Mulder receives a cryptic tip from Deep Throat regarding an incident in which a fugitive
eluded police after a high speed chase. During the escape, the suspect was shot and
wounded by police before he fell into a lake. Despite many hours of dredging, the fugitive’s
body is not recovered. After some investigating, Mulder realizes that someone deliberately
switched the car the suspect was driving with another vehicle.
The agents trace the original car to a Dr. Berube, a scientist who is not eager to
cooperate with the FBI investigation. With the puzzling case at a dead end, Mulder prepares
to give up. Yet Deep Throat makes contact and convinces him that the case is of extreme
importance. Meanwhile, Dr. Berube’s dead body is discovered inside the lab.
The police end their search for the fugitive without recovering a body. When they leave
the lake, the mysterious fugitive resurfaces from beneath the water. Tiny gills in his neck
allowed him to remain submerged for a long period. The fugitive makes his way to the city,
and after attempting to contact Berube collapses on the street. As paramedics rush the
fugitive to a hospital, they insert a needle into his skin. Suddenly, a rush of toxic gas is
emitted from the fugitive’s body. The paramedics are overcome by the fumes and the fugitive
escapes.
With the help of Dr. Carpenter, Scully analyzes a flask taken from Dr. Berube’s lab. The
bacteria inside is suspected of being extraterrestrial in origin.
Mulder discovers a storage room containing human bodies suspended in a clear liquid.
When he returns to the room with Scully, he finds that it has been emptied. Deep Throat
explains that Dr. Berube had been experimenting with extraterrestrial viruses. He used
humans afflicted with terminal illnesses as his guinea pigs. The experiment was funded by
the US government, but officials were interested only in technology-not the patients’ well
being. One of those patients was Dr. Secare, a friend of Dr. Berube’s. When it became clear
that the government wanted Secare eliminated, Berube warned his friend and gave him his
car to escape. When Secare was hunted down by police, he used his mutation to his
advantage and hid beneath the lake.
Scully is stunned to learn that Dr. Carpenter was killed in a car accident. Shortly
thereafter, Mulder locates Dr. Secare hiding in the attic of his house. The pair are surprised
by a government official who shoots and kills Secare.
When Mulder disappears, Scully makes contact with Deep Throat. Deep Throat arranges
for Scully to gain access to a top secret containment facility in Maryland. Scully steals an
alien fetus, and with Deep Throat’s help, arranges to exchange the fetus for Mulder. After
Deep Throat makes the exchange, he is shot and killed by the government agents.
Later, Mulder tells Scully that the government is shutting down the X-files.
“THE ERLENMEYER FLASK”
#1X24
Original Air Date: 5/13/94
Written by Chris Carter
Directed by R.W. Goodwin
Starring:
DAVID DUCHOVNY as Special Agent Fox Mulder
GILLIAN ANDERSON as Special Agent Dana Scully
Also Starring:
Jerry Hardin as Deep Throat
Lindsey Ginter as Crew-Cut Man
Anne DeSalvo as Dr. Anne Simon
Simon Webb as Dr. Secare
Jim Leard as Captain Lacerio
Ken Kramer as Dr. Berube
Phillip MacKenzie as Medic
William B. Davis as Cigarette-Smoking Man
Jaylene Hamilton as Reporter
Mike Mitchell as 1st Uniformed Cop
John Payne as Guard
