X FILES LYCEUM
320 JOSE CHUNG'S 'FROM OUTER SPACE'

"Writers kid themselves - about themselves and other people."
Sinclair Lewis

"They got a cherry pie there that'll kill ya!"
Agent Cooper Twin Peaks

SYNOPSIS

KLASS COUNTY; WASHINGTON
X-FILES OFFICE; FBI HEADQUARTERS; WASHINGTON, D.C.
VARIOUS HOTEL ROOMS
EL CAJON, CALIFORNIA
What is really going on here? How the hell should we know, but we'll take a stab at it. There once was a teen named Harold who was hopelessly in love with Chrissy. She needed more time to get intimate, but Harold didn't take no for an answer. Soon, a confused Chrissy didn't want to accept she had done it in a car with Harold, she pictured aliens probing her. Meanwhile, a plane crashes nearby them, and a government helicopter comes to recover. They take the dead body (which will be found again with an alien suit on and found by a dead beat who wanted desperately out of his life), but the other pilot had stumbled out of the woods, naked, only to encountered by Mulder. Also meanwhile, a would-be writer witnessed the whole thing and made up a rockin' (in his own mind) screenplay and sent it to the publishers of one famous, well-regarded novelist, Jose Chung. After reading the manuscript, Mr. Chung decided to invent a whole new genre of books and will document what could have possibly happened that night. He gets the help by one trusted, clear headed FBI woman whose partner met up with the rattled pilot and refused to talk to the novelist for fear of being made to look foolish for believing.

So maybe we did know what was going on here. Mostly. Of course, we did leave out the part about the girlie scream.

SCULLYVISION

Maybe her hair is a little too red, but no one would ever mistake her for a man posing as a woman. She is SkepticalScully at her best, not believing in any theories or versions of stories, and is probably spot on correct by a few deductions of her own. She's leery of everyone's perceptions including, at one point, her own.

Scully is patient, helpful, and cordial to her favorite author as he interviews her for his latest novel where he hopes Scully can shed some light on what happened in Klass County as he can't make heads nor tails of the confusing case. Scully believes, and gets indications that Harold and Chrissy's traumatic night was the result of first time sex, not an alien abduction. She's kind-hearted about foul mouthed detectives and fantasy prone individuals who write manifestos. She soft coats Mulder's theories to the novelist, but when alone with him, calls him a nut to his face.

She's rightfully indignant about lies being told about her, but also admits that she wasn't able to bring complete closure to the case.

OH, COME ON!

Men in Black don't know how to use a VCR? They totally destroy Blain's VCR to get the tape out. Come on, even a professional wrestler would know to just push the eject button.

THINGS LEARNED

It's better to refer to yourself as an 'experiencer' than an 'abductee.'

Hypnosis has never been proven to enhance memory, in fact, it actually worsens and makes people prone to confabulation.

Abduction lore has become so prevalent in our society that you can ask someone to imagine what it would be like to be abducted and they'd concoct an identical scenario.

When a guy promises you that he'll never let anything happen to you, don't believe him.

The planet Venus is often mistaken for a UFO.

According to Roky, there is something beyond the universe.

Men in Black have appeared in other cultures.

Our brains turn two dimensional optical images in to three dimensional perception.

Confabulation must have been on a Word A Day calendar on Darin Morgan's desk.

Mulder does indeed scream like a girl.

Don't just scream out Roswell! Roswell! When under attack. Never works.

Years of playing Dungeons and Dragons makes one lose a few brain cells.

The enemy sees an American recon plane, they start shooting. They see a flying saucer from another galaxy... they hesitate.

With high-powered microwaves, you can not only cut enemy communications, you can cook internal organs.

Piloting a flying saucer is an orgasmic experience.

Some alien encounters are hoaxes perpetrated by your government to manipulate the public.

WRITER
Darin Morgan

Darin Morgan is a creative genius. His work in this episode is brilliant. The dialogue is so funny that he could have just had us rolling on the floor and left it at that. But he takes it further, so much further. He knows the characters and he knows the story and he weaves them so intricately together that we just can't catch it all with only one viewing.

Through our tears of laughter we see important things going with this story. First there's the issue of aliens and UFO government cover-ups. Secondly, the issues of perception, truth, and different realities. Thirdly, there is the idea that we are all alone together on this planet. That theme speaks to the issue of Mulder and Scully's relationship which - in episodes like Grotesque - can be quite detached and now in Jose Chung, quite attached.

Morgan does the near impossible, he writes a sequel (Millennium's "Jose Chung's Doomsday Defense") that is nearly as brilliant. With all his great writing, one wonders if the most somber important thing in this episode is that he made Blaine a bit too autobiographic in that Blaine wanted to find a way to not work, while Darin Morgan has been heard saying the last thing he wanted to do was write. Our loss.

This episode was not just television, it was something much more than that. It was media taking an insightful and hilarious look at itself. Writer Darin Morgan, along with director Rob Bowman conjured up images and thoughts of the opening Imperial cruiser shot of Star Wars, pie and a damn fine cup of coffee in the diner in Twin Peaks, the mash potato scene from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, as well as outright nods to Space: Above and Beyond, Jeopardy where Mr. Duchovny missed his question, video games, wrestling, Star Trek, alien autopsy video and even those bleeping TV censors.

DIRECTOR
Rob Bowman

The brilliant dialogue keeps us wondering just what is the truth but the visuals do as well. We learn early that our own perceptions can mislead us or even be dead wrong. We are momentarily thrilled that this episode starts with a massive space ship floating in the heavens but as the camera pans back we realize that what we are seeing is far more mundane. Later, the camera becomes black and white/camcorder hand held just like the controversial alien autopsy video of a few years back.

Some of the flashbacks are seamless. So much so, in fact, that in a couple of flashbacks there isn't even an edit, the camera pans back to reveal the character is suddenly in a different place and time. These non-segues add to the whole sense of our not being sure just what is real.

MUSIC
Mark Snow

The music is, as always, perfect. The subtle plucking of strings at various times are the musical equivalent of winking at us. What fun! Snow really gets into the mischievousness by writing the theme song for "Dead Alien! Truth or Humbug?" that sounds very similar to the real X-Files theme song.

RUNNING TALLIES
Alien Abduction (or rather a little alien experience)
Flashlights
Lost Time
Mulder Gets to Beat Someone Up
Hypnosis
Nose Bleed
Mulder as Ticking Time Bomb of Insanity
Guns
Scully Does an Autopsy
Raining
How about that... no Bathroom!
Two I Want To Believe posters! But one was manipulated
Mulder's porn fixation
He tells Harold: Because the next rape you experience will probably be your own, in prison.
And the telling ending scene of him :Mulder has his shirt off and is watching a video in bed. His right hand is under a blanket. His video of choice? Yep, footage of Bigfoot. Not pornographic? Not to Mulder, who can be heard moaning.

RECURRING CHARACTERS

The Stupendous Yappi
The Tarot Card Reader from Clyde Bruckman (and Humbug) who is now a hypnotist

Notes, Lots and Lots of Notes

Jose Chung is homage to a guy with that name who sent unsolicited scripts to the X Files office.

Detective Manners isn't named for his ill manners but for director of X-Files episodes Kim Manners, who we hear has a potty mouth.

Klass County is named for author and UFO skeptic Philip Klass.

Robert Valee and Jack Schaefer for UFO authors Robert Schaefer and Jacques Vallee.

Sergeant Hynek for UFO author J. Allen Hynek.

Lord Kinbote is from Charles Kinbote, a character from Vladimir Nabokov's "Pale Fire," where the narrative is long and obscure, and which the truth is horribly distorted, leaving you to draw your own conclusions.

Lord Kinbote was played by stunt coordinator Tony Morelli.

Warden White Inc., a subsidiary of McDougall-Kessler is named for editor Heather McDougall and assistant editor, Sue Kessler.

Roky Crickenson was named after the band Roky Erickson and the Aliens.

El Cajon, California, was where Darin and Glen Morgan were born and raised.

Reynard, Mulder's pseudonym in "From Outer Space,"is French for fox.

"Dead Alien: Truth or Humbug" could not only be Darin Morgan's homage to his own first X Files episode, but also to the cheesy alien autopsy video making the rounds that aired, coincidently enough, on the FOX network.

Blaine wears a Space: Above and Beyond T-shirt, the show that Glen Morgan (Darin's older brother) co-created and David Duchovny guest starred in.

Alex Trebek's appearance might be yet another dig to Duchovny for missing that question on Jeopardy.

POINT/COUNTERPOINT

SCULLY: Mulder, do you think my hair is too red?
MULDER: Of course not. That came from the same dimwit who thought I screamed like a girl. How can you take anything he says seriously?

ATHENAEUM

Scully had asked Mulder to join her on a trip to the Athenaeum, but he was a bit skittish after his last trip, which he refused to talk about. The only thing he wanted to know more than anything was why she continued to return to the old, dark, basically unwelcoming library. He wondered if she was investigating the possibility that the Curator was in fact two people, were ghosts, were themselves in some paranormal form, or shape shifting aliens. Scully didn't know, and at this time and place, she was only wondering about these Men In Black that Roky (although more than likely insane) was adamant about having seen. Setting aside the fact that Roky had related that the Men In Black looked like a game show host and a former wrestler-governor, she wondered if there could in fact be some seed of truth in what he had seen.

As she walked down the creaky stairs and to the high, wood, heavy door, she wondered who the hell the Curator was, and why in the hell every time she came he/she/they/them looked different. If there was an X File to investigate, this place and its inhabitant(s) would be it. But, as far as she could tell, it/he/she/they hadn't committed any crimes (except playing with her and Mulder's heads), and certainly hadn't killed anyone.

Scully turned the huge doorknob, knowing that it would open for her, and walked into the dank, dark massive room. She shuddered as her thought came back to her, that no crimes had been committed so far. Or at least, not yet. She had always felt pulled back here with a sense that she would discover something astonishing, a secret to the universe or something; now that she was there, Scully experienced that familiar tingle of craziness for willingly returning to such a cold, gloomy atmosphere.

The lanterns and candles didn't light as soon as she entered, and Scully was faced with nothing but wet darkness as she knew she was standing in the middle of the huge room whose only furnishing was that tall, imposing information desk that would be to her left. She stuck out her hand to feel for it. Instead of feeling impersonal wood, she felt linen. A shirt. A man's shirt. "Hello?" she called out.

A small candle's wick came to life in front of her, and she backed away. She could make out the white linen shirt of the man who she believed to be the Curator. She expected his usual brusk voice, but instead was treated to a voice in sing-song, "Agent Scully, I presume?" The lingering giggle accompanying it could only belong to one person, to which Scully was relieved.

"Mr. Chung? Is that really you?" she asked, thinking it could be the Curator in disguise. She wished that candle had more power as she could only see the lower part of his face as he smiled at having seen her again. She had always admired Jose Chung, the novelist, but after interviewing him (or been interviewed, however you want to look at it), she had begun to have second thoughts about him. Not that she decided to not like him, but she found out his motives for writing were a bit less noble and didn't know if that spoiled her fascination for his work.

"In the flesh," he said, but didn't allow the candle to light more of not only himself, but the surrounding area as well.

Either the Curator was a marvelous mimic, or that was in fact Jose Chung. She said, "Mr. Chung, what a pleasure to see you again. What are you doing here?"

"I'm here for a book signing for my new book, "Doomsday Defense."

It was dark, but she knew that if there were a line of people waiting for his autograph she'd know it. "Are you sure you have the right day?"

Mr. Chung laughed again, but it wasn't boisterous, but more mocking. "Sadly, yes. Enough about me. What can I do for you, as you are by far my favorite G-Woman?"

Scully blushed, having been a fan of his for so long, and because she could now rightly say they were on a first name basis, if using first names was in fashion in her world. "You're still my favorite writer."

"I can write something for you?"

"I need more information to put what I saw in Klass County in perspective."

"More information? Well in that case, we need to be in more comfortable surroundings."

Jose Chung moved past her and to the right wall. She followed him as he put the candle down on an antique coffee table, and then sat down on a lush leather armchair. She still couldn't really see him clearly, but did realize that he indicated an empty leather sofa with his hand. "Please, take a load off."

As soon as she did, a glass of iced tea floated in front of her. She grasped the glass, spilling a bit over her hand, as he said, "Refreshments."

"Thank you." She wondered why she was served Mulder's favored drink, but decided to get to the heart of the matter of her visit. "What you could help me with is what you know about Men in black."

"Dear, Dr. Scully. I told you. Men in black have been recorded throughout history in many different cultures. The Celtic legends are filled with trickster men in black and how anyone who encounters them becomes enchanted."

"I know, that's why I'm really glad to see you here. You must know a lot about them, and I'm sorry, but I realize now that I must have cut you off when you were going to explain the mythology involved with them to me."

Jose sat back in his chair and she could see that he crossed his leg over the other as he said, "Men in black have been around for, perhaps, all time. They're believed by some to explain phenomenon such as vampires, demons and even the Grim Reaper. Their stories are present in many cultures including ancient China, Tibet, India and other parts of the Middle East. Usually they appeared in black robes rather than black suits. They're also found in witchcraft and folklore such as the Elizabethan Black Men, the Native American Black Man, and even in the late nineteenth century as malevolent traveling salesmen." He seemingly waited for a chuckle from her, and she quickly obliged him. He continued, "They have reportedly visited the likes of Julius Caesar, Napoleon, Thomas Jefferson, Malcolm X and many others.

"Early UFO related MIB connections were documented by writers such as John Keel and Albert K. Bender. Keel described entities that were not-quite-human individuals who intimidated witnesses of UFO sightings. They wore dark suits, sometimes with turtleneck sweaters, and had dark complexions and Oriental features. Their behavior was frequently odd, and they drove black Cadillacs. These MIB were often described as having a doll-like look. Some had strange feet. Some reported that all MIB look alike. Their often mechanical behavior, monotone voices, and expressionless faces caused many to describe them as robots or androids.

"In the 60's, Men in Black were originally thought to be government agents out to cover-up the existence of extraterrestrials. Soon, however, their odd behavior had people wondering if they were, in fact, extraterrestrial themselves. Modern day Men in Black were often threatening but not violent. Current folklore, thanks to TV and recent popular films, is turning MIB into heroes who are actually saving earth from bad ET's."

"I saw that one."

"You went to see Men In Black, The Movie, Dr. Scully?"

"I've always harbored a liking for Tommy Lee Jones," she said without thinking, but then immediately covered with, "But of course, I read more than go to movies and I rarely watch TV."

"Um hum," he responded as if he didn't believe her. He lowered his crossed legs and sat forward to say, "From Outer Space did quite well being featured on that campy TV series the U-Files, and I know you've read that one, but have you read Doomsday Defense, may I ask?"

"I haven't had a chance to, Mr. Chung. It just came out, and of course I will. Maybe you'll sign one for me?"

"Of course." He raised his hands, and a pen appeared in his right hand, and a hardcover book appeared in his left. He was going to sign inside, but said, "I can't see anything."

Soon, more candles came to life around them and Scully had to adjust her vision. When she did, she couldn't believe what she saw. Jose Chung was sitting on the armchair across from her, with an axe embedded in the top of his head.

"Ah, that's better," he said and started to sign the book.

"Mr. Chung!" Scully exclaimed as she stood up horrified. "What the... what's with the thing?"

Jose looked up at her and then up farther to the axe handle. "Oh, that. Yes. Well, see... Have you ever seen that obscure and short lived fiasco, Post Modern Millennium, a show that not even a great writer like myself could salvage?"

"A show did that to you?! Or is the axe just a metaphor?"

"No, it's quite real. You see, certain writers play God. They give birth to wonderful characters, like me, and then just kill them off. I've seen writers kill off men, women, children, even other writers! I once knew a writer who contemplated killing off an innocent little dog!"

"No!"

"Oh yes. Anyway I, Jose Chung, was given the axe as it were. Cutting off not only a brilliant writing career but a budding television career as well. I had already been contacted by ER and Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

"Really?"

"Well, perhaps that's a slight embellishment. However, I was asked by the Weather Channel to do the voice over for "Your Local Forecast on the Eights," and my contract with the Fox Network assures that I will return for "The X-Files: Thirty Year Reunion."

"Are you implying that an axe to the head may have been your exit of choice?"

"Picture yourself on the set of the Thirty Year Reunion, Agent Scully. You, with your hair way too grey, a mumbling Mulder, an even more balding Skinner, Eddie Van Blundht posing as Darin Morgan claiming to have written the best episodes of the whole series... what could be more frightening?"

"Can I borrow your axe, Mr. Chung?"

"I know you only mean that metaphorically. As a writer, I know these things. You're just trying to find a notable way to end this endless Athenaeum. A cheap writer's trick to solicit a "wow" from your readers?"

"What readers?"

QUOTES

CHRISSY: Harold, what are those things?
HAROLD: How the hell should I know?

ALIEN: Jack... what is that thing?
SMOKING ALIEN: How the hell should I know?

JOSE: I had never thought much about it before. I guess that's because I always felt like such an alien myself. That to be concerned with aliens from... other planets, that just seemed so... redundant.

SCULLY: The Lonely Buddha is one of my favorite novels.
JOSE: And here I was thinking you were just some brainy beauty. Now I find out that you also have good taste.

SCULLY: What made you decide to write a book about an alien abduction if you're not that interested in the subject yourself?
JOSE: Actually, it was my publisher's idea. At first I was reluctant, until I realized that I had an opportunity here to create an entirely new literary genre, a non-fiction science fiction. Now, see, that gimmick alone will guarantee its landing on the best-seller list. In short, to answer your question, money.
SCULLY: Well, just as long as you're attempting to record the truth.
JOSE: Oh, God, no. How can I possibly do that?

SCULLY: She was suffering from what my partner calls 'missing time.' She recalled nothing of the previous night, nor how she had arrived at her present whereabouts. Her body exhibited signs of physical abuse, and all of her clothes were on backwards and inside out.
JOSE: Have I had my share of mornings like that.

JOSE: Do you prefer the term abductee or experiencer?
SCULLY: Actually, I prefer neither, but my partner uses abductee.
JOSE: My preference is for the other. "I've just had a... little alien experience." As opposed to, "I've just been abducted!"

MULDER: Would you be willing to take a lie detector test to prove that you raped her?
HAROLD: No, I'm not.
MULDER: Well, that's too bad. Because the next rape you experience will probably be your own, in prison.

JOSE: As a storyteller, I'm fascinated how a person's sense of consciousness can be so transformed by nothing more magical than listening to words. Mere words.

CHRISSY: I don't like what he's doing. It's like he's inside my mind, like... like he's stealing my memories.

MULDER: The description of the aliens, the physical exam, the mind scan, the presence of another human being that appears switched off, it's all characteristic of a typical abduction.
SCULLY: That's my problem with it, Mulder. It's all a little too typical. Abduction lore has become so prevalent in our society that you can ask someone to imagine what it would be like to be abducted and they'd concoct an identical scenario.

MANNERS: Well, thanks a lot! You really bleeped up this case.

SCULLY: Well, of course, he didn't actually say "bleeped." He said-
JOSE: I'm familiar with Detective Manners' colorful phraseology.

MANNERS: Oh, you bet your blankety-blank bleep I am.

HAROLD: Don't worry, it'll be okay. I'm here to protect you. I'll never let anything happen to you.
She's pulled out of the cell by a beast as Harold cowers in the corner. Some hero.

HAROLD: He was just... talking.
MULDER: Telepathically?
HAROLD: No. In English. He just kept saying the same thing over and over again.
SMOKING ALIEN: This is not happening. This is not happening...

HAROLD: I don't know where I was taken, because the whole time I was like this, covers his head with his arms in pain.
MULDER: Because the other alien was conducting torturous experiments on you?
HAROLD: No... no, it was like... you know, you know when you were a kid and you tore the legs off a bug for no reason? I guess I was the bug. Anyway, the next thing I remember, I was suddenly outside... like I was flying through the air or something.
MULDER: Then what?
HAROLD: And then I think I hit the ground. When I came to, I immediately ran to Chrissy's to make sure she was there and that she was okay.
SCULLY: Harold? Did you and Chrissy engage in consensual sexual intercourse that night?
HAROLD: If her father finds out, I'm a dead man.

MULDER: He said it happened before the abduction. So what if they had sex?
SCULLY: So we know that it wasn't an alien who probed her. Mulder, you've got two kids having sex before they're mature enough to know how to handle it.
MULDER: So you're saying that all this is just a case of sexual trauma?
SCULLY: It's a lot more plausible than an alien abduction, especially in light of their contradictory stories.

MANNERS: Hey! I just got a call from some crazy bleep-head saying he was an eyewitness to this alien abduction. Do you feel like talking to this blank-hole?

ROKY: It's bigger than a couple of kids. It has to do with the entire planet, the universe, and who knows what else!

ROKY: It's all here. After seeing what I saw that night, I rushed right home and wrote it all down. Forty eight hours straight. I didn't want to forget a single detail. But I feel that I should warn you, I don't want to be overly dramatic here, but by looking at this, you're putting your lives in danger.

MAN IN BLACK: No other object as been misidentified as a flying saucer more often than the planet Venus.

ROKY: That was when I realized something was weird.
SCULLY: At which point?
ROKY: See, normally, if two strangers drive into my garage, I tell them to get the hell off the property. But this time, I didn't. It was like I was in a trance or something.

MAN IN BLACK: Even the former leader of your United States of America, James Earl Carter Jr, thought he saw a UFO once, but it's been proven he only saw the planet Venus.
ROKY: I'm a republican.
MAN IN BLACK: Venus was at its peak brilliance last night. You probably thought you saw something up in the sky other than Venus, but I assure you, it was Venus.

MAN IN BLACK: Your scientists have yet to discover how neural networks create self-consciousness, let alone how the human brain processes two-dimensional retinal images into the three-dimensional phenomenon known as perception. Yet you somehow brazenly declare seeing is believing? Mr. Crickenson, your scientific illiteracy makes me shudder, and I wouldn't flaunt your ignorance by telling anyone that you saw anything last night other than the planet Venus, because if you do, you're a dead man.
ROKY: You can't threaten me.
MAN IN BLACK: I just did.

MULDER: "Before I knew it, I was aboard the hover vessel and was not heading into outer space, but inner space, heading towards the earth's molten core. For that is the domain of the third alien, whose name, he soon told me... was Lord Kinbote."

SCULLY: In short, Roky showed signs of being what is known as a fantasy prone personality.
JOSE: Agent Scully, you are so kindhearted. He's a nut!

SCULLY: Mulder, you're nuts!

SCULLY: Mulder, I think you and the hypnotherapist were leading her, and I think there was more confabulation in the second version than in the first.

MANNERS: Hey, I just got a call from some crazy blankety-blank claiming he found a real live dead alien body.

BLAINE: I know how crazy this is going to sound, but... I want to be abducted by aliens.
JOSE: Why? Whatever for?
BLAINE: I hate this town. I hate... people. I just want to be taken away to someplace where I... I don't have to worry about finding a job.

BLAINE: Now, I've read every book every written about UFOs and aliens, not because I had to, but because I wanted to.

BLAINE: The proper authorities showed up with a couple of men in black. One of them was disguised as a woman but wasn't pulling it off. Like, her hair was red but it was a little too red, you know? And the other one, the tall, lanky one, his face was so blank and expressionless. He didn't even seem human. I, I think he was a mandroid. The only time he reacted was when he saw the dead body.

MANNERS: Yeah, that's a bleeping dead alien body if I ever bleeping saw one.

SCULLY: You never saw this. This didn't happen. You tell anyone, you're a dead man.
SCULLY: He said I said what?

BLAINE: You can't suppress the truth! The people have a right to know! Roswell! Roswell!

SCULLY: It's so embarrassing.

SCULLY: There appear to be two layers of epidermis. There's a metal strip that runs just under the top layer down the... it's a zipper.
BLAINE: You mean it, it's... it's just a dead human being? Well...
He goes to throw up.
MANNERS: Well, then who is this bleep?

JOSE: Aren't you nervous telling me all this after receiving all those death threats?
BLAINE: Well, I didn't spend all those years playing Dungeons and Dragons and not learn a little something about courage.

SCHAEFER: I'm just the pilot. You ever flown a flying saucer? Afterwards, sex seems trite.

SCHAEFER: Don't you get it? I'm absolutely positive me, my copilot, and those two kids were abducted, but I can't be absolutely sure it happened. I can't be sure of anything anymore!
MULDER: What do you mean?
SCHAEFER: I'm not sure we're even having this conversation. I don't know if these mashed potatoes are really here. I don't know if you even exist.
MULDER: I can only assure you that I do.
SCHAEFER: Well, thanks, buddy.

MULDER: You ever seen a UFO in these parts? You ever experienced a period of missing time? You ever had the suspicion that you've been abducted by aliens? Have you ever found a metal implant in your body? Have you checked everywhere?

SCULLY: Mulder, these gentlemen have something very important to tell you.
MAN IN BLACK: Some alien encounters are hoaxes perpetrated by your government to manipulate the public. Some of these hoaxes are intentionally revealed to manipulate the truth seekers who become discredited if they disclose the deliberately absurd deception.
MULDER: Similar things are said about the men in black. That they purposely dress and behave strangely so that if anyone tries to describe an encounter with them, they come off sounding like a lunatic.
MAN IN BLACK: I find absolutely no reason why anyone would think you crazy if you described this meeting of ours.
OTHER MAN IN BLACK: You're feeling very sleepy, very... relaxed.
JOSE: Alex Trebek?! The game show host?!
SCULLY: Mulder didn't say that it was Alex Trebek. It was just someone that looked incredibly like him.

SCULLY: That was Detective Manners. He said they just found your bleeping UFO.

MULDER: They don't want our assistance. They want witnesses to their alibi.

MANNERS: Bleep.

SCULLY: I know it probably doesn't have the sense of closure that you want, but it has more than some of our other cases.

MULDER: Don't write this book. You'll perform a disservice through a field of inquiry that has always struggled for respectability. You're a gifted writer, but no amount of talent could describe the events that occurred in any realistic vein because they deal with alternative realities that we're yet to comprehend, and when presented in the wrong way, in the wrong context, the incidents and the people involved in them can appear foolish, if not downright psychotic. I also know that your publishing house is owned by Warden White, Incorporated... a subsidiary of McDougall-Kessler, which makes me suspect a covert agenda for your book on the part of the Military Industrial Entertainment Complex.
JOSE: Agent Mulder, this book will be written, but it can only benefit if you can explain something to me.
MULDER: What's that?
JOSE: What really happened to those kids on that night?
MULDER: How the hell should I know?

JOSE: Evidence of extraterrestrial existence remains as elusive as ever, but the skies will continue to be searched by the likes of Blaine Faulkner, hoping to someday find not only proof of alien life, but also contentment on a new world. Until then, he must be content with his new job. Others search for answers from within. Roky relocated to El Cajon, California, preaching to the lost and desperate. Seeking the truth about aliens means a perfunctory 9-5 job to some. For although Agent Diana Lesky is noble of spirit and pure in heart, she remains, nevertheless, a federal employee. As for her partner, Reynard Muldrake, that ticking time bomb of insanity, his quest into the unknown has so warped his psyche, one shudders to think how he receives any pleasures from life. Chrissy Giorgio has come to believe her alien visitation was a message to improve the condition of her own world, and she has devoted herself to this goal wholeheartedly. Then there are those who care not about extraterrestrials, searching for meaning in other human beings. Rare or lucky are those who find it. For although we may not be alone in the universe, in our own separate ways on this planet, we are all... alone.

THE END