Crampton (13 page)

MULDER

Uh ... yeah, sure. And a Coke, please.

COUNTERGIRL

And for you, ma'am?

Scully is a little out of it, still trying to hold onto her last thought ... to no avail.

SCULLY

Just some coffee for me, thanks.

MULDER

Can I ask you something? How do you--the town, I mean--stay in business? It doesn't seem like there's enough people around here to support it.

COUNTERGIRL

Oh, tourists, mostly.

SCULLY

Tourists?

COUNTERGIRL

Oh, sure. We get lots of people like you passing through here.

The countergirl nods in the direction of a table toward the back. There, the couple on a "photographic excursion" is seated. They are scooping chunks of meatloaf and lumps of mashed potatoes into their mouths, seemingly not pausing between bites to swallow. They turn to Mulder and Scully and smile, their chins dripping gravy.

MULDER

You know, on second thought...

He stops as Scully's cell phone rings. She answers it.

SCULLY

Scully.

RICKY SMITH

(on Mulder's cell phone in the yellow house)

Where have you been? I've been ringing you for an hour! Are you two still in Crampton?

SCULLY

Yes.

RICKY SMITH

Get out. Get out while you still can.

SCULLY

What do you--

Ricky hangs up.

SCULLY

Mulder, that was Ricky. I think something's wrong.

MULDER

Let's go.

The agents take their coats and leave. A few seconds after they've gone, the tourists stand and leave, their meal only partially eaten. The countergirl clears their plates and goes through a swinging door, presumably to the back of the building. The diner is once again empty. After a moment, the LIGHTS GO OUT.

FADE OUT

END OF ACT TWO

ACT THREE

FADE IN:

INT. YELLOW HOUSE

Mulder, Scully, and Ricky are together in the yellow house. Whereas before he was low-key and a little evasive, Ricky now is agitated. He unfolds a sheet of paper and holds it up for them to see: "Spectacular Display of Illusion and Ventriloquism."

RICKY SMITH

This came through my mail slot about an hour ago. Have you seen this?

SCULLY

Yes. They're pretty much all over town.

RICKY SMITH

This is bad. This is very bad. You definitely don't want to be around if--when--this thing happens.

MULDER

We checked out the Masonic Hall. I don't see any spectacular displays happening in that place. Not tomorrow, not next week, probably not ever.

RICKY SMITH

Agent Mulder, I'm guessing you've been in Crampton long enough to know that what you see has very little to do with what you get. And you don't want to be there when they give it to you.

SCULLY

The Mystery Line. So you did continue the investigation on your own.

RICKY SMITH

(nodding)

I couldn't let it go. Cases like that were my special interest. Being able to point my finger and say, with all the authority of the Justice Department behind me, "Look, this is all a fake, none of this is real, it's all a con." Those opportunities somehow justified all my work, maybe my whole life. When we looked into the Mystery Line, Larry and I, we could tell it was a front for something, but none of the pieces seemed to fit together ... or, they fit together, but the picture they made was all wrong. Larry said "no more"--too many dead ends, too many coincidences. But I was already in too deep. I quit the Bureau. I made the Mystery Line my purpose in life. That's when I was brought to Crampton.

MULDER

What do you mean, "brought"?

RICKY SMITH

The same way they used Larry's murder to bring you to Crampton. One thing just sort of leads to another. A map, a murder, a phone call, a message in a fortune cookie. They've got all the gimmicks. They're very good at getting you to do what they want. As I drove toward the town I knew that I'd been here before. I knew it. Here, or someplace very much like it. There's more than one Crampton in the world, that I'm sure of. Anyway, I snooped around for while, like you did. And then I went to that old ruin of a hall. But I wasn't alone there. I didn't exactly see anyone or anything, but I could feel something lurking around me, running away when I wasn't looking. Leading me, it seemed, from room to room. I came across a tiny office with a desk and a phone. The phone was disconnected, I could see that. I don't know what made me pick up the receiver and put it to my ear.

Mulder and Scully exchange a brief look.

RICKY SMITH

When I did I heard ... something. A voice. Or maybe more than one voice. Telling me things that didn't make any sense, not in any literal way. But it scared me. And in those days nothing scared me. I slammed down the receiver fast. I should have gotten out of there right then, and I probably still could have. But I let it lead me on further and further into this darkness that seemed to be massing around me. Finally I was standing on the stage of the hall, right where the curtain comes together. Even at that point, I think I could have turned and walked away without any serious consequences. But I had to look behind the curtain. I had to know what was hiding there in all that blackness. I had to know. And the strangest thing was finding out that I already knew.

Ricky stops, but it's clear he wants to say more. He just needs to have it dragged out of him.

MULDER

What was it? What did you know?

RICKY SMITH

It's very hard to put into words. I think you, of all people, should be able to understand that, Agent Mulder. But what I felt, looking into that blackness behind the curtain ... it seemed that I could hear the blackness, that I could touch it.

Ricky is building steam, his narrative fueled by some reservoir of manic energy. He speaks faster, waving his hands.

RICKY SMITH

I understood that there was something at work at the heart of things--no, not something at work, but something at play. Something that was playing, putting on a show--a flimsy, pointless, hokey stageshow. And I realized then that the only thing that kept the show going was this mindless, relentless urge...

SCULLY

Urge for what?

RICKY SMITH

For more play. Just to play and play and play. Pure play for the hell of it. Pure magic. And pure illusion. I don't have any names to give you. I wish I did. That always makes it easier to take. I could say it's the Bavarian Illuminati or the Council on Foreign Relations or the Prince of Darkness, but I'd be kidding myself, picking a name out of a hat for the sake of having something to call them. From our point of view their power is unthinkable, literally. Our brains just aren't wired to handle it. That's what killed those people. They called the Mystery Line to get the truth. And they got it.

MULDER

So what is the truth, Ricky?

RICKY SMITH

The truth is, there is no truth. Everything is mutable. Provisional. They can change the entire landscape of things--make things happen that couldn't possibly happen. Or even undo something that's already happened. Not just here, in Crampton, but anywhere, everywhere they can find an audience. Build a stage. Put on the act. We don't get to see the big picture--and sometimes it's very big indeed. Worldwide repercussions. That sort of thing. But in the end it all gets swept under the table--we blame it on some nut in a shack, or terrorists.

Mulder and Scully look at each other uncomfortably at the word "terrorists."

RICKY SMITH

With so much power, though, there's really nothing for them to do except play. Push a button, pull a string, just to see what moves on the other end. That's what the truth is, Agent Mulder. Once I knew that, once I knew their secret ... well, here I am. And I'm not going anywhere. When you know how it's all done, when you know the secret--it's all over.

And so is Ricky's story. The manic energy that fueled its telling apparently spent, he slouches in his chair.

RICKY SMITH

I really hope for your sake that they don't let you in on it. I really mean that. They're always looking for superior playmates, and you two would seem to fit the bill. But if you don't get out of Crampton before this magic show...

SCULLY

Well, what about you? You're welcome to come with us when we go.

RICKY SMITH

(with a humorless smile)

There's nowhere to go, not for me, at least. Besides--

He turns the magic show flyer over. On the back, written in neat, ancient letters: "Admit One."

RICKY SMITH

--my ticket's already paid for.

Ricky looks at his watch.

RICKY SMITH

(forcing an animated tone)

Hey, it's getting late. If you two are going to make Cincinnati tonight, you'd better hit the road now.

EXT. YELLOW HOUSE - NIGHT

Mulder and Scully get into their car. In the doorway, Ricky watches. For a second, a look crosses his face. Hope, perhaps. Then the look is gone, replaced by one of weary resignation. As Mulder and Scully drive away, Ricky closes the door.

INT. CAR

Mulder and Scully.

MULDER

Well, Scully, what do you think of that?

SCULLY

I think I'm ready to upgrade my diagnosis from delusional to full-blown paranoia.

MULDER

I'm not sure I agree, Scully. Sure, Ricky's story is out there, but the basic idea that things aren't what they seem is pretty much the rationale followed by all serious investigators--be they scientists, philosophers, even FBI agents. The only thing that distinguishes Ricky's perspective is his conviction that there's some sort of design or intent behind the facts as we know them. But it's all the same thing--it's just a matter of scale.

By the look on her face, it is clear Scully is unconvinced.

MULDER

Look, all we know, all we can ever know, is based on what we can see, what we can touch, right? But it's not real. Our senses simply collect this information and then our brains compose it into some mock-up of reality.

SCULLY

Mulder, is this little speech going somewhere?

MULDER

What if you could know things as they really are? Not just as they're processed by our senses and assembled in our brains, but as the world really looks? I think Ricky Smith, when he came to this town, got a look at things as they really are. And I don't think he liked what he saw.

SCULLY

Then why doesn't he just leave? You don't really believe he likes it there in that house, do you?

MULDER

I don't think he has a choice. The filth. The potted meat. I think something's been keeping him there. Feeding him. Keeping him alive. Why, I don't know.

EXT. OASIS MOTEL - NIGHT

The agents' car pulls into the parking lot.

INT. SCULLY'S MOTEL ROOM

From the amount of steam in the room and the sound of RUNNING WATER, it looks like Scully is finally taking that shower. The phone starts to RING; it is an ancient Princess model with a ring like a fire alarm. At the third RING there is a muffled CURSE from inside the bathroom. The WATER stops.

CUT TO:

INT. MULDER'S MOTEL ROOM

Mulder is lounging on the bed flipping through TV channels. Through the thin wall, the RING of Scully's phone can be barely heard. Mulder doesn't seem to notice.

Click: An old black-and-white cartoon.

Click: Some artsy-looking thing, shot in negative exposure and accompanied by AIRY SYNTH MUSIC.

Click: STATIC, with a hint of a human image behind.

Click: Another old cartoon.

CUT TO:

INT. SCULLY'S MOTEL ROOM

After two more RINGS, Scully comes out of the bathroom wrapped in a long bathrobe, her hair in a towel.

Scully's POV: She is trying to get to the phone, but the mist seems to have thickened, and she can't quite seem to cover the eight or so steps to the RINGING telephone. She keeps getting set back.

Suddenly she finds herself with the telephone in her hand, held up to her ear. She looks surprised.

SCULLY

Hello?

There are vague NOISES on the other end of the line, but no reply.

SCULLY

Hello?

The NOISES seem to coalesce into something like a human VOICE, or SEVERAL VOICES not quite in synch. They are speaking in what might be another language, not making any sense. The speech is full of hisses and grunts. Still, Scully seems mesmerized for a moment. Then the spell breaks, and she SLAMS the phone down.

CUT TO:

INT. MULDER'S MOTEL ROOM

Mulder is still surfing through TV channels.

Click: An infomercial for a set of encyclopedias called "The Lure of the Unknown."

VOICEOVER (on the television)

Do you really want to know the truth about Bigfoot? The Lost City of Atlantis? Flying saucers? "The Lure of the Unknown" has the answers.

On the SCREEN, the picture changes: A thin BLOND MAN appears. The poor reception makes him look gruesome, cadaverous. He looks right into the camera, almost looking through the television.

BLOND MAN

(in the same voice)

We only have one question: Do you really want to know?

The man on screen holds his pose uncomfortably long. Mulder finally changes the channel. Click: the infomercial again.

BLOND MAN

Do you really want to know?

Click: the infomercial.

BLOND MAN

Do you really want to know?

Mulder scans through the channels faster. Click.

BLOND MAN

--really want to know?

Click.

BLOND MAN

--want to know?

Click.

BLOND MAN

--to know?

Click.

BLOND MAN

--know?

Click.

BLOND MAN

--know?

Click: The thin man is replaced by a silent and grainy video of a man and a woman talking. The angle is odd, though, shot from about waist level and looking almost straight up. Disoriented by the odd point of view, it takes Mulder a moment to recognize the two people: himself and Scully, talking in the autopsy room earlier that day, as seen through Larry Johnson's dead eyes.