The X-Files

We are now beginning our descent into JFK International Airport.

We should be on the ground in 15 minutes.

Any passenger needing help with customs forms or any other form...

Monsieur?

Monsieur?

Come 'm.

- Thank you for getting here so quickly. - There's not much traffic at this hour.

This is Dr Simon Bruin with the Philadelphia office of the Centers for Disease Control.

A pleasure, Dr Scully.

How familiar are you with the kidnappings in Philadelphia?

Only what I've read: that four young men have gone missing in the past three months.

All African-American.

A joint FBI-Philadelphia PD task force has been working around the clock.

But there have been no leads to speak of. Until last night.

What happened last night?

Owen Sanders, the last to go missing, was found dead near a construction site.

- How was he killed? - That's just it, Agent Scully. He wasn't.

No evidence indicates homicide.

Has a cause of death been determined?

No. But I'll let Dr Bruin give you his thoughts on that.

This was taken last night, less than an hour after Sanders' body was found.

- I thought you said Owen Sanders was black. - He was.

I'm not sure I follow.

See for yourself.

Owen Sanders was a normal young black man.

I assume you're going somewhere with this.

The depigmentation may actually be characteristic of a disease.

An apparently fatal one.

So you don't think they're victims of a crime at all.

It's my opinion, Dr Scully, this investigation should begin and end under a microscope.

Dr Bruin hopes someone with a solid medical background...

...can make a quick and decisive analysis.

Case number 2139318537.

Subject is a black male, 19 years old.

Cause and time of death unknown.

hair and eyes.

This suggests albinism, though the bleaching of the irises...

...indicates a violent and unexplained cellular reaction to a vector or an environment...

Hey. I heard you were down here slicing and dicing. Who's the lucky stiff?

His name is Owen Sanders.

Reported as the fourth kidnap victim in Philadelphia...

...until he turned up last night like this.

There's a Michael Jackson joke in here, but I can't quite find it.

I've been requested to determine what leached the pigment from his body.

- Requested by whom? - The Centers for Disease Control.

The CDC in a kidnap case?

They believe the case has been mislabelled.

That this man and the others may have fallen prey to a disease or a pathogen.

Based on what other evidence?

There were no signs of trauma or defence wounds, and his wallet was still full of cash.

That's interesting.

What, uh, what sort of disease is this?

I don't know. There are conditions like vitiligo which attack melanocytes...

...and prevent the manufacture of melanin in the skin...

...autoimmune disorders, not yet understood.

So this man died of a disorder?

He and four other young black men contracted the disease...

...and then disappeared without any explanation whatsoever.

It's possible they've already turned up, but because of the depigmentation...

...there may be a problem with identification.

So I have reissued descriptions of John Does to area morgues and ERs.

Scully, has it occurred to you that this mightjust be a PR exercise?

I'm sorry?

To divert attention from the fact that young black men are dying and there's no suspect?

- The perception being that nobody cares. - Not everything is a conspiracy...

...and not everybody is plotting to deceive, inveigle and obfuscate.

Did you lift any forensic evidence?

Yes. Hair, skin and fibre. Behind you on the counter.

What are you doing?

I'm gonna join the snipe hunt, if you don't mind. Before the body count rises.

Mr Aboah?

Anyone home?

Samuel Aboah?

Yes.

I'm Marcus Duff. Remember me?

Your immigration counsellor.

We have an appointment to go over your naturalisation petition.

Um, please.

Thank you.

We could use a little light to fill out the petition.

Maybe you can open a window or something.

Yeah... I guess that works.

Have a seat, Samuel. This is a little complicated.

So...

You OK? You look ill.

You got a fever or something?

No.

I know how lonely it is, believe me.

Being in a strange place far from your family.

But once you become a US citizen...

...I can help you bring over every brother, sister...

...aunt, uncle and cousin.

It all starts today, Samuel.

Know what I'm saying?

Thank you.

Agent Pendrell. Thanks for turning this materials analysis around on short notice.

Shouldn't we wait for Agent Scully?

- She's not coming. - Why not?

She had a date.

Breathe! It's with a dead man. She's doing an autopsy.

- You said you found something? - Yeah. Asbestos fibres. Not much there.

And I didn't think there was anything among the vegetable debris - local soils, pollens, etc.

Till I came across this.

I had to go on-line with a botanist at UVN to determine what it was.

It looks like some kind of thorn.

No, it's a seed, actually. But nothing you'll find at your local nursery.

Adenia volkensii.

- Help me out. - From a rare species of passionflower.

It's a rare, night-blooming plant indigenous only to certain parts of West Africa.

How could this travel 5,000 miles around the world and wind up on Owen Sanders?

That I couldn't tell you.

It contains a cerebropathic glycoside. Mean anything to you?

If I'm correct, it's a cortical depressant that works on the higher centres of the brain.

- Is it lethal? - In large enough quantities it might be.

Larger than anything contained in a single seed.

Did the toxicology screen detect any of it in Sanders' blood?

No, the tox screen was clean.

Could his body have metabolised it?

Only if the victim hadn't expired immediately.

- Does that tell you anything about anything? - No, but...

...I think I found something that could explain the depigmentation.

- His pituitary gland was necrotised. - His pituitary gland?

The pituitary gland secretes all of the regulatory hormones in the body...

...and it controls the production of melanin in the skin cells.

So you found evidence that this is a disease?

No. I have identified the effect. I am still looking for the cause.

OK, let me know as soon as you find anything out.

- Where are you, Mulder? - Off to water the seeds of doubt. Bye-bye.

Ms Covarrubias?

- Who are you? - Agent Mulder. Fox Mulder.

- What are you doing? - I'm sorry I frightened you.

What do you want?

I'm not sure why, but I thought you might be in a position to help me.

Help you?

Four young men are missing in Philadelphia. One of the men was found dead last night.

This seed was recovered from his body.

It's from a rare species of plant found only in West Africa.

Do you know anything about this case?

No.

Is there any way you could find something out about it?

Thousands of exotic species cross into US soil every day undetected.

Bilge water is emptied into harbours, produce sent through the mail.

In practical terms, borders are little more than lines on maps.

Is that a yes or a no?

- I can't help you. - You can't or you won't?

You made an overture to me. You left an opening.

Tell me I'm wrong. Tell me there's nothing here, and I'll just walk away.

Either way, I need to know.

Agh!

Hey, I got a schedule.

You gettin' on or not?

What's your problem? You on drugs or something?

Ah, the hell with you. You can walk for all I care.

Damned drugs.

He was sitting right here, staring at me with these glassy eyes. Pretty much out of it.

You mean he looked sick?

Yeah, now that you mention it.

I mean, I asked him if he needed help, but he didn't say squat.

Don't forget to put down I had a schedule to keep.

Did you observe anybody else in the area?

Not that I saw. I already told the police pretty much everything I know.

- (car approaches) - Excuse me.

- What happened? - We have another missing young man.

Alfred Kittel, 17 years old, African-American. His mother called the police around 3am.

- How does she know he's missing? - He works down the street.

He takes this bus every night, and last night he never made it home.

They found his knapsack on the bench here.

The police are out canvassing.

I talked to a bus driver who said that he seemed disoriented, nonresponsive.

It might be some kind of pre-symptomatic dementia.

Or a reaction to a powerful cortical depressant.

What are you suggesting?

Find Alfred Kittel and you find another one of those rare African seeds.

What makes you so sure?

A week before the first person was reported missing...

...the New York Port Authority filed that with the FAA.

Like Owen Sanders, this man wasn't an albino either.

Not until he was found dead on a charter flight from West Africa, from Burkina Faso.

The embassy demanded the body's return before an autopsy could be performed.

It says cause of death was undetermined.

Yeah, undetermined, Scully, but not necessarily unknown.

"Aboah"? What the hell kind of name is that?

Mr Aboah?

- Yes. - Philadelphia PD.

We're canvassing the building in regard to a missing person.

This is the young man we're looking for. Have you seen him?

No.

Well, if you hear from anyone who has, or come across any information at all...

...you can reach us at this number. That's a hot line. You can call 24 hours a day.

- Thank you. - Thank you.

- I am really quite busy. - We won't take up much of your time.

You're in charge of most of the casework...

...for aliens immigrating from Africa and the Caribbean?

I assist people from that part of the world where I came from 15 years ago.

We're looking for somebody that came more recently. On a flight from Burkina Faso.

This is the passenger manifest from the charter company.

And... you want me to do what, exactly?

Cross-reference the names with anyone applying for permanent resident status...

...or a work visa in the last three months.

I am a social worker, not a police officer. My business is not chasing down illegals.