| MULDER AND SCULLY BECOME THE FOCUS OF A MISINFORMATION
CAMPAIGN WHEN THEY ATTEMPT TO TRACE THE GOVERNMENT'S SECRET TRANSPORT OF AN ALIEN LIFE
FORM. Mulder and Scully investigate a UFO sighting in
Reagan, Tennessee. They interview a truck driver named Ranheim, who claims he fired his
shotgun at a mysterious object in the sky. Ranheim, however, changes the details of his
story, prompting Mulder to speculate that he has something to hide. The agents also
realize that Ranheim exhibits symptoms of Gulf War Syndrome, an illness that normally
afflicts veterans of the conflict in Iraq. Ranheim claims he is not a veteran of that war.
After further investigation, Scully discovers that Ranheim's real
name is Frank Druce, a former Special Operations officer in Iraq who had been admitted to
VA hospitals for treatment of his illness. Meanwhile, Mulder receives top secret
information from Deep Throat that Druce was transporting the wreckage of a UFO that was
shot down over Iraqi air space. But other evidence hints that the truck is a decoy, and
that the real wreckage is actually being kept at Fort Benning in Georgia. Mulder and
Scully realize that Deep Throat has been deliberately leaking them misinformation.
When Mulder confronts Deep Throat, he admits that he tried to
lead the investigation away from the truck. He justifies his action by stating that the
country is not ready to comprehend a closely guarded government secret. He also confirms
that the agents are under constant surveillance.
Determined to uncover the truth, Mulder and Scully resume their
search for the truck. Their diligence pays off, and the vehicle is located on a remote
roadway. While surveying the truck from afar, the agents' vehicle is suddenly engulfed by
an intense light. The truck comes to a stop and the agents open its doors. Inside, they
find evidence that an Extraterrestrial Biological Entity, or E.B.E., had been inside.
Mulder and Scully suspect that the E.B.E. had been shuttled to a
top secret government facility where a host of UFO sightings had been reported in the
previous week. With the aid of an extreme government watchdog group called "The Lone
Gunman," the agents gain access to the heavily-guarded facility. The agents' presence
is detected and they are taken into custody, but not before Mulder comes close to seeing
the E.B.E.
Deep Throat comes to Mulder's aid. He reveals that after the
Roswell UFO incident in 1947, the most powerful governments in the world signed a top
secret treaty ordering the execution of any E.B.E. that might survive a UFO crash. Deep
Throat reveals that he carried out the murder of the E.B.E., and to atone for his act, he
will continue to leak Mulder top secret information.
Mulder is released, but he remains unsure that Deep Throat is
telling the truth.
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