(two part episode; part 2)
\r\nPart two starts with the words “E PUR SI MUOVE”, instead of the usual truth insignia, and with Mulder in peril, it seems it’s up to Scully to save the day. However she only finds herself in a jail cell for not answering the committee’s questions about Mulder’s whereabouts. Despite the fact she quite rightly points out that several are dead, secrets are being kept etc.

Mulder manages to escape from the prison camp where he’s being held and repeatedly smacks Krycek a few times before stealing a truck and making a run for it, he gets as far as the woods where he meets a family who help him return to America. Krycek jumps from the truck (as Mulder’s prisoner) and doesn’t get so lucky – you see the tests the Russians were doing to people at the camp were inoculations for the black cancer as they call it, though it hadn’t been very successful, everyone had died. The only way to make sure they could not perform tests on you – was to remove your left arm. Krycek gets attacked during his sleep but some rather strange Russians who mean to do well, but invariably remove his arm with a hot knife. At the next hearing Scully still refuses to give Mulder’s location away – although it becomes irrelevant when he walks in the door. The strange rock has also disappeared, and anyone who’s been coming into contact with the black cancer seems to be killed off.

This episode does give a lot away when you really pay attention to the conversations between Smoking man and well manicured man. It seems the Russians discovered the rock, which contains the black oil – and weather or not they knew it was alien – they used it as a weapon, since it seems to kill anyone it comes into contact with. The Americans (mostly smoking man) knew of this new ability they have, and attempted to bring the black oil into the United States – so they could create their own vaccination against it. However the Russians sent an operative over to kill the scientist working on it, kill anyone who came into contact with it, and smuggle the rock over to Canada where they could bury it again. All of this goes according to plan.

It seems well manicured man has influences over congress, but cannot call off the hearing which results in Scully bringing evidence before them. The evidence contains enough information to link the man who died on Skinners apartment, to the rock that was brought in, which contains a bio-toxin which cannot be identified – it’s extra terrestrial. Mulder gives a speech to congress about ridiculing this – stating they should all be held in contempt for not being open minded.

We finish with the smoking man binning the evidence, and Krycek is in Russia thanking the spy for his efforts… with a fake arm.