The Librarians

This is Victor Finch,

recording live for the U-f-ology videocast.

It's day three of my search here in the town of Collins Falls

and I've seen no sign of the mysterious lights

- reported in the sky. - (Electricity crackling)

Now, although the reports aren't frequent,

they are consistent, which rules out the possibility

of a freak accident or a misunderstanding.

Reports are only an am-1 on the Vallée scale.

That means lights but no contact.

I'm hoping to catch some more

of those weird energy traces before...

Run! They're here!

Run! Run!

It's an invasion!

Run!

Is there a problem, sweetheart?

Something's out there in the woods.

It's not an am-1 anymore, it's a Ce-3.

Close encounter of the third...

Kind.

I'm telling you, it's aliens.

There are no such things as UFOs.

Minotaur's, haunted houses, Santa Claus, yes,

but UFOs, don't be silly.

A UFO nut goes missing in a town

where strange lights have been reported.

U.F.O.

Do not be deceived by any physical manifestation

you may encounter, they're absolutely not UFOs.

The only people I know that believe in UFOs

are the same ones that think that Elvis

was the shooter on the grassy knoll.

Look, current estimates put the number

of habitable planets in our galaxy at 11 billion.

So it is highly unlikely that we are the only

intelligent life in this universe.

I'll tell you what.

We'll just fill in the crack you're about to make

about us and intelligent life, just skip right to the job.

Are you sure? It was quite cutting.

I promise to be properly offended.

I mean, I probably wouldn't have even understood it at first.

But I'll be offended later.

Where's the fun in that?

The Vallée scale is how we measure inter-planetary contact

using the degree of physical evidence remaining on...

you're a UFO geek.

No, I'm sorry, it's just you've never really,

like, geeked out about anything before.

Well, I just think that if a super intelligent

powerful alien race arrives, we should be prepared.

You're planning on selling out the human race, aren't you?

I will absolutely sell out the human race to our new alien overlords.

Don't fight them, they know what's best for us.

So what's the plan, Baird?

We don't have a lot to go on here.

Independent journalist Victor Finch went missing.

Was abducted by aliens.

I will break every bone in your body.

Hey, when did you say this town was founded?

1953.

Huh.

Why?

Nine out of ten homes built in the 50s

were ranch style architecture.

These are like colonial revival which would

put them on late 18, early 1900s.

Maybe they wanted a more old-fashioned nostalgic look.

Yeah, that would explain the gas lamps.

Well, follow your instincts, if you think something

is off about the town you and Cassandra see

what you can learn about its history.

Find out if these lights are a new thing,

if there's a history of disappearances.

Jones and I will check out the spot

where the victim's truck was found.

- All right. - Okay.

Excuse me, ma'am.

Ma'am?

I don't get a lot of ma'aming around here.

Mostly just, "hey, Mabel."

Mabel.

That's an old-fashioned name.

Ah, well, I'm an old-fashioned girl.

It's an old-fashioned town.

Oh, these things?

Yeah, they haven't worked in forever but I like

to tinker around with them from time to time.

It'd be a sight to see them all lit up, wouldn't it?

Yes, it would.

It'd look like Paris.

Oui, comme Paris.

Oh, well, mais ici, dans Collins Falls.

Mabel Collins.

Jacob, Jacob Stone.

- This is Cassandra Cillian. - Hi.

Listen, we're the... we're the librarians.

Yeah, we're doing some research on town histories, so...

Ah, that makes sense.

- Yeah. - For once.

Is there someone we could talk to about it?

- I would recommend the town archivist. - Okay.

Family founded the place, so if they don't know it, it ain't worth knowing.

All right, can you point us in his direction?

- Mabel Collins... - Mm.

Collins Falls, you're the archivist?

Brains, too.

I'm the archivist, notary,

volunteer fire chief and chancellor of the exchequer.

Well, technically, treasurer but since I ordered

the business cards, too, who's going to stop me?

Not a lot of town government, huh?

Not a lot of town.

Not much interesting around here.

Et pourtant, je suis interesse.

We should probably ask about that local history stuff.

Je pense Que vous etes interessant.

Or, like, anything at all.

Just...

I was kind of hoping there'd be crop circles.

This looks like where they found the truck.

Why park all the way back here?

Most hikers would park closer to the roads

so if they get lost someone will notice sooner.

Don't ask me.

I don't even get why people go hiking.

He didn't want anyone to know he was here.

Or someone else moved the truck.

Who put a gas lamp in the middle of the woods?

Victor Finch?

Only you people could lose a guardian.

Librarians, yes,

we go through them like tissue paper,

but a guardian?

Okay. It wasn't even me.

This cat right here.

I'd prefer to think of it as she lost me.

I mean, one minute she's all assault and battery

and the next she's beamed up into space.

Or you ran. You have no idea what happened.

So you came up with the story to cover.

I can see how you think that but no.

No one beamed her anywhere.

Say's the guy with the teleporting door.

UFOs do not exist.

Say's the guy with the teleporting door.

- (Pinging) - Ah, look, see, there.

Col. Baird is still on the planet.

She's alive? She's safe?

She's still on the planet.

That narrows it down.

Magic is not an exact science.

If it were, it would be science.

Okay. So we assume that this is another disappearance.

Then whatever happened to Col. Baird

is the same thing that happened to Victor Finch.

It seems like a reasonable assumption.

Only now, that we found Victor Finch.

We got a witness.

Yes.

I'm telling you, I don't remember anything.

What's the last thing you do remember?

I remember being in the woods.

I've been looking for the am-1.

Oh, that means lights but no contact.

Yeah, yeah, what next?

Then nothing.

It feels like the whole last day is just gone.

Mr. Finch, you've been missing for three weeks.

What?

As requested, there's UFO equipment.

Why are you interested in that stuff?

I thought you said UFOs were a crock.

They are.

But the fools that chase them

can sometimes come up with something interesting.

See?

These goggles, they're some sort of aura filter.

There's an energy emission right behind him there in the woods.

That's the clearing with the gas lamp where Baird disappeared.

We need to know more about those gas lamps.

Okay. Someone should go back and talk to that town archivist.

- Oh, oh. - Which should probably be me.

- Oh, I could... I could... - No, you want to take this?

- No, I'll go... I'll go. - You sure?

- I could come help. - You guys keep busy.

- Do you want me to send Jones? - No, no, no, no.

Okay. He's got it.

Hello.

- Hi. - Hey.

Boy, this is a hell of an archive you got here for a small town.

Well, you know, small towns. God help you if you ever throw anything away.

Yeah.

Help you, Mr. ma'am?

Please tell me you've taking that for a spin.

Me? No.

I've never left town.

- Really? - Yeah.

Family obligations.