The Alien Genome Project

Later, agents Reyes and Doggett are on their second flight of the day. Reyes had been correct about Doggett being tired. He had been up late reading and only had two hours sleep before being told to get to Ashville. Doggett is trying to sleep in an airliner seat that is too small for him and Reyes is looking at Mulder's map of Maryland. Reyes mutters, "What makes no sense is that Mulder would fly to Baltimore in order to get to College Park."

Doggett mutters in terse reply without opening his eyes, "Side trip."

Reyes realizes that she is keeping Doggett awake. For a moment she thinks about trying to catch a nap, snuggled up next to him, but she feels the weight of Scully's need driving her to press ahead with the investigation. Monica wants to know exactly what she is doing and where she is going when the plane lands. Besides, she tells herself, I got enough sleep last night. She folds the map and opens her laptop, enters a password, and reads the notes that she entered earlier:

Scully has been using molecular biology laboratory facilities at The University of Maryland Division of Human Genetics, in Baltimore. University of Maryland also had on record that Scully had visited the Materials Research Center at the College Park campus.

Reyes looks out the window and sees that their flight is turning towards Baltimore from the northwest. She can see Frederick. She starts to type:

Scully has been living in a rented house in Damascus, MD. for the past two years. Damascus is about in the center of a triangle formed by Fort Detrick, the University of Maryland Medical Center in downtown Baltimore and the College Park campus.

Reyes takes out the optical disc with Scully's MUFON presentation and steps through the slides.

The first slide is the title slide:

The Alien Genome Project
by Dana Scully

The next few slides outline Scully's work as a consultant for a government research project based at Fort Detrick that has been developing biological warfare agent detectors. Scully had been involved in field testing the detectors and suggesting modifications.

Reyes comes to a slide titled "False Positives" followed by a list of field test locations. The next dozen slides show her analysis of each case and an account for the false detection of an apparent biological warfare agent. Reyes yawns and shakes her head at Scully's methodical devotion to detail. She mutters to herself, "Those MUFON geeks would have been bored to tears." It crosses her mind that maybe they hired the hit men so that they could get out of Scully's lecture and hit the bars early.

But then she sees the slide for the last remaining false positive:

Molecular analysis
- unusual nucleic acid
- backbone sugar: tagatose
- six distinct nucleotides
- 3 allowed base pairs

The next few slides then describe how the biological warfare agent detector was able to detect the unusual nucleic acid.

The plane has reached the gate and passengers start to gather their belongings. Reyes goes back and notes the origin of the sample containing the unusual nucleic acid. It is listed as, "FBI- missing person crime scene."

The final group of slides deals with Scully's on-going effort to adapt DNA sequencing technology to the task of determining the sequence of nucleotides in the unusual nucleic acid sample.

Reyes wakes up Doggett and they leave the plane. "I think I know why Mulder was thinking about going to College Park. Scully must have gotten the Materials Research Center there to help her with analysis of the alien DNA."

Doggett rubs his face, shaking off sleep. The flight had been too short and his attempt to get some sleep disturbed by anxiety over Scully's abduction. Doggett's intuition told him that the trail had instantly and unnaturally gone cold and that the conventional investigation methods of the FBI would fail to deal with yet another X-file case. As usual, he was starting to pin his hopes on the unconventional mind of his partner. As they navigate through the crowded airport, Doggett asks, "What is this about alien DNA?"

Reyes quickly summarizes the key elements of Scully's planned presentation at the MUFON conference. Doggett asks, "So Scully was trying to decode the gene sequence of this unusual nucleic acid sample?" Skepticism is evident in his voice.

Reyes nods. "Think about it, John. This is the perfect way to detect aliens. Aliens can't possibly remove every molecular trace of their presence on Earth. Scully apparently has an alien DNA sample and has been working to show that it contains alien genetic instructions."

They reach a shuttle bus that will carry them to a car rental shop. They wedge themselves into a small bench seat of the bus and Reyes turns partly sideways to make room for Doggett's shoulders. She places both of her hands on John's right leg and lightly squeezes his thigh. "John, do you think Scully would have taken evidence with her when she left the FBI?"

Doggett's head whips to turn to the side so he can see if she is serious. He asks in disbelief, "Why do you ask that?"

Monica tells him about the source that Scully had listed for the alien DNA sample. John offers his guess, "Walking off with FBI evidence seems more like something Mulder might do. Scully, as an ethical medical doctor would not compromise biological samples from a crime scene."

Monica zigzags the finger nails of her right hand along the inner surface of his thigh. "Think about the nature of this evidence. Scully leaves the FBI and then gains access to new, highly sensitive detectors of biological materials. And I happen to know that Scully does have at least one sample from an FBI case. Remember that device that she had removed from the back of her neck?"

What Monica is doing to his leg is making it hard for John to think, but he says, "I don't think that qualifies as official FBI evidence. You think that device contained alien DNA?"

Reyes shrugs. "I don't know, but I think that the detection methods she was using are so sensitive that she would not have to take an entire piece of evidence out of the FBI, maybe just a tiny fragment would be enough, and Scully would be comfortable taking diagnostic samples from pieces of evidence for forensic analysis."

Doggett realized that Monica has a reasonable hypothesis. He says, "Okay then, you seem to have a handle on this DNA angle. We'll split up from here. You hit the two University of Maryland labs and I'll head north to Scully's place and Fort Detrick."

Reyes nods agreement. "There is one thing about Scully's presentation that bothers me."

Doggett asks, "What's that?"

Reyes replies, "Calling it 'The Alien Genome Project.' That is so NOT Scully. I mean the word 'alien' is nowhere else in the whole presentation."

Doggett chuckles. "It stinks of Mulder."

Reyes asks, "Do you think Mulder put her up to it?"

Doggett shrugs. "Why else would Scully even be at a MUFON event? I think it was Mulder trying to attract someone's attention. Scully was the bait." Doggett sounds bitter. He silently curses Mulder for making use of Scully in such a way; what essentially turned out to be a ritual human sacrifice.

"Fly paper?" Monica asks. The bus reaches it destination and they stand up. "Well, if so, Mulder should have known better." Reyes disparages the Lone Gunmen. "Placing Scully's life on the line and trying to back her up with the help of the three stooges seems mighty lame, but I'm not sure we know the whole story yet"

They exit the bus and get in line to rent cars. "I don't know. Maybe Mulder did not even know that the Lone Gunmen would be there." Doggett speculates, "Maybe I'll find something at Scully's house. A message from Mulder or something explaining his plan."

They are occupied for a few minutes getting keys to their rental cars. Reyes advises Doggett, "Your only chance is that Scully left something on her computer. When she was still with the FBI she was using a hardware encryption device that the Lone Gunmen gave her. I heard that when Scully was run out of the FBI they spent six months trying to crack into the computer files that she left on her office computer and eventually they had to gave up. You'll never get into her files without her password."

They go into the parking lot in search of their cars. "Ya, I've heard rumors about Scully's computer, that the NSA dismantled it chip by chip and could not even find the hidden encryption system. They threw all of their computing power they have at her hard drive and could not unscramble the text of her notes."

Doggett puts his bag into his rental car. "Anyhow, thanks for the warning about Dana's computer, but Skinner and I were involved with getting her security clearance approved for working at Fort Detrick. Given her track record with data files, they insisted that there be a fail-safe on Scully's computer. Her keyboard was bugged and Skinner told me he could get access to her password."

Reyes groans. "That's a dirty trick, John, she's a private citizen now."

Doggett finally finds his rental car. "Private citizen with a military security clearance."

Reyes sees her car just a few more spaces down the row. "A dirty trick, but it might help save her life."

Doggett unlocks the trunk of his car and with military precision executes the required planning for when partners are forced to split up during an investigation. "We are dealing with a criminal conspiracy of unknown depth." Some irrational fear floods his mind with the idea that he may never see her alive again. He tries to drink the image of her in with his eyes. "Frequent phone check-ins with Washington and call me if you find anything of interest."

Monica places a hand on his shoulder, "Ditto for you, Agent Doggett. I'm puzzled why we have not yet heard from Mulder. By now he must know that he bit off more than he can chew. I'm afraid that he has gotten himself into a position where he can't contact us anymore, even if he wants to."

"If you are right, that probably means we are dealing with five abductees, counting the three bozos." Doggett tosses his bag in his rental car and starts to get behind the steering wheel then calls to Reyes, "Hey, can I have that road map? Where the hell is Damascus, anyhow?"