The Truth is Online

Subject: AREA 51

Episode(s): Dreamland I (6x04), Dreamland 2 (6x05)

Episode synopsis: Mulder and Scully head for Area 51 to meet one of Mulder's informants. Before meeting the contact they are stopped by government agents with armed soldiers on the road. While talking to the government agents an aircraft comes overhead and a rippling affect passes over the group. Mulder and one of the government agents somehow exchange places. Everyone sees and hears Mulder as the Morris Fletcher and vice versa. Fletcher. Scully drives away with who she thinks is Mulder, but is really Fletcher. The real Mulder goes back with the government agents back to their headquarters at Area 51. One of Fletcher's co-workers drives the real Mulder to Fletcher's home. Relations are evidently strained between Fletcher and his wife, Mulder's actions only add to the problem.
Meanwhile, back at FBI headquarters in Washington, Scully and fake Mulder are called to see Assistant Director Kersh. He is not pleased with the agents recent trip to Nevada on X-Files business. Fletcher tells Kersh he is very sorry and has been wrong in his actions. Scully, still thinking this is Mulder, is surprised at his actions, and tells him he is acting very strange. Fletcher tries to persuade her by saying he is turning over a new leaf. Back in Nevada, The Area 51 agents investigate a crash of an experimental aircraft. One of the pilots was merged with a rock and another traded places with a native American woman. The next Day the real Mulder accompanies the other agents to a gas station where the clerk was merged with the floor. The agents shoot the man and torch the gas station. At the Area 51 headquarters, the agents involved decide it was a malfunctioning gravity drive causing a warp or tear in space time that caused the various anomalies. Mulder tries to steals the flight data recorder from the crash to give to Scully. The real Mulder calls Scully on her cellophane and tries to convince her what has happened. She doesn't necessarily believe it is really Mulder, however she and Fletcher does go to meet him at a convince store near Area 51.  At the connivance store, Scully, and Fletcher meet Mulder and are surrounded by FBI (Fletcher turned Scully in) and agents from Area 51. the data recorder is taken back, the real Mulder is taken into custody, and Scully and Fletcher head back for Washington.
    In the second part of the story we find the real Mulder arrested by Fletcher's team believing Fletcher betrayed them. Due to their trip to Nevada, Scully is suspended for two weeks. The real Fletcher as Mulder invites Scully to dinner at Mulder's apartment. At Mulder's apartment the real Fletcher discovers Mulder's bedroom is a mess seemingly only used for storage by the real Mulder. After Fletcher cleans the apartment, Scully arrives. The real Fletcher takes her coat and shows her to the bedroom. Scully says says she didn't know he even had a bedroom. Scully gets him to handcuff himself to the bed by alluding to sex. Scully takes Fletcher back to the Little Al's Inn in Rachel Nevada to meet the  real Mulder's informant and get the real flight data recorder. The real Mulder is at the bar trying to smooth things over with Fletcher's wife when Fletcher shows up to meet Mulder's contact. The contact turns out to be the military commander of the base.  Everyone (Scully, Fletcher, Mulder, Fletcher's wife and the Area 51 agents) meet at the bar with some funny reactions, and Scully and Fletcher leave with the flight data recorder. Scully has the Lone Gunmen analyze the data on the recorder. They come up with some unusual information but nothing that will tell them how they can undo the changes. Scully and Fletcher head back for Nevada to see Mulder. On the way to Fletcher's home they pass the gas station that was burned, but know it is fine and the clerk is alive. When the get to the house Fletcher convinces his wife who he really is. Three teenagers find the white mailbox, and head out to see UFOs. On the ridge a gravity wave passes over the teenagers. A boy and a girl who were locked in a passionate embrace at the time ended up getting merged together. The third teen runs out to the road for help and comes across one of the Area 51 agents. when the teen gets back with the agent where he left his friends they are back to normal. The agent surmises the anomalies are starting to snap back into how they were. He brings the pilot and indian woman back to where they belong. the agent stops Mulder , Scully , and Fletcher and tells them about how things are snapping back into place and they wait for the effect. The gravity affect washes over them and Mulder and Fletcher are returned to normal and everyone's mind is erased of the events of the past few days. However Mulder's apartment is still cleaned.

The Truth: The government really does operate a testing area called Area 51, although it pains them to admit it. This is where advanced aircraft are tested. This was the home of the F-117 Stealth fighter before it's public debut as well as the SR-71 Blackbird. The next generation spy plane commonly known as the Aurora is believed to be operated there currently. Recovered UFO's are reported to be reverse engineered there as well. However, as most things in this topic little hard evidence has come forward to prove this is the case. There is a Little Al'n Inn in Rachel Nevada. I'm not sure if the used the real one to film the episode. There is a white mailbox (a replacement for a black mailbox that used to be there) at the end of the dirt road that leads to one of the overlooks to the the base, However I believe at this point that overlook has been taken over by the military and is no longer accessible. However there is still a vantage point where the base can be seen with a good pair of binoculars. In the episode the Area 51 agents have the word MAJESTIC on their ID badges. Majestic is the alleged code word for the overseeing group the was formed by the U.S. Government to investigate, and cover up all UFO information. While the name has probably changed many times over the years, there is good evidence that such a group does exist.

 

Online Resources: Area 51 Research Center, Area 51 (unofficial) headquarters,  Area 51 (UFO mind), Bob Lazar, MJ-12 documents