Copyright Hugh Fisher 1996
A cafeteria, lunchtime. Mulder and Scully stand in line at
the cashier with trays of food. The caption reads:
1:45 PM
City Centre, Canberra
After paying they walk towards an empty table.
SCULLY: (teasing) Well, the Australian government doesn't seem to be blocking our investigation. No alien conspiracy here, Mulder?
MULDER: (smiling) I'm not so sure, Scully. Have you seen their Parliament house?
They sit down. Scully takes a sip of coffee. Mulder sprinkles sunflower seeds on his salad.
SCULLY: Did you find any records of unusual animal imports?
MULDER: No. But a wolf was seen in Waramanga almost exactly five years ago, the day before solstice.
SCULLY: Did it attack someone?
MULDER: Hit by a truck. The driver reported seeing a man nearby, who turned pale and ran away when he saw the wolf was dead.
SCULLY: Maybe he'd forgotten to pay for his dog license.
MULDER: That same day, phone calls were made to a couple of zoos. Both times, the caller wanted to borrow a wolf or a lion. Said it was for a children's party.
SCULLY: You think it was the Fuggly worshippers?
MULDER: The wolf must have been smuggled in with the intention of making it a Fuggly. Perhaps they had another to take its place.
SCULLY: I'd say something did. I'm not prepared to believe in this alien spirit of yours, but the body I examined had definitely been attacked by some kind of animal.
MULDER: The next solstice is tomorrow, Scully. I think something will happen at midnight.
SCULLY: Mulder, a solstice is the longest day of the year. Don't you mean noon?
MULDER: Midnight is more dramatic. Trust me.
SCULLY: Well, Jakobsen won't be doing anything if she follows her schedule. She's presenting her PhD findings at a conference in Seattle in a couple of days, and has booked a flight out tomorrow morning. I suppose it could be a diversion.
MULDER: I don't think so, Scully. Another killing wouldn't fit the pattern. All the others occurred while she and a group were away. But I'm certain there will be some kind of ceremony tomorrow night.
SCULLY: Do we have enough evidence for a warrant to raid the house?
MULDER: Not yet. Did you learn anything at the university?
SCULLY: Only that Jakobsen keeps her notes there, and also works part time as a lab assistant. This John Curtin Medical School has a new underground research facility, funded by a major corporation. Mulder, there must be something unusual going on there. Nobody is willing to talk about it.
MULDER: This evening I'd like to keep a watch on the house. Will you be finished by then?
SCULLY: I'm going back to forensics, we still don't know where those feathers come from. But I should be finished in a couple of hours. What are you going to do?
MULDER: The technicians managed to recover some files off the disk that Leahy was carrying. I'll examine them for anything significant.
An office, evening. Mulder sits at a table with a tape recorder in front of him, thinking about something. There is a knock at the door.
SCULLY: (off screen) It's me, Mulder.
She enters.
MULDER: Listen to this, Scully.
He pushes the play button on the tape recorder. Scully listens. Mulder watches for her reaction. We hear a deep male voice.
VOICE: Kertrats seh c'tawy lerar Fuggly.
SCULLY: What does it mean?
MULDER: (rewinding) Three linguists so far have been unable to identify the language. But it must be important. It was stored as an audio sample on the disk.
SCULLY: I'm finished at forensics.
MULDER: Let's go then.
Waramanga, early night. Mulder and Scully sit in a parked car, looking at the one lighted window of the house.
SCULLY: You don't want to talk to her?
MULDER: In her case I think we'll learn more by watching while she's off guard. But I found another name on the newsgroup, Antti Roppola. We'll interview him tomorrow.
SCULLY: I see two outlines, but there's no extra car in the driveway. I wonder if that's Phil in there?
Interior, living/dining room of the house. Ingrid and Phil have just finished eating a take away meal. We see paper bags with a logo of a human hand coming out of a roll and signalling "OK". Underneath is the brand name, "El Chaco Taco".
PHIL: Sure you won't stay for my big moment tomorrow night?
INGRID: It's my big night too. The first proof of DNA from outside our planet. You can rule Australia, I just want a Nobel prize.
PHIL: (smiling) Well, I'll build you a research lab.
INGRID: Speaking of which, I'm taking Fuggly over to JC. I want to take an extra batch of samples with me.
PHIL: Drop off the heart as well, will you?
INGRID: I won't have time to finish it before I go. Anyway, how will you get the other bits back from the police?
Outside, in the car.
MULDER: The Fuggly must be kept somewhere, Scully.
SCULLY: In the back garden?
MULDER: Or maybe the garage.
SCULLY: (reaching for door) I think I'll take a look around.
MULDER: Be careful, Scully.
SCULLY: (getting out) Don't worry. If they spot me, I'll just say that I'm selling Avon.
MULDER: It's not the people that I'm worried about.
Inside the house.
INGRID: Hugh was good with the computers. Who's going to do that for us now?
PHIL: He betrayed us.
INGRID: That posting was just one of his bad jokes. Nobody would have taken it seriously.
PHIL: And what about that spy turning up? No, there can be only one punishment for those who lack commitment.
INGRID: Well, you could be neater about it. I can't get the stains off the bottle opener.
Exterior, neighbouring garden. Scully walks slowly along the edge. She notices something at ground level to one side.
We see a large cat, sitting and looking back with the typical feline expression of mild interest and amusement.
Scully grins at the cat and walks past.
Back to the cat. It stands up, stretches, and then changes appearance: a quick blur like the bounty hunter in Colony or the gender bender aliens. It is now the Fuggly: larger, powerfully built, with glowing red eyes and fangs and claws that a werewolf would be proud of. The Fuggly leisurely paces after Scully.
Scully is looking around the edge of a small tree. From behind comes a low growl. She quickly turns and draws her gun, holding it ready.
Brief shot of the garden, still and menacing.
Scully slowly walks on, looking around very carefully.
Inhuman Fuggly view, close to the ground and looking up, keeping pace with Scully.
Normal view. Scully is standing very still, slowly looking around. Another growl.
Sound of an engine and vehicle lights moving along the street. A milk van comes to rest not far away. Scully puts her gun away and quickly walks across the street. We see a fearful looking delivery boy run past the house.
Off screen, we hear a door opening and a voice.
INGRID: (long, drawn out) Fuggly?
Growl, sounding rather frustrated.
INGRID: (firmly) Fuggly! Come here, Fuggly.
Interior, the kitchen. Ingrid carries the Fuggly in and puts him down. She opens the fridge and pulls a dead hamster out of a compartment.
PHIL: (off screen) What's he growling at?
INGRID: I think we've missed out on another milk delivery.
Ingrid pushes a large pill into the hamsters mouth. She turns and holds the hamster above Fuggly, who reaches up and swallows it whole. He yawns. Ingrid watches. He yawns again and lies down, morphing back to a normal cat, steadily purring.
Exterior, the car. Scully opens the door and gets in.
SCULLY: It was there, Mulder, but I didn't see it.
MULDER: (watching through windscreen) Look at this.
We see Ingrid carry a bag from the front door to her car, place it on the back seat, and start back to the house.
SCULLY: Where's she going at this time of night?
MULDER: I think we'd better find out.
Through the window of the house, we see Ingrid carry the sleeping cat to the car, get in, and drive off. Further down the road, the lights and engine on another car (Mulder and Scully) switch on and follow. The camera pulls back slightly to show Phil standing at the edge of the window, looking out.
Long shot of a large university building, dark. The caption
reads:
John Curtin School of Medical Research
Australian National University
Ingrids car pulls up in front of the main entrance. She lifts the still sleeping cat from the front seat beside her.
Mulder and Scully, coasting with lights low, pulls up some distance away. They watch Ingrid carry the cat to the entrance door.
SCULLY: She's left the door open, so she must be coming back for her bag.
MULDER: Let's take a look inside.
They exit the car and walk along the side of the building to the entrance. Mulder quickly peeks through the door. It's clear. He and Scully slip inside.
Shot of Ingrid walking down a long corridor. There are fluorescent lights and various pipes along the ceiling. We see doors labelled "Lab 47" and "Animal Room", all with small glass panels. Her footsteps echo loudly from the bare polished floor.
Shot of Mulder and Scully following, staying close to the wall and moving quietly.
From behind we see another door, with an electronic combination lock. Ingrid, balancing the cat, punches in a number. The door slides open and she goes in. The door closes behind her.
Close up of the door, closed. There is the combination lock to one side and a Jurassic Park logo with the words "Warner Brothers/ANU joint venture" beneath the glass panel.
Faint sound of footsteps. Mulder and Scully look around and quickly move out of sight.
Ingrid walks up to the door, this time carrying her bag. She punches in the combination.
Inside the door is an enormous scientific biological/genetic laboratory. We see operating tables, microscopes, refrigerators, centrifuges, test tubes, gene sequencers, and a myriad of test tubes. Everything seems to be controlled by a computer the size of a large filing cabinet. The cat is sleeping on one of the side tables, Ingrids bag next to him.
Ingrid crosses from the table to a wall cabinet on the other side. As the camera tracks, we see that the rear of the lab is one huge glass-fronted, liquid filled, tank. Suspended in the liquid is a full size Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Close up of the T-Rex head. The eye blinks slowly, alive but with no sign of consciousness. Plastic tubes are inserted into the nostrils. A cluster of bubbles escapes every few seconds.
Close up of the sleeping cat. Ingrid strokes him gently, then aims a small spray device at his nose and presses the trigger. A misty vapour appears.
The cat morphs into Fuggly form.
Through the door panel, Mulder and Scully glance at each other in amazement.
Ingrid puts down the spray, picks up a hypodermic needle, and starts to draw a blood sample. The array of tubes and slides next to her suggest this will take some time.
Outside the door, Mulder and Scully walk quietly away.
SCULLY: So that's the Fuggly.
MULDER: It explains why they could keep it in an ordinary house without being detected.
SCULLY: How does it transform? The extra matter must be converted from metabolic energy somehow.
MULDER: We've got to capture it, Scully. Positive proof that terrestrial and extra terrestrial symbiosis is possible.
SCULLY: Remember the bodies? I don't think it wants to be captured, Mulder.
MULDER: I have an idea about that.