Flight Announcer
Ladies and gentlemen, we are now beginning our descent... Into john f. Kennedy international airport. [ speaking french ] we should be on the ground in 15 minutes. Any passengers needing help with customs forms or any other form--
Season 4 · Episode 3
Teliko
Character-labelled dialogue prepared from the official DVD subtitle track.
Production code4X04Original airdate · October 18, 1996
258 dialogue entries
Scene 01
PLANE INTERIOR
[ door closes ]
[ turns water on ]
[ screaming ]
[ man over p.a. System ]
Scene 02
FBI HEADQUARTERS
[ french ]
[ french ]
[ man over p.a. System, in french ]
Flight Attendant
Monsieur? Monsieur?
[ screams ]
[ door closes ]
Walter Skinner
Come in. Thank you for getting here so quickly.
Dana Scully
There's not much traffic at this hour.
Walter Skinner
Agent Scully, this is dr. Simon bruin. He's with the Philadelphia office of the centers for disease control.
Bruin
A pleasure, dr. Scully.
Walter Skinner
How familiar are you with the kidnappings in Philadelphia?
Dana Scully
Only what I've read in the herald, that four young men have gone missing over the past three months; all of them african-american.
Walter Skinner
A joint FBI-Philadelphia p.d. Task force has been working around the clock, but there have been no leads to speak of... Until last night.
Dana Scully
What happened last night?
Walter Skinner
Owen sanders, the man most recently reported missing, was found dead... Near a construction site.
Dana Scully
How was he killed?
Walter Skinner
That's just it, agent Scully, he wasn't. There was no evidence indicating homicide.
Dana Scully
Has a cause of death been determined?
Walter Skinner
No, but I'll let dr. Bruin give you his thoughts on that.
Bruin
This was taken last night, less than an hour after sanders' body was found.
Dana Scully
I'm sorry. I thought you said that owen sanders was black.
Bruin
He was.
Dana Scully
I'm not sure I follow.
Bruin
See for yourself. Owen sanders was a perfectly normal young black man.
Dana Scully
I assume you're going somewhere with this.
Bruin
The depigmentation we're seeing may actually be characteristic of a disease... An apparently fatal one.
Dana Scully
So you don't think these men are victims of a crime at all.
Bruin
It's my opinion, dr. Scully, this investigation should begin and end under a microscope.
Walter Skinner
Dr. Bruin's hope was that someone... With a solid medical background like yourself could make a quick and decisive analysis.
Scene 03
FBI PATHOLOGY LAB
Dana Scully
Case number 2139318537. Subject is a black male, 19 years old. Cause and time of death unknown. Note: total lack of pigment in the skin, hair and eyes. The appearance of which suggests albinism, though the bleaching of the irises indicates... A violent and unexplained cellular reaction...
[ door opens ]
Dana Scully
To a vector or an environment--
Fox Mulder
I heard you were down here slicing and dicing.
[ shuts off recorder ]
Fox Mulder
Who's the lucky stiff?
Dana Scully
His name is owen sanders. He was reported as the fourth kidnap victim in Philadelphia... Until his body turned up last night looking like this.
Fox Mulder
There's a Michael Jackson joke in here somewhere, but I can't quite find it.
Dana Scully
I have been requested to determine what leeched the pigment from his body.
Fox Mulder
Requested by whom?
Dana Scully
The centers for disease control.
Fox Mulder
The c.D.C. In a kidnap case?
Dana Scully
They believe that the case has been mislabeled, that this man and the others may have fallen prey to a disease or a pathogen.
Fox Mulder
Based on what other evidence?
Dana Scully
There were no external signs of trauma or defense wounds... And his wallet was still full of cash.
Fox Mulder
That's interesting. What, uh-- what sort of disease is this?
Dana Scully
I don't know. There are conditions like vitiligo which attack melanocytes... And prevent the manufacture of melanin in the skin; autoimmune disorders, which are not yet clearly understood.
Fox Mulder
So this man died of a disorder? He and four other young black men who conveniently contracted the disease... In succession and then disappeared without any explanation whatsoever.
Dana Scully
It's very possible they have already turned up, but because of the depigmentation, there may have been a problem with identification. So, I have reissued descriptions of john does to area morgues and e.r.s.
Fox Mulder
Scully, has it occurred to you that this might just be a little p.r. Exercise?
Dana Scully
I'm sorry?
Fox Mulder
To divert attention that young black men... Are dying and nobody seems to be able to bring in a suspect? The perception being that nobody cares.
Dana Scully
Not everything is a labyrinth of dark conspiracy, and not everybody is plotting to deceive, inveigle and obfuscate.
[ cracks sunflower seed ]
[ sighs ]
Fox Mulder
Did you lift any forensic evidence from the body?
Dana Scully
Yes, hair, skin and fiber behind you on the counter. What are you doing?
Fox Mulder
I'm going to join the snipe hunt-- if you don't mind-- before the body count rises.
Scene 04
Scene 04
[ knocking ]
Man
Mr. Aboah? Anyone home? Samuel Aboah?
Samuel Aboah
Yes.
Man
I'm marcus Duff. Remember me? Your immigration counselor. We have an appointment to go over your naturalization petition.
Samuel Aboah
Um, please--
Marcus Duff
Thank you.
[ closes door ]
Marcus Duff
We could use a little light in here 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 okay? You look ill. You got a fever or something?
Samuel Aboah
No.
Marcus Duff
I know how lonely it is, believe me, being in a strange place far from your family. But once you become a u.s. Citizen, I can help you bring over every brother, sister, aunt, uncle and cousin. It all starts today, samuel. Know what I'm saying?
Samuel Aboah
Thank you.
Scene 05
FBI HEADQUARTERS
Fox Mulder
Agent Pendrell, thanks for turning this materials analysis around on such short notice.
Agent Pendrell
Shouldn't we wait for agent Scully, so I won't have to repeat myself?
Fox Mulder
She's not coming.
Agent Pendrell
Why not?
Fox Mulder
She had a date. Breathe, agent Pendrell. It's with a dead man. She's doing an autopsy. You said you found something?
Agent Pendrell
Yeah, asbestos fibers. Not much there. And I didn't think there was anything... Among the vegetable debris-- all local soils, pollens, etc.-- till I came across this. I had to go on line with a botanist at u.v.n. To determine what it was.
Fox Mulder
It looks like some kind of thorn.
Agent Pendrell
It's a seed, actually, but nothing you'll find at your local nursery. Adenia volkensii.
Fox Mulder
Help me out.
Agent Pendrell
It's from a rare species of passionflower. It's a rare, night-blooming plant indigenous to certain parts of west africa.
Fox Mulder
How could this travel 5,000 Miles around the world and wide up on owen sanders?
Agent Pendrell
That I couldn't tell you.
Scene 06
Scene 06
Fox Mulder
Does that mean anything to you?
Dana Scully
If I'm correct, it's a cortical depressant that works on the higher centers of the brain.
Fox Mulder
Is it lethal?
Dana Scully
In large enough quantities it might be. Larger than anything contained in a single seed.
Fox Mulder
Did the toxicology screen detect any of it in sanders' blood?
Dana Scully
No, the tox screen was clean.
Fox Mulder
Could his body have metabolized the substance?
Dana Scully
Only if the victim hadn't expired immediately.
Fox Mulder
Does that tell you anything about anything?
Dana Scully
No, but... I think I found something that could explain the depigmentation in the victim. His pituitary gland was necrotized.
Fox Mulder
His pituitary gland?
Dana Scully
The pituitary gland secretes all of the regulatory hormones in the body... And it controls the production of melanin in the skin cells.
Fox Mulder
So, you found evidence that this is a disease?
Dana Scully
No, I have identified the effect. I am still looking for the cause.
Fox Mulder
Okay, let me know as soon as you find anything out.
Dana Scully
Where are you, Mulder?
Fox Mulder
Off to water the seeds of doubt. Bye-bye.
Scene 07
UNITED NATIONS BUILDING
Office Assistant
Go on in.
Fox Mulder
Ms. Covarrubias?
Marita Covarrubias
Who are you?
Fox Mulder
Agent Mulder. Fox Mulder.
Marita Covarrubias
What are you doing?
Fox Mulder
I'm sorry I frightened you.
Marita Covarrubias
What do you want?
Fox Mulder
I'm not sure why, but I thought you might be in a position to help me.
Marita Covarrubias
Help you?
Fox Mulder
Four young men are missing in Philadelphia. One of the men was found dead last night. This seed was recovered from the victim's body. It's from a rare species of plant found only in west africa. Do you know anything about this case?
Marita Covarrubias
No.
Fox Mulder
Is there any way you could find something out about it?
Marita Covarrubias
Thousands of exotic species Cross into u.s. Soil every day undetected. Bilge water is emptied into harbors. Produce sent through the mail. In practical terms, borders are little more than lines on maps.
Fox Mulder
Is that a yes or a no?
Marita Covarrubias
I can't help you.
Fox Mulder
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.
[ groans ]
Scene 08
BUS STOP
Driver
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.
Scene 09
Scene 09
[ bus departs ]
[ people chattering ]
Driver
He was sitting right here, staring up at me with these glossy eyes. Pretty much out of it.
Dana Scully
You mean he looked sick?
Driver
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.
Dana Scully
Did you observe anybody else in the area?
Driver
Not that I saw. I already told the police pretty much everything I know.
[ car approaches ]
Dana Scully
Excuse me.
Fox Mulder
What happened here?
Dana Scully
We have another missing young man. His name is alfred Kittel. Seventeen years old. He's african-american. His mother called the police around 3:00 this morning.
Fox Mulder
How does she know he's missing?
Dana Scully
He works at a fast-food place 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 and non-responsive, which seems to me like it might be some kind of pre-symptomatic dementia.
Fox Mulder
Or a reaction to a powerful cortical depressant.
Dana Scully
What are you suggesting?
Fox Mulder
You find alfred Kittel, and you find another one of those rare african seeds.
Dana Scully
What makes you so sure?
Fox Mulder
Three months ago, one week before the first person was reported missing, the New York port authority filed that with the f.a.a. 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 that the body be returned before an autopsy could be performed.
Dana Scully
It says here that the cause of death was undetermined.
Fox Mulder
Yeah, undetermined, Scully, but not necessarily unknown.
Scene 10
ABOAH’S APARTMENT HALLWAY
Officer
"Aboah"? What the hell kind of name is that? Mr. Aboah?
Samuel Aboah
Yes?
[ officer ]
Officer
Philadelphia p.d. We're canvassing the building in regard to a missing person's case. This is the young man we're looking for. Have you seen him?
Samuel Aboah
No.
Officer
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.
[ gasping ]
Samuel Aboah
Thank you.
Officer
Thank you.
Scene 11
INS OFFICE
[ door closed, locked ]
Marcus Duff
I am really quite busy.
Fox Mulder
We won't take up much of your time. The I.n.s. District chief told us you were in charge of most of the casework... For aliens emigrating from africa and the caribbean. We're looking for somebody that came a little more recently than that... On a flight from burkina faso. This is the passenger manifest from the charter company.
Marcus Duff
And... You want me to do what exactly?
Fox Mulder
I'd like you to Cross-reference the names on that list... With anyone applying for permanent resident status or a work visa... Within the last three months.
Marcus Duff
I am a social worker, not a police officer. My business is not chasing down illegals.
Dana Scully
Sir, we're not here to arrest anybody.
Marcus Duff
But you are FBI agents, are you not?
Dana Scully
Yes, investigating a possible public health crisis.
Marcus Duff
What kind of crisis?
Scene 12
SAMUEL ABOAH’S RESIDENCE
Fox Mulder
He's not at home. We might as well get comfortable.
Dana Scully
It has to be here, Mulder. There has to be some evidence of a virus or bacterium.
Fox Mulder
Scully, I think if you looked up from the microscope for a minute, you'd see that what's really missing is a motive.
Dana Scully
The motive of any pathogen is to reproduce itself. And my job as a doctor is to find out if and how it is being transmitted.
Fox Mulder
If this is a health crisis.
Dana Scully
Death is a health crisis. Something caused owen sanders' pituitary to fail, which in turn caused his metabolism to drop resulting in myxedema coma... And, finally, in death. Sometimes you have to start at the end to find the beginning. I just hope we don't have to find another dead body to discover what that is.
Fox Mulder
Maybe we won't have to wait. Mr. Aboah? Can I talk to you a minute?
[ tires screeching ]
Motorist
[ man yelling ] you trying to kill yourself?
Fox Mulder
Boy, this guy can move.
Dana Scully
He's not here.
Fox Mulder
He has to be.
Dana Scully
Mulder, I think I know where he went. Come on, Mulder. Let's go. We've lost him.
Fox Mulder
Hey, Scully, look at this.
Dana Scully
Oh, my god.
Scene 13
MT ZION MEDICAL CENTER
Doctor
From all outward signs, this man appears asymptomatic. I appreciate the connection you've tried to make, but I'm afraid it's a dead end.
Dana Scully
With your permission, sir, I'd like to examine him some more. I'd like to run a suppression test, to do a t.s.h. Screen, take a history.
Doctor
It would help if we could talk to him.
Dana Scully
I'm working on that.
Doctor
All right.
Fox Mulder
Nothing?
Dana Scully
Not yet. But that doesn't mean he isn't a carrier or even the index case.
Fox Mulder
He's some kind of case the way he disappeared down that drainpipe.
Marcus Duff
Why has samuel Aboah been arrested? You said his health was in danger. Why have I been lied to?
Dana Scully
Nobody has lied to you, sir.
Marcus Duff
Then, please, release him immediately.
Dana Scully
We would like to do some more tests on him. We have to be certain his health hasn't been endangered and he isn't endangering others.
Marcus Duff
Then why have you called me?
Dana Scully
As a translator. We'd like to be able to ask him some questions.
Marcus Duff
About what?
Fox Mulder
About alfred Kittel... And about several other young men who have gone missing... Since his arrival in Philadelphia three months ago.
Marcus Duff
Th-then this is about a criminal charge.
Dana Scully
There are no charges against mr. Aboah.
Fox Mulder
We only arrested him because he ran when we tried to question him. I want to know why he ran.
Marcus Duff
Sir, if you had ever been beaten by the police... Or had your home burned to the ground for no other reason than being born, then, maybe, you would understand why he ran... And why you would run too.
Fox Mulder
That man ran because he's hiding something. And no amount of tests you run on him, no science is gonna find that.
Dana Scully
Where are you going?
Fox Mulder
To find someone who I know... Plotted to deceive, inveigle and obfuscate.
Scene 14
BURKINA FASO EMBASSY
Secretary
Minister, this is agent Mulder with the FBI
Fox Mulder
Thank you for seeing me at such a late hour, sir.
Minister
I did not have much of a choice in this matter. Someone from the united nations spoke to the ambassador directly. What's so important that it can't wait?
Fox Mulder
With all due respect, sir, I think you already know.
Minister
Do I?
Fox Mulder
Something happened on a flight from your country three months ago, something that you felt compelled to hide, even from your own ambassador. The state department said... The request to stop investigating this man's death came from you. Now, I understand the need to protect your diplomatic position, but more men are dying, sir.
Minister
Even if I tell you what I know... You would never believe it.
Fox Mulder
You'd be surprised at what I believe, sir.
Minister
I had hoped, if I closed my eyes, it would go away this time.
Fox Mulder
"this time"?
Minister
My people... The bambara, are farmers. I grew up hearing the old stories, believing them as only a child can believe.
Fox Mulder
What kinds of stories?
Minister
The teliko. Spirits... Of the air.
Scene 15
HOSPITAL
Minister
It was said they rested by day... In closed, dark places... Deep inside tree hollows... And in holes beneath the ground... Too small even for a child to hide himself.
Orderly
Mr. Aboah?
[ minister ]
Minister
Only when the sun fell, when the rest of the world was sleeping, would they come out.
Scene 16
EMBASSY OFFICE
Minister
I was seven years old. Lying awake one night, I saw him. He was standing over me. His hair was like straw; his eyes like water, staring down at me. I closed my eyes and screamed... And felt myself being swept up into the air. But when I opened my eyes, I saw my father holding me.
Fox Mulder
Then it was a nightmare.
Minister
That's what my father said, and I believed him... Until the next day... When they found my cousin... Dead among his cattle... Looking exactly like this man. Which is why... When this photograph came across my desk three months ago, I knew the teliko was more than just a children's story. I knew it was real. I knew he was here.
Scene 17
HOSPITAL X-RAY VIEWING ROOM
Dana Scully
This patient appears to have something in his throat, some kind of aberrant bone growth... Or maybe something foreign lodged in his esophagus.
Doctor
Hmm. Could be a lot of things. You'd be amazed what I've seen removed from people's throats in emergency rooms.
Dana Scully
That's only part of it. I discovered something even more disturbing when his p.e.t. Series came back. Look right here on the sagittal section, right below the hypothalamus.
Doctor
There must be some mistake.
Dana Scully
There's no mistake. This patient has no pituitary gland.
Doctor
But that's not possible.
Dana Scully
I can't even begin to explain what we're seeing here, sir. I just hope this patient can-can provide us with some of the answers.
Fox Mulder
You'll have to find him first.
Dana Scully
What are you talking about?
Fox Mulder
I was looking for you down in quarantine. Samuel Aboah is gone, disappeared.
Scene 18
NIGHT
[ gasps ]
Marcus Duff
Samuel? You scared me. They let you out of the hospital?
Samuel Aboah
Yes.
Marcus Duff
Everything is fine? Samuel... Did you want to see me about something?
[ chuckles ]
Marcus Duff
Well, come on. Let me give you a ride home. We can talk about it on the way. Lucky for you I was working late.
Samuel Aboah
Yes. Lucky.
Marcus Duff
Come, let's go.
Scene 19
HOSPITAL CORRIDOR NEAR THE CART
Dana Scully
When did this happen? Thank you, lieutenant. I appreciate it.
[ hangs up cell phone ]
Dana Scully
Mulder--
Fox Mulder
I think this was his getaway vehicle. He didn't even touch his jell-o.
Dana Scully
Let's go. That was the Philadelphia p.d. Marcus Duff's car turned up abandoned... With the keys in the ignition and the hood still hot.
Scene 20
Scene 20
Policeman
6834, requesting ambulance in alley behind 1163 west cherry. [ breathing ] man down. Victim: african-american male age 35--
[ radio transmission, indistinct ]
Scene 21
Scene 21
Dana Scully
Do you know what happened to him?
Lieutenant
I won't even try to guess what happened to him, but he's alive.
Dana Scully
What about Aboah? Any indication of where he might be?
Lieutenant
We're still sweeping the area. I'll keep you posted.
Dana Scully
He's got to be around here somewhere. He can't have gotten far.
Fox Mulder
This guy can squeeze into a coffee can, Scully. He could be anywhere.
Dana Scully
They'll find him.
Fox Mulder
He'll find another victim.
Dana Scully
How do you know?
Fox Mulder
We interrupted him before he could finish.
Dana Scully
Interrupted his killing Duff?
Fox Mulder
The killing is just incidental, I think, Scully, to a far more basic need.
Dana Scully
What need?
Fox Mulder
If Aboah has no pituitary, then his body would lack... The ability to produce melanin itself, right?
Dana Scully
Theoretically, yes.
Fox Mulder
When you examined him, you didn't observe one single albino trait or characteristic.
Dana Scully
Considering his p.e.t. Scan results, I don't even know how he managed to stay alive.
Fox Mulder
That's what I'm talking about: survival; and not just Aboah's. I think the anomaly you observed is not just physiological. I think it may be evolutionary.
Dana Scully
What are you talking about?
Fox Mulder
A lost tribe, a clan of sub-saharan albinos... Linked by their common congenital deficit... Who've adapted over generations by--
Dana Scully
By stealing other people's hormones?
Fox Mulder
Somehow, Aboah has managed to survive.
Dana Scully
[ sighs ] however he's managed to survive, what-- what makes you think he's not an isolated case?
Fox Mulder
Because of something somebody told me last night. An african folktale.
Dana Scully
So, you're basing this theory on a folktale?
Fox Mulder
It's just another way of describing the same truth, right? All new truths begin as heresies and end as superstitions. We fear the unknown. So, we reduce it to the terms that are most familiar to us, whether that's a folktale or a disease... Or a conspiracy.
Dana Scully
Even if you're right-- especially if you're right-- why would he leave his own country to come here?
Fox Mulder
Free cable. I don't know. The same reasons anybody comes to this country: liberty, the freedom to pursue your own interests. Look at that.
Dana Scully
What are you doing?
Fox Mulder
It's a demolition site.
Dana Scully
Why are we here, Mulder?
Fox Mulder
Pendrell found asbestos fibers on owen sanders' body. You remove asbestos from an old building before you tear it down. It would have to come from somewhere.
[ creaking ]
[ projectile whooshing ]
[ gasps ]
Fox Mulder
Ow. Scully? Scully!
Dana Scully
Mulder? Mulder? Mulder? Mulder?
[ banging ]
[ banging continues ]
Dana Scully
Mulder? Mulder. [ groans ] Mulder, are you okay?
[ footsteps approaching quickly ]
[ footsteps continue ]
[ panting ]
[ groaning weakly ]
Dana Scully
It's okay, Mulder. I'm here. Okay? I'm sorry, Mulder.
[ groans ]
Emergency Operator
[ line rings, woman answers ] 911 operator.
Dana Scully
This is agent Dana Scully with the FBI requesting immediate e.m.s.... And police assistance.
[ operator ]
Dana Scully
I'm in liberty plaza.
Emergency Operator
May I have your badge number?
Dana Scully
My badge number? Jtt0331613.
[ groans ]
[ operator talking, indistinct ]
Dana Scully
No.
[ groans weakly ]
Dana Scully
Liberty plaza. There's a demolition site on the north side of the street.
Scene 22
Scene 22
Dana Scully
Special agent Dana Scully, field journal entry number 74. Despite acute trauma to his pituitary gland, marcus Duff was discharged early this morning... From mt. Zion medical center. He is expected to testify before a grand jury... In the capital case against samuel Aboah... Who is being charged with five counts of murder. It remains uncertain, however, whether Aboah will live long enough to stand trial. His response to hormone therapy has been poor, his deterioration progressive. My conviction remains intact... That the mechanism by which Aboah killed, and, in turn, survived, can only be explained by medical science, and that science will eventually discover his place... In the broader context of evolution. But what science may never be able to explain... Is our ineffable fear of the alien among us; a fear which often drives us not to search for understanding, but to deceive, inveigle and obfuscate; to obscure the truth not only from others... But from ourselves.
No matching dialogue
Try another character, phrase, or keyword.
About this transcript
The dialogue comes from the official DVD subtitle track supplied by Boggsfiles. Speaker and scene attribution was cross-checked against character-labelled reference material. Subtitle wording is preserved while capitalization and spacing are standardized for easier reading.