03x23 - Wetwired

[bunniefuu]

All right, you bastard.

Evil,...

..rotten,...

..son of a...

There you go.

Your k*lling days are over!

No!

No!

No!

All right, sir. Put your hands in the air.

Keep 'em where I can see 'em.

We got a call. You wanna tell us what you're doin' out here?

Sir?

Aagh!

Turn over!

Damn amp-head!

Oh, Lord. Jimmy, check this out.

Sarah?

Sarah!

Our blind date's not off to a great start. I've been waiting here nearly two hours.

I had to check you weren't followed. It's just you, me and the drug dealers.

This area's always been known for its criminal element.

Especially when Congress is in session.

What's this? Something you'll wanna follow.

Follow where? That's all I have for you.

What do you mean, that's all you have?

I get an anonymous e-mail to meet you here.

I don't know who you are or what you want.

I don't have any obligation or desire to give you answers.

I'm not one of your sources. Then you're just a messenger boy?

It's late, Agent Mulder. Go home. Get some sleep.

Who told you to contact me?

How do I know I'm not being played?

I guess you don't.

Well, you can go ahead and recycle that, then.

I've been asked to tell you: you walk away from this, more people will die.

Sorry I wasn't here sooner, but the Beltway was a parking lot.

What's going on? Multiple homicide. That's Joseph Patnik.

He m*rder*d five people, all of whom he insists was the same man.

What do you mean? He claims he kept k*lling the same man.

Does he have a history of mental illness? Not that I know, but I just got this case.

What's the X-File? In his neighbourhood, two weeks ago,...

..a baby-sitter att*cked the two children she was minding.

She told police she thought they were wolves.

And police found no other motive? None so far, no.

Agent Mulder? I'm Dr Stroman.

This is my partner, Special Agent Scully. You're the physician in charge?

They called me down from DC to develop a diagnosis for the court.

Have you? I wish I could say yes.

Has he been sedated? Heavy Thorazine,...

..but it only knocked him back a little.

He seems pretty manageable to me.

It may be a form of organic delusional syndrome,...

..possibly due to methamphetamine abuse. But he is prone to outbursts.

Who called you down on this case? Dr Kahn, from Social Health Services.

Could we speak to him? I don't think he's in today, but I can check.

Orderly!

Yes, Dr Stroman. Stay away from me!

.. personally ordered the r*pe and m*rder of thousands of innocent civilians...

..in w*r-torn regions of the former Yugoslavia.

You got this case last night. Where from?

An outside source. Who?

This outside source, what's his interest in this case?

What does he want us to uncover?

I don't know. You're not suspicious we're being used?

We've got bodies and confessed murderers.

If we're being used, it's to find the connection.

That's what I'm interested in.

Isn't this a school day?

We didn't cut. We got a pass.

You got a pass to come in here and eat these people's food and watch their TV?

No. Are we in trouble now?

How'd you get in here? The window. They leave it open for the cat.

Maybe you should head back to school.

No, no. Use the front door.

Mulder!

Look at this. There must be hundreds of videos here.

Anything good?

All I see are recordings of cable news shows.

They're all dated and in chronological order.

That's what Patnik was watching at the hospital when he went all wiggy.

What if there's some connection?

Between what he recorded and what he did?

You're the one who's interested.

I just watched 36 hours of Bernard Shaw and Bobby Batista.

I'm about ready to k*ll somebody, too.

I'm gonna show you something.

These tapes are dated April 19th, April 21st and April 23rd.

Each corresponds to a night that Patnik committed a m*rder.

What's on the tapes? Among other things,...

..a one-hour special report on the atrocities in Bosnia.

A report that prominently features Lladoslav Miriskovic.

The same guy that started Patnik screaming in the psych ward?

My guess is that once I review the tapes for the night that Patnik k*lled his wife,...

..I'll find that report there as well.

You think that because he saw a w*r criminal on TV he was inspired to m*rder people?

Studies have linked v*olence on television to violent behaviour.

Those studies assume that Americans are just empty vessels,...

..ready to be filled with any idea fed to them, like Pavlov dogs, and go out and act on it.

They believe that the causal connections are there.

The studies have also linked cow flatulence and the depletion of the ozone layer.

You're talking pseudo-science used to make political book.

All I'm saying is that it's clear that the programmes that Patnik watched...

..somehow triggered his violent behaviour.

How? The doctor suggested amphetamine abuse.

Maybe that, coupled with the disturbing television images, pushed him over the edge.

Television does not make a previously sane man go out and k*ll five people...

..thinking they're the same guy. Not even must-see TV could do that.

OK. Then how do you explain it? I can't. Not yet.

Where are you going? I'm gonna get some sleep.

Looks like you could use some, too.

No. I'm gonna watch the rest of these tapes.

Just out of curiosity. You have fun.

Yeah, OK.

All right. I've just been watching the tapes, yeah.

All right, OK.

No, she doesn't.

We'll find out on The Prize is Nice!

And here's your host, Mark Randolph!

Scully?

Yeah. I just got a call.

There's been another m*rder.

Yeah, I'll be right there.

It was less than an hour ago. It matches our pattern. A housewife gone berserk.

The car's been moved. Did you go out last night?

No.

I went out and I got a paper this morning. Why?

Nothing. Nothing. Let's go see the crime scene.

That's all the information I have. OK. Thanks, Detective.

I talked to the detective in charge. The sh**t's name is Helene Riddock, age 42.

They took her to county lockup. What happened?

She claims she looked out the window and saw her husband in the hammock...

..with a blonde.

That blonde? He was only taking a nap with his dog.

Mrs Riddock swears she looked out...

..and saw her husband in the hammock with a blonde woman.

She k*lled him because she thought he was cheating on her?

This isn't her husband. Her husband's a long-haul trucker. He's out of town.

This is, uh... Mr John Gilnitz. It's her next-door neighbour.

She didn't even have the right back yard. Helene Riddock lives over here.

Scully? Yeah, let's check it out.

One of my favourites. He is so cute...

The Little Traveler is normally 129.99...

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever. What do you think, Scully?

I think television plays a large part in both of these murderers' lives.

As it does in almost every American home, but television does not equal v*olence.

Unless you consider bad taste an act of v*olence.

More tapes.

Hang on a second.

I'll be right back.

Hey!

Hey! Hey!

Hey!

Mulder, what are you doing? I'm coming down.

Maybe it's a job for Special Agent Pendrall.

Yeah. Want it analysed?

Yeah, I'll do it.

It makes more sense for you to interview Helene Riddock. Get her version of it.

Maybe she knows what this thing is.

Is there a problem with that? No, that's... that's fine.

Stay in touch.

It looks like a video trap for blocking premium cable channels.

What does it block? It doesn't seem to block anything.

What does it do? Glad you asked.

I bet all you guys were officers in the audiovisual club in high school, huh?

This is the straight feed off our bars-and-tone generator.

And here they are as attenuated through the device.

Looks the same. That's what you'd think.

We couldn't discern any difference, not until we compared them on the oscilloscope.

It still looks the same. Hold onto your hat, dude.

We have touchdown. So they're different.

So? They're different. You know the way television works.

Yeah. You click it on, you have a picture.

It's a rapid series of still pictures fired against the tube.

There's something nonstandard here.

Information is being added into the spaces between the still pictures.

What kind of information? We don't know.

This is all we do with this equipment.

Can't you take it apart?

Not without destroying it. That's by design.

An amazingly sophisticated design. All we can say for sure is...

This device is emitting a signal.

Mulder. Where are you?

I was about to call you. I'm on my way back. You may have been right. At least partly.

I think a foreign signal is being introduced into these homes through the television set.

Scully, are you there? I'm here.

I think they may be running some kind of test.

Scully, did you hear what I just said? So you had it analysed?

Yeah.

I just talked to Agent Pendrall. He said that you never showed up.

I didn’t take it over to Pendrall. Then where were you?

I'd rather talk about it when we get on a land line.

We've dealt with these kind of people before. We know what they can do.

What was that? What was what?

There. That noise.

Scully, is there something wrong? Mulder...

Mulder, who's listening...?

Scully, I'm gonna be right there. Don't go anywhere. Scully...

Get back! Call the police!

Scully! Scully!

Hello? Mrs Scully, hi. It's Fox Mulder.

What's the matter? I was hoping that you'd heard from Dana.

No. Has something happened? I'm not exactly sure.

There's... there's some confusion here.

She's missing. What do you mean, "missing"?

Well, she ran off last night. Um...

We... we're looking for her as best we can, but we are a little concerned.

Oh, my God.

I hate to do this to you, but I gotta hang up on you right now.

Would you please tell me what's wrong? I'll call you as soon as I know something.

Sir, can I have a word with you?

This is being conducted as if we're seeking an escaped convict.

I share your concern for Agent Scully.

But she fired four rounds at you and an unarmed civilian.

I know, but these officers should be instructed not to confront her.

What would you have them do? I think I can get her to listen to me.

She didn't listen to you last night. She's suffering from a paranoid psychosis.

Brought on by what? I can't explain the exact mechanism,...

..but it's linked to certain video tapes that we recovered from a crime scene.

Video tapes? They contain an electronic signal...

..that somehow induces violent behaviour.

Do you have any proof of this? I'm working on that.

Whatever the reason, the fact remains that she is armed and dangerous.

I suggest you marshal whatever resources you have to make sure you find her first.

Mulder. We got something off that tape...

..you found in Scully's room.

What is it? Something interesting.

But we don't wanna talk about it over the phone. Big Brother may be listening.

Here's the tape Scully was reviewing last night.

We scanned samples of it onto disk. Digitised it.

Using some interpolating freeware we pulled off the Net, we blanked out visible frames.

What am I looking at?

This is the signal your cable-trap device was emitting.

We slowed it down significantly.

It's designed to cycle at 15 flashes a second, to induce "the photic driving response".

Bring it home, boys. It stimulates electrical activity in the brain.

Studies have shown a correlation between...

..heightened suggestibility and the manipulation of this response.

Mind control? 57 channels of it.

Tachistoscopic images - like they used to sell popcorn at the movies.

Russian and American scientists work with them.

Not to mention Madison Avenue. The naked lady in the ice cube.

One of my personal favourites. Why wasn't I affected?

That's the one thing we haven't figured out yet.

This, uh... subliminal signal, could colour be a factor in it?

Maybe. I'm red-green colour-blind.

His inability to perceive red could render him immune to the psychotropic effects.

Mulder.

I'll be right there. What happened?

Maryland State Police. They think they've found Scully.

Is she OK?

No. Um...

They think maybe I should come down and ID the body.

Get in. I can't talk to you right now.

Get in before you get us both k*lled.

Interesting term. My partner may be dead. It's not my concern.

The hell it isn't! We're here because of you.

Keep your voice down. Who do you work for?

We're wasting time. They're destroying the evidence.

Who? Just follow the evidence.

If you don't, by tomorrow the responsible parties will be out of your reach.

A state highway patrolman found the body off a rural highway at approximately 2 p.m.

Nude, sh*t in the forehead.

Are you ready? Let me do that.

It's not her.

Somebody has to call her mother. We tried. We weren't able to reach her.

She's not answering her phone?

Mrs Scully, is she here? Uh, no.

You haven't been answering your phone. When I hear from her, I'll call you.

I need to see her. Fox, please go away. Go away!

Where is she?

Dana, put down the g*n!

I'm here to help you, Scully. I told you, Mom. He's here to k*ll me.

I'm on your side. Put it down, Dana.

Scully, listen to me carefully. You don't know it, but you're sick,...

..with the same thing that drove those other people to m*rder.

Whatever you think may be happening... Just step back.

Dana, you're not yourself. He's telling you the truth.

It's not the truth, Mom.

He's lied to me from the beginning. He never trusted me.

Scully, you are the only one I trust.

You're in on it.

You're one of them.

You're one of the people who abducted me.

You put that thing in my neck!

You k*lled my sister!

That's not true, Dana. It is!

I want you to listen to me. Mom, get out of the way!

You trust me, don't you?

You know that I would never hurt you.

That I would never let anybody hurt you.

That's why you came here, isn't it? You're safe here.

Put the g*n down, Dana.

Put it down.

Put it down.

How are you feeling?

Ashamed.

I was so sure, Mulder.

I saw things and I heard things and...

It was just like the world was turned upside down.

Everybody was out to get me.

Now you know how I feel most of the time.

I thought you were gonna k*ll me. I'm not surprised.

I did some checking. Joseph Patnik thought he was murdering a Bosnian w*r criminal,...

..a man the media described as a modern-day h*tler.

Patnik's parents were Holocaust survivors. I'm not following.

Helene Riddock was scared her husband would be unfaithful. You see a pattern here?

What if this video signal turned these people's anxieties...

..into some kind of dementia?

A virtual reality of their own worst nightmares.

Like me thinking that you'd betray me.

I was so far gone, Mulder, I thought that you had gone to the other side.

What do you mean?

The man who smokes all those cigarettes,...

..I was sure that I saw the two of you sitting in your car in the motel parking lot.

You were reporting to him. You handed him a video tape.

It was crazy. Uh, maybe not.

What do you mean? Somebody's behind this.

You think it could be him? I don't know.

Why don't you try to get some rest?

Dr Lorenz.

Agent Mulder. I was about to check in on your partner.

What treatment have you outlined for Agent Scully?

Nothing more than bed rest. We still don't know what brought this on.

There's nothing medically wrong with her.

That didn't seem to be the case last night. No, it wasn't. It's got me puzzled.

Her MRI was negative, but the spinal tap revealed high levels of seratonin in her brain.

Would that account for her strange behaviour?

High seratonin levels have been associated with mania.

But the good news is, as of this afternoon, her levels are pretty much back to normal.

Dr Lorenz, uh... would you have made a diagnosis of amphetamine abuse...

..for someone in that condition?

Not given her seratonin levels. That wouldn't make any sense.

Braddock Heights.

I need the number for the Frederick County Psychiatric Hospital, please.

Ward three. This is Fox Mulder with the FBI.

I need to talk to Dr Stroman.

I'm sorry, he's no longer here. I believe he returned to Washington.

You know where I can reach him? He left us a local number.

It's around here somewhere.

Is it 555-0135?

That's it. Thank you.

You want me to go first this time?

Damn straight.

I haven't had a chance to clean the room yet. He just checked out.

But with all the excitement, I don't blame him.

You charge for local calls. You have a record of them all?

I'll get it for you. Thank you.

Here you go.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Danny, it's Mulder. I need you to check a number.

That's what he told me, Stroman. Then where is he? He said he'd be here.

He'll be here. It's almost seven o'clock.

There's no sign of him.

You're too late, Agent Mulder.

Now that you've destroyed all the evidence.

You were told this would happen.

I just didn't know I was working for you. I had no alternative. I was being watched.

I couldn't risk compromising myself.

Why k*ll them if you wanted them exposed?

Those were always my orders.

I was just hoping you'd get to them first.

And uncover what? Were they trying to manipulate people's behaviour?

Influence their decisions? What to buy? Who to vote for?

You think they'll stop at commerce and politics?

Where will they stop?

That's where you failed, Mulder. Don't lay this off on me!

You pulled me into this because you didn't have the courage to reveal the truth yourself!

Feel better now? You're a coward!

You feed me scraps of information, hoping that I can piece it together!

You've made me risk my life, you've risked my partner's life. You never risk your own!

You're not walking away from this.

You're risking your life right now.

You failed.

This is your success? k*lling me?

The truth is... you need me, Agent Mulder.

This is your final report, Agent Mulder? Yes, sir.

I see more questions here than I do answers.

You don't know who manufactured it or what its purpose was.

No, sir.

Agent Scully, welcome back. I just got back from the document section.

What did you find out about the two dead men?

The cable company employee had no criminal record.

In fact, there was nothing remarkable about him whatsoever.

We found the medical licence under the name "Dr Henry Stroman" in Falls Church, Virginia.

He d*ed in 1978.

What about the k*ller?

He remains an unknown subject.

Have you completed your work?

All the personnel and hardware have been removed, but Mulder still has a device.

Well, it proves nothing.

What about, uh... Mulder's source?

He's been eliminated.

And his source?

Who's he working with?

That person remains unknown.

I made this!