to the metal,
or paint.

I can see signs
of neither of those things.

I'd be willing to admit
the possibility of a tornado,

but it's not really
tornado season.

I'd even be willing to
entertain the notion

of a black hole passing over
the area or some cosmic anomaly,

but it's not really black
hole season, either.

If I was a betting man,
I'd say that it was, uh...

An invisible elephant?

I saw David Copperfield

make the Statue of Liberty
disappear once.

Agent Mulder?

- Yeah.
- Ed Meecham, Fairfield Zoo.

Sorry for the holdup.

We had trouble transporting
Ganesha's body this morning.

- This is Agent Scully.
- Hi.

Have they determined
what he died of?

She. Ganesha was
a 12-year-old Indian female.

Near as I can figure,
she ran herself into exhaustion.

How did she escape?

Well, now, there's a puzzle.

When I got the call
this morning,

I expected to find
her cage open or something,

but it was locked tight,
just like I left it.

Any idea how she could have
escaped a locked cage?

No, sir.

No signs of tampering, either.

I've read about something
called the elephant rebellion

in zoos across the country--

a high incidence of elephants
turning on their keepers,

destroying their pens.

Was Ganesha ever
a problem like that?

Elephants are very big,
very willful animals.

So you're saying
there were problems?

Well, the person
you're going to want

to talk to about that
is Willa Ambrose.

- Ambrose?
- She's a naturalist.

She was hired by
the board of supervisors

last year to oversee things.

Now she's supposed to be
the reigning authority.

Let me ask you something.

In your opinion,
the damage here on the street--

could this have been caused by

- an escaped elephant?
- My honest opinion?

- Yeah.
- Sure.

Excuse me.

What you looking for,
Mulder?

A local paper.

I want to see if David
Copperfield's in town.

Excuse me. We're looking
for Willa Ambrose.

There.

- Thank you.
- Sure.

- Miss Ambrose?
- Yes?

I'm Agent Dana Scully.
This is Agent Mulder.

We're with the FBI.

How can I help you?

Well, a federal employee

was fatally injured last night,

and there seems to be
a case developing

around the elephant
that escaped from your zoo.

It was my understanding
that the eyewitnesses

to the accident said
that they didn't know

how the man was killed.

Actually,
what we're trying to determine

is how Ganesha escaped.

Well, what did Ed tell you?

He said he found
the cage locked,

the same way he left it.

What more can I say?

I don't want
to belabor this,

but a man was found
trampled to death.

An animal from your zoo
was found 43 miles from here.

No one's looking
to place any blame.

We're just trying
to understand the facts

that led up to this incident.

This is
where Ganesha was held

when she wasn't
in her habitat.

Who has keys to this lock?

Only myself and Mr. Meecham.

Otherwise, this is
a restricted area.

Elephants aren't
particularly good jumpers,

if that's what you're thinking.

No, I was just wondering
why such a small pen

for such a large animal.

The zoo was built
in the 1940s.

The pens and habitats

are all too confining.

I was brought on

to expand and create
more humane environments.

Unfortunately,
these things take time.

Those chains
on the ground there?

Those are tie-downs.

They're meant to restrict
the animal's movement.

I disallowed their use
when I came to work here.

Disallowed their use by whom?

It was Ed Meecham's practice.

It reflected an old,
nonprogressive zoo policy.

How's your relationship
with Ed Meecham?

I'm his boss and I'm a woman,
and Ed doesn't like that much.

Would he be vindictive enough
to let Ganesha go

as an act of sabotage?

Well, if he did,

that would be foolish.

The facility is
running at a deficit

and in danger
of losing its funding.

Have you spoken about
the incident with Ed?

No.

I think Ed's got enough
dealing with the W.A.O.

W.A.O.?

It's the Wild
Again Organization.

They're a radical group
that believes

any captive animal
is a crime against nature.

Believe me, they're going to
have a field day with this one.

Excuse me.

The W.A.O. believes
only tragedy results

from keeping animals
in captivity.

In the wild, an elephant
like that would roam an area

20 square miles, minimum.

Ganesha weighed
in excess of 5,000 pounds,

and she was being held
in a 50-by-50-foot cage.

And you consider that
inhumane treatment?

It's like you or I
living in a pickle barrel.

According to FBI files, you've
been arrested over a dozen times

for activities
involving the kidnapping

of circus and zoo animals.

The W.A.O. sees it
as liberation.

Hmm.

Were you involved
in the liberation of Ganesha?

That would make me an accessory
to murder, wouldn't it?

Endangering these animals

is against
everything we believe.

These are incredibly
spiritual creatures.

Their rituals and
behavior are linked

to a past no man ever witnessed.

Did you know
they actually bury their dead?

They can visit
an elephant graveyard

centuries old
and know instinctively

where the bones
of their ancient ancestors lie.

What do you think
Ganesha was running from?

You want to see what
she was running from?

I'll show you.

Get up!

Pull! I got it!

This is how Ed Meecham
treats these majestic animals.

This is still going on?

Meecham's a barbarian.

He's been torturing animals

at the Fairfield Zoo for years.

We figure he's still at it.

Eventually, we're going
to get some proof.

We're here to put
pressure on the zoo.

We're keeping track
of what goes on there.

Even though Willa
Ambrose claims that she's put

a stop to most of
his old practices?

Whatever Willa Ambrose's
intentions,

she's too preoccupied to really
know how Meecham operates.

Preoccupied with what?

A lawsuit she's fighting against

the Malawi government over a
lowland gorilla named Sophie.

Willa rescued her from a
North African customs house

ten years ago.

Raised her like a child.

Now the Malawi government
wants her back.

Will they win?

This is a perfect example

of man's imperialism
over the animal kingdom--

this craven impulse
to turn animals into objects

for our own selfish pleasure.

I thought you said
she rescued this gorilla.

Yeah, rescued her so she could
spend a life behind bars.

Her obligation
should have been

to return the gorilla
to the wild.

All animals should run free.

Even if that means
trampling a man to death?

Maybe he should have gotten
out of the way.

I'm sure he would have
if he'd seen it coming.

Thanks for your time, sir,

and we'll get
back to you soon.

It's all happening
at the zoo, Scully.

Well, we found
our suspects.

You think they busted
out the elephant?

Well, you heard the man--
"All animals should run free."

What about all the
eyewitness accounts,

the security tapes
from the video cameras,

the fact that no one
actually saw an elephant

until it was miles
away from the zoo?

Well, the lights they were
using at the construction site

were mercury vapor,
10,000 candlepower.

They can restrict
a man's ability

to adjust his vision
to the dark.

And their security cameras
are poor quality.

A gray elephant may not have
registered an image on tape

in the dim light
in front of the building.

No, I'm not buying it, Scully.

I think these guys
are all talk.

These guys are dedicated

to exactly this kind of
activity unabashedly.

Did you check out
the night vision camera

they had lying on the shelf?

- No.
- It wouldn't surprise me

if they tried
to capitalize on their success.

By doing what?

By liberating another animal.

Willa Ambrose said that the zoo
was in trouble financially.

A loss of another big exhibit
could shut them down entirely.

All right.
You keep an eye on the W.A.O.

And where are you going?

Talk to the animals.

Beam me up, Scotty.

Did anybody
ever tell you

the camera loves
you, Frohike?

Yeah, the arresting officers
at the "Free James Brown" rally.

So what's this costing
the taxpayers, Mulder?

Uh, about 150 bucks an hour.

Ouch! Almost as much
as Bill Clinton's haircuts.

Where's Langley?

He has a
philosophical issue

with having his image
bounced off a satellite.

What are you doing
in Idaho?

I'm in the town of Fairfield.
What do you know about it?

They got a little
zoo there.

Lots of strange lore--
animals escaping,

disappearing
without a trace.

Any idea why?

You're not far from the
Mountain Home Air Base.

Major UFO hot spot.

Weird fact, Mulder:
no animal at Fairfield Zoo

has ever brought
a pregnancy to term.

Not a cub or a chick.

The woman who runs the zoo

has a gorilla
that knows sign language--

supposedly with a
vocabulary of 1,000 words.

If that's the lovely
Agent Scully,

let her know
I've been working out.

I'm buff.

Mulder.

Mulder, it's me. I was right.

I just followed the kid
from the W.A.O. to the zoo.

He's just about
to make it over the fence.

All right,
I'll be right there, Scully.

What the hell
are you doing here?

There's a member of the
W.A.O. on the premises.

Come with me.

What's going on?

It's okay, Sophie.
Calm down.

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

You have no idea
what he was doing at the zoo?

If you're asking did I have
any idea of his intentions,

the answer's simple:
not the slightest.

What if I told you
I saw this camera

sitting up there
on the shelf yesterday?

Guess I never noticed it before.

A tiger is missing

and a member of
your organization is dead.

For such a principled man,

you show an amazing
lack of emotion.

If the tiger killed this person,
then it was a natural act.

Well, if I find evidence

that he was releasing
those animals under your orders,

I'll make sure you spend the
rest of your life behind bars.

Scully?

You know, that guy
really pisses me off.

You okay, Scully?

Yeah.

You calmed down?

Have they found
the tiger yet?

No, but I took a look
at the cassette

from the kid's
recorder.

- He wasn't killed by the tiger.
- What?

Unless it's
trick photography,

that kid was killed by some kind
of phantom attacker.

You saw his body, Mulder;
that kid was mauled to death.

He had deep claw marks
on his chest and on his back.

I can't explain
it, either,

but I know someone
who might be ale to.

Excuse me?
Miss Ambrose?

May we have
a word with you?

I don't know anything more than
I've already told the police.

I have nothing to say.

Is this where
you keep Sophie?

Sophie is ill.

You think
we could meet her?

We're not here to try
to take her away from you.

About six weeks ago,

I had to take Sophie
out of her public habitat.

She'd become so withdrawn
and depressed,

she'd curl
into a ball

in the corner of her
cage and just shiver.

Did you ask her why?

All the time.

What'd she say?

"Light afraid."

Literally, she's
afraid of the light.

She speaks to you?

Over 600 words using
American Sign Language.

She understands
over a thousand.

I'll show you
her vocabulary list.

Is this who you wanted
to speak to?

It's basic investigative
procedure, Agent Scully--

interview all
possible witnesses.

Gorillas are
highly sensitive creatures,

and Sophie's use of language
skills makes her even more so.

Why would she be
afraid of the light?

Well, you've obviously
heard about the trouble

with the Malawi
government.

There's a chance that Sophie
could be taken away from me,

and I think that
she knows that.

Are these Sophie's?

Yes.

What do they mean?

Well, until recently,

Sophie desperately
wanted a baby.

The brown object in the center
is her expression of that.

Have you tried
to mate her?

We were looking for
a suitable partner,

but under these
stressful conditions,

I didn't want
to put her through it.

Do you have
a veterinary facility here?

- Yeah.
- All right, this may seem like

a rather strange request,
but it might help to explain

what's been going on here.

I'm going to need your help

on this, too, Scully.

I hope you know what you're
getting us into, Mulder.

I'm pretty sure of what
we're going to find.

'Cause this isn't exactly
in my job description.

Next thing you know, they'll be
doing it on MTV Sports.

Okay. The elephant's
cavity is clear.

I'm ready for you.

The knife's
right down there.

I've been told there's never
been a successful pregnancy

at the Fairfield Zoo.

Sounds like you've been
talking to Kyle Lang.

- Well, is it true?
- Yes.

But I don't think for
the reasons Kyle claims--

not because Ed Meecham
has done anything

to these animals.

Why then?

Because bringing
a pregnancy to term

in captivity
is always difficult.

But a perfect
failure rate?

I know. It's one
of the things

I was determined to change
when I came to the zoo.

Was an attempt ever made
to mate Ganesha?

No. Mating an elephant
out of the wild

is rarely successful.

There have only been
six elephants born in captivity

over the last
ten years.

Here's the uterine tissue,

but I'm still not clear
on what you expect to find.

You're right, Mulder.

The signs in the uterus and
the ovaries are unmistakable.

So what did you find?

This animal had been pregnant.

What are you talking about?

There's evidence

of hyperplasia, and
the corpus luteum is ruptured.

That's not possible.

Neither is
an invisible elephant.

What is
going on here?

Whatever it is,

it's been going on
for some time.

And I think you'll find evidence
of the same thing

when your tiger returns.

Still can't believe
you bet on the Chargers.

You hear that?

Hear what?

Where's the tiger?

Somewhere inside
the construction site.

He's got two men
trapped in there.

Put the gun away, Ed.

You want
to be responsible

for another death,
Miss Ambrose?

I think we can capture this cat
without any harm to anyone.

This is no time
for wishful thinking.

I'm ordering you, Ed.

Yes, ma'am. Lead the way.

Thank you.

How'd the tiger get

all the way across town
without being spotted?

I don't know, but we better
find it before Meecham does.

Hey!

Shh, shh, shh, shh!

It was just here.

It's all right, Willa.

They don't all talk
and draw pictures.

This last incident has
left the board with no choice

but to withdraw
all funding.

Well, if that's your decision,

then there's nothing else
I can say.

I'm sorry.

I'm out of a job.

They've cut off
all funding.

The animals are being
shipped out

to other zoos
starting Monday.

I'm sorry.

It could not have happened
at a worse time.

You mean for Sophie?

What I had
going for me

was my position here.

Having a place for her.

Have the results come in
on the tiger?

Agent Scully
just finished the test.

The tiger had been
pregnant, too.

It's impossible.

There's no chance those animals
could get pregnant. No way.

What if they've been
artificially inseminated?

That's an extremely fine
and complex process.

I would have known.

Unless it was done
somewhere else.

Where?

What do you know
about alien abduction?

You're... you're kidding me.

You think that these animals

were taken aboard
some spaceship?

I don't know where
they're being taken,

but there's obviously
some problem getting them back.

Due to what is probably
an astrological variation--

a trouble with
the time-space continuum.

These animals that are being
taken from locked cages

are being returned roughly two
miles west-southwest of the zoo.

Aliens impregnating zoo animals.

Yes, and harvesting the embryos.

Why?

Maybe their own Noah's ark.

To preserve the DNA
of these animals

that we're depleting
to extinction.

Whatever it is, that's probably
the reason why you've never had

a successful birth
at this facility.

I think that's the most
ridiculous thing I've heard.

I understand

that you might think
it's ridiculous.

Maybe you should ask Sophie.

You think this is
what she's so afraid of?

I believe
she's pregnant,

and she's afraid of them
coming for her baby.

Sophie, come here.

I want to ask you
a question.

It's okay, Sophie.

Come here.

What's she saying?

She says,
"Man, woman-- hurt."

She thinks you
or your partner

are going to hurt
her or me.

Sophie, man, woman
are here to help you.

They want to know

about Sophie's baby.

Can I ask her a question?

Yeah.

Will you ask her
if she wants to leave here.

Sophie...

do you want to leave here?

She says,

"Light afraid."

Sophie, what are you
afraid of?

Tell me.

What did she say?

She said,
"Baby go flying light."

I just finished up
in the infirmary.

A sheriff's deputy came looking
to serve you papers.

I think it's about Sophie.

What am I going to do?

Whatever you do,
you can't leave Sophie here,

not if you want
to protect her.

I have nowhere else to take her.

Excuse me.

Willa Ambrose?

- Yes.
- I'm serving you

with a court order to release
a gorilla named Sophie

into protective custody.

What are you doing here?

I've come to ask
for your help, Kyle.

Help with what?

Sophie.

They've taken her

into protective custody.

Let her go, Willa.

They're putting her
in an iron cage as we speak,

without bars, without windows.

It'll kill her.

Sophie's been behind bars
her entire life.

Let her go home, Willa.

She'll have the freedom
she deserves.

Freedom to what?
Be killed by poachers

and have her hands
cut off as souvenirs?

They've promised
she'll be in a preserve.

She's mine, Kyle!

I won't let her go!

Please, come on.

We can find a place

for her here--
a private reserve.

You know people.

That's against everything
I stand for.

She's pregnant.

What?

Sophie's pregnant.

I don't believe you, Willa.

- It's true.
- What if she was?

Is the baby going to live out
its life behind bars, too?

Look, Willa, she doesn't
belong to you.

She's not your child.

She belongs with other gorillas,
not selling tickets for a zoo.

You won't help me?

No.

Want to see
something interesting?

Where did you
get this?

I was looking for a pen
to finish my report

in Willa's office,
and it was in her drawer.

It's a small world, after all.

It's okay, Sophie.

It's okay, honey.

Sophie, Sophie, Sophie.

Don't worry.

I'm with you.

I love you, too.

Willa?

Willa?

You here?

Willa?

Where are you?

Willa?

I told you, it happened exactly
the way it did with the tiger.

I heard the animals going crazy.

I got out of bed to check
on Sophie, and she was gone.

That's when I found Kyle.

Do you have any idea

- what he would have been doing at the zoo?
- No.

We have a witness
who says

that you visited Kyle's
office yesterday.

Is that true?

Yeah.

For what purpose?

Basically, to tell him
that he'd won.

That the zoo
was being shut down,

that Sophie was being taken
into protective custody.

Did you ask him
to help you take Sophie

to prevent her
from being taken from you?

No.

That would be against
everything Kyle believed in.

But he helped you
to rescue her originally,

isn't that correct?

He had a connection to
you and to this animal

that went back
several years.

Whatever connection he and I had
was over long ago.

But you asked him anyway,
to help you.

No.

Then what was he doing
here last night,

and why did he give
you this note?

I don't know.

I told you.

Did he make a habit
of visiting the zoo?

If he did,

it was probably late at night
after he jumped over the fence

like a good W.A.O. soldier.

Anyway, why don't you ask Agent
Mulder what he thinks happened.

He seems to have
a novel theory.

Maybe it was alien abduction.

Scully, can I talk
to you for a second?

You think
she's telling the truth.

Why do you say that?

Kyle Lang's death and
the disappearance of the animal

match the previous incidents.

Yes.

And you've been pushing
this alien abduction angle.

I still am, but in this case,
Willa's reactions are all wrong.

You mean to losing Sophie?

I think she knows
where Sophie is,

and Kyle Lang died because
he knows what she's capable of.

You think she killed him?

I think she'd do anything
to protect that animal.

Even wait atop a stack of crates

for a former lover
to walk underneath?

I think an examination
of the body will give us

a lot clearer picture
what happened last night.

You do that, and I'll
check out the warehouse.

Looks like you're in a hurry.

Well, there isn't much to
hang around for, is there?

I'm afraid there is.

I found evidence that Kyle
died a wrongful death.

He was hit
with a cattle prod.

There's going to be
an investigation,

so I have
to read you your rights.

It was an accident.

Kyle surprised Ed.

He wasn't supposed
to be there.

Ed Meecham took Sophie?

Yes.

There was no one else
to turn to.

Where is she, Willa?

Ed has her.

She's in some... building

on the road to Boise.

Put it down, Ed.

There's been enough violence,
don't you think?

I didn't kill Kyle Lang.

Put down the gun
and we'll talk about it.

I was only doing what
she paid me to do.

Where's the animal, Ed?

Down the hall.

Okay, you show me where.

We're going to
go there together. Come on.

What's she doing?

She's throwing herself
against the door.

She's gone crazy.

She's scared.

Yeah? Well, she's
going to kill herself.

Okay, Ed. Well, you're
going to have to save her.

Take your
tranquilizer gun.

I'll be right
behind you.

I've only got one
dart in this thing,

so you got to get her
out in the light.

You see her?

I think she's over in
that corner over there.

Hey, Meecham!

I'm not going to hurt you.

Mulder?

Mulder?

Sorry.

- Lie still.
- Where's Sophie?

Lie down. Can we get a
paramedic in here?

- Yes, ma'am.
- Meecham.

Ed Meecham's
been arrested.

We picked him up on
the way to Boise.

That's how we
found you here.

- Let me take a look at this.
- They took Sophie.

Who did?

- Where's Willa?
- She's outside.

She's going in to make a
statement about Kyle Lang.

I got to talk to her.

- Where is she?
- She's gone.

What did he
do to her?

Wasn't Ed.
She tried to tell me something.

What is that?

That doesn't
make any sense.

What does it mean?

"Man save man."

We've just received a report

of a large animal spotted down

off the interstate,
just west of the surface road...

That's her.

She's heading back
towards the zoo.

Where is she?

Over there.

What happened here?

Animal got
hit by a car.

Ran off into the field.

Oh, no.

Oh, no, no, no.

No.

No.

Sophie?

Sophie?

Oh, no, no.

Willa Ambrose and
Ed Meecham have been charged

with manslaughter
for the death of Kyle Lang.

And though the courts
will rule on this matter

and justice will
no doubt be served,

the pall of
a greater tragedy remains.

The motives
of the silent visitors

who set these events in motion
remain unclear.

Could this be a judgment
on a global rate of extinction

that has risen to 1,000 times

its natural rate
in this century?

An act of alien conservation
of animals

we are driving hard
toward oblivion?

And if so, might it follow
that our own fate and existence

could finally be dependent

on the conservatorship
of an extraterrestrial race?

Or in the simple words
of a creature

whose own future is uncertain,
will man save man?

I made this!