Alyeupkigna

Earth: 1999

Fans of The X-Files probably remember an episode called "Arcadia" in which Scully and Mulder go undercover, pretending to be a married couple living in a California housing development (The Falls at Arcadia).

"Arcadia" was a "monster of the week" episode, but it contained a significant amount of humor, some of it revolving around what might happen in an alternative universe where Scully and Mulder became romantically involved.

"UFO" sighting

I guess we are supposed to believe that the neighborhood home owners association president (Gene Gogolak) was able to conjure into existence a monster that could express Gogolak's disappointment with residents who violated the neighborhood rules.

To comic effect, Mulder probes the consequences for non-compliance with the strict neighborhood rules by putting up a basketball hoop in the driveway.

Sedronites

However, in the end, after the union-specified number of murders have been recorded, the monster crumbles to dust after killing Gogolak. Is that the end of the story?

Special thanks to Miranda Hedman (www.mirish.deviantart.com) for the DeviantArt stock photograph "Black Cat 9 - stock" that I used to create the blue "sedronite" who is in the image shown to the right.

During the "Arcadia" episode, Mulder notices that Gogolak has lots of statues and "tribal" decorations that he has imported from places such as Asia. Could an inanimate object "contain" an evil spirit? I like the idea that when aliens arrived on Earth long ago, they were beings composed of zeptites: a form of artificial life. Our entire planet was impregnated with zeptites and over the eons we evolved as a composite organism, part cellular and part zeptite (Sedronites). I apologize for not having the patience to write the complete script for this fan-fiction episode of The X-Files ("Alyeupkigna", below). I wish an episode like this one had been produced and televised in 2016. The dialog that I did write for "Alyeupkigna" begins after about 11 paragraphs of scene setting narrative...

Andromeda Chained to the Rock by the Nereids

Alyeupkigna
In 2016, Scully and Mulder return to The Falls at Arcadia and investigate a new UFO sighting. "The Falls" housing development is not far from the Alyeupkigna Tongva archaeological site. The UFO sighting was reported by a team of archaeology graduate students.

When Scully and Mulder arrive at the dig, the students report on the strange "light in the sky" that they saw, arguing among themselves about whether the light came from the sky or up out of the ground and then hit the clouds. No two of them tell the same story.

Svahr

The team of graduate students working the Alyeupkigna site also mention the strange tunnels that they have found while excavating the archaeological site. Mulder crawls into one of the tunnels and is reminded of the 1999 Gogolak case and the monster at "The Falls" housing development that liked to tunnel underground.

The students comment that they are not allowed to make any new excavations at the site, but mysterious new tunnels keep appearing, so their work of documenting Native American artifacts continues. They complain about not being able to put an end to the field work, get back to the lab and wrap up their research projects. They also complain about their boss (Dr. Svahr) who insists that they only work at night so as not to attract attention (their site work permit recently expired).

Tongva "cog stones"

Mulder talks his way into the confidences of the local police chief, flashing some kind of fake government agent ID. Rummaging through a box of Gogolak's belongings that are still in storage at the local police station, Mulder notices a set of cog stones that fit together to form a model of a constellation (Cassiopeia). He also finds a business card from Dr. Svahr. Mulder steals the cog stones from the police station.

Dr. Holly Svahr with alien technology.

Scully tracks down the director of the archaeological dig: Dr. Holly Svahr and is surprised to find that Holly's home address is in The Falls at Arcadia development. Even more surprising is that Svahr is listed in UCLA adjunct faculty records as having received her Ph.D. in 1953, but as seen in her recently taken DMV photograph, Holly seems very young.

Scully and Mulder place Dr. Svahr under surveillance and once again move into the The Falls at Arcadia. They argue for a while about whether they are in the same house that they lived in back in 1999. Scully claims that the original house was torn down after wide-spread reporting of all the murders.  They finally agree that it does not matter since all the houses in the neighborhood look the same.

2016 - monster of the week by Ilya Suhoi

While meeting some of the same neighbors from 1999, Scully and Mulder ask about Dr. Svahr. Nobody seems to know much about her, saying that she "keeps to herself".

Scully and Mulder spend a nearly sleepless night together in their house. They both hear strange sounds and each individually sees a ghostly apparition. For Fox, the "ghost" transforms itself and takes on the form of his sister. For Dana, the "ghost" takes on the form of her father. The television audience sees Dr. Svahr watching Fox and Dana through the eyes of the "ghost".

Scully and Mulder watch Dr. Svahr's house for almost a week before they finally see her arrive: her car pulls into the garage. Pretending to be looking for a lost dog, Scully knocks on the front door of Dr. Svahr's house, but Svahr does not come to the door.

Two days pass and a bedraggled Mulder is finally able to follow Svahr as she leaves her house. Mulder follows her to the archaeological site. Svahr is waiting for him when he enters the site.

Svahr: Mulder, please stop following me.

Mulder (he shows her the cog stones): Dr. Svahr, I need to ask you some questions. Did you give these stones to Gene Gogolak?

Svahr (shaking her head): No. He asked me to authenticate them. He would not tell me where he bought them. If they are authentic, they should be in a museum.

Mulder: Could these stones be part of a star map?

Svahr: Why do you ask, Fox?

cover art by Henry Richard Van Dongen

Mulder: Well, Holly, I've heard the theory that about 5,000 years ago, the local residents suddenly became interested in the stars. They started obsessively carving these stones and mapping the sky.

Svahr: That's an interesting theory.

Suddenly the sky lights up with a shaft of light and shouts can be heard coming from the dig. Mulder jumps over a barricade and runs towards the light. Holly shouts to him, warning him that the ground is not safe.

Mulder tumbles into a hole as the ground gives way under his feet. Holly arrives at the edge of the hole and magically levitates Mulder and the graduate students (dirt-covered and unconscious) up and out of the hole along with a glowing cog stone. When Holly holds the stone, it stops emitting the laser beam-like light. Mulder watches in awe then slumps into unconsciousness.
__________________

In the next scene, Mulder is in a hospital bed with Scully sitting at his side, reading a newspaper that has an article about lasers disrupting LAX flights.

Mulder (waking up): Where am I?

Scully: You were found by the police, sleeping in our rental car. What happened?

Mulder (gets up, rubbing his head): I don't think it was sleep. I remember following Dr. Svahr away from The Falls.

Scully: Why didn't you call me?

Mulder (looking puzzled): I don't know. Well...it was late...I did not want to wake you up.

Scully: That's crazy, Fox. After all that time we spent waiting and watching so we could make contact with her... Where did you follow her to?

Mulder (shaking his head and getting dressed): I don't remember, Scully.

Scully: I think you just wanted to have time alone with Dr. Svahr. You should have called me.

Mulder (with his "who me?" attitude): I really can't remember.

Scully: When I could not find you this morning, I broke into Dr. Svahr's house.

Mulder: Did you find anything interesting?

Before Scully can reply, the door opens and Dr. Svahr enters the hospital room.

Svahr: Hello Dana, Fox.

Scully: You keep a very neat house, Dr. Svahr. We found nothing there. Not even a crumb of food in the kitchen or a toothbrush.

Svahr: Sorry to disappoint you, but I've completed my mission on Earth.

Mulder: What was that mission, Holly?

Svahr (hands Mulder a cog stone): I found all of the spirit stones. You can keep this one as a souvenir.

Mulder (examining the stone): This one does not really feel like stone.

Svahr with a spirit stone.

Svahr: It is an advanced composite material. Made to hold the spirit of a time traveler.

Scully: Spirit stone? Time travel? Do you expect me to believe that you are some kind of alien from outer space?

Svahr (smiles at Scully and shrugs): When I was here 5,000 years ago, I arranged for some of the locals to escape into the future. They asked to see the future and I obliged. I stored them in the stones. Somehow Gogolak managed to partially activate one of the spirit stones, using it for his own misguided purpose.

Scully: Wait. You're saying that a person was held in this stone for the past 5,000 years? Where is he now?

Svahr: She. This stone held the endosymbiont of a woman.

Mulder: Endosymbiont?

Svahr (laughs): You might as well just keep using the word "spirit", Fox.

Scully: Where is that woman now?

Svahr: Relax, Dana. This is no missing persons case. I've sent them all on to the safety of the Hierion Domain. None of them wanted to live here in modern Los Angeles. You need not worry...there will be no more trouble. I apologize for everything that has happened, although Gogolak was the source of the problem. I wish I knew how he found it possible to impart an activation code to an archived endosymbiont.

Mulder (asking Svahr): Why were you in California 5,000 years ago?

Svahr: My job was to make sure that wheeled vehicles were never developed in the Americas. The people who were then living in this area became skilled at carving stone circles. I had to step in and prevent them from inventing the wagon 5,000 years ago...in that Reality, advanced technology and an industrial age occurred in the Americas far too early.

2000, Washington D.C. (our Reality)
Scully almost crashes into Svahr.

Mulder: Too early? 

Scully (has a flashback to the year 2000): It was you!

Svahr: It took me a while to realize what Gogolak had done. By the time I figured it out, it was the year 2000 and I had to tweak your relationship with Fox in order to make sure that you two would not find the soul stones before I could.

Mulder (asking Scully): What are you two talking about? What happened in 2000?

Scully: Do you remember your trip to England in search of crop circles? While you were in England, Svahr was the mysterious woman who saved Dr. Waterston's life. And mine.

Mulder (asking Svahr): You sent me off across the Atlantic on a wild goose chase so that Dana could find Dr. Waterston?

Svahr: I just needed to distract the two of you. I'd viewed your future and seen you two stumble upon a lead that re-opened Gogolak's case. Fox, you found the clue in an old X-File case...Albert Hosteen had told you about spirit stones-

Mulder: No. I've never heard about "spirit stones" before today.

Svahr: Sorry Fox, but I had to adjust your memories.

Svahr and Fox, in the year 2000 (previous Reality)

Svahr waves her hand and sends a swarm of information nanites into Mulder. He briefly slumps and then recovers. Scully helps support him and keeps him from falling.

Mulder: Now I remember! I saw you in Washington, but...

Svahr: That's a memory that I just provided for you from a previous Reality. In our current timeline, I had to send you off to England so that you would not cause trouble.

Svahr opens the door, ready to leave.

Mulder: Wait! That can't be all...who are you?

Svahr (waves her hand and a cloud of nanites flow from her into Scully and Mulder): Goodbye.

Scully (looks dazed for a moment, then, forgetting about Svahr's just-completed visit to the hospital room, she resumes the earlier argument with Mulder): I can't believe you let Svahr give you the slip last night. She was our only lead in the case.

They open the door and walk out into the corridor.

Platinum and Iron

Mulder (walking a bit unsteadily): So we'll watch her house again. This time you can stay up all night and I'll take the day shift.

They leave the hospital. Mulder finds the cog stone in his pocket; he looks at it for a moment then tosses it into a trash bin near their rental car. They get into the car.

Scully: I have a feeling that we'll never see Svahr again.
 ____________________________________

Related Reading: the Nereid Interventionists.

Next: are we Earthlings slaves of the Huaoshy?

visit the Gallery of Book and Magazine Covers

visit the Gallery of Posters

Waiting for the X-Files 2016 miniseries