BLOOD

                             This chemical, when reacting with adrenalin and other compounds secreted                                     during phobic episodes, creates a substance similar to LSD.

The episode opens in a Postal centre in Franklin, Pennyslvania, and an employee (Edward Funsch) being told by his boss that he can work until the end of the week before collecting his cards. Edward returns to his post somewhat disconsolately but nevertheless continues to work - until he notices something strange happening to his LED in front of him....flashing the words KILL and KILL EM ALL. A bewildered Funsch does not follow the instructions, and leaves in a panic....Meanwhile at the Civic Centre in Franklin a group of people stand in a lift, although one of the males looks highly uncomfortable as he sweats and gasps for air. The male looks around and focuses on an LED in the lift - which displays sentences of 'Cant breathe' and 'kill em all'.......

We then switch to Mulder attend the Civic Centre and being told by local Police that the suspects body was on the side walk after a security guard shot him, and that all other individuals in the lift had been killed. Mulder is informed that the suspect was a 42 year old real estate worker who murdered the victims with his bear hands, and that in the last seven months 22 people have been killed by seven individuals, and that in each incident the suspect had been killed. He further learns that each of the incidents occurred in public places and that the suspects went crazy when they refused to desist. As he looks at the body Mulder notices an unidentified green powder under the suspects fingernails.

Funsch, whom we saw at the postal office earlier, continues to experience apparent hallucinations - with an LED at the cash machine telling him to take the security guards gun and 'kill em all.' However Funsch scrambles away from the scene.

Mulder struggles to build a composite profile of the killers. He does acknowledge that each suspect had disregard for anonymity or survival, and that in any given background the perpetrators would be far more likely to be victims of violent crimes themselves rather than the originators. The killers are all middle income, responsible people with no previous violence - and the toxicology report on the green substance is that it is a chemical found on plants. Mulder and Scully toss around a few more theories, including Mulders ideas surrounding mass UFO abduction - yet they soon notice another common theme - the single connecting trace evidence is the destruction of electronic device; a pager, a fax, cell phone and a gas pump digital display. They conclude that there is no way of knowing who would be a killer and who would be killed.

Meanwhile at a local garage Bonnie McRoberts turns up to collect her vehicle - she is alone with a male mechanic and as he beckons her over to the vehicle she certainly shows signs of reluctance. She looks at the diagnostics machine, which contains an LED, and it tells her that the mechanic is lying, and that he will rape and kill her. It then tells her to kill him first, and she does by hitting him with a wrench. The following morning Mulder and Sheriff Spencer turn up, and through the invoice books Mulder works out that Mrs McRoberts was the last person at the garage. He tracks her down at home and when she begins talking to Mulder her microwave LED indicates that Mulder knows and she should kill him. She draws a knife on Mulder and the Sheriff shoots her.

At the FBI national academy in Quantico Scully carries out an autopsy on the victim, and concludes that there were several abnormalities. She identifies that fact that the victims level of adrenalin was over 200 times the normal level, and there was also a high concentration of a chemical compound similar to the substance found on the first victims fingernails. It is her opinion that when this chemical reacts with adrenalin and other compounds secreted during phobic episodes there is a creation of a substance similar to LSD.

Back in Franklin Funsch continues to have problems - with television screens at a local centre encouraging him to buy guns that are located behind him - and on this occasion he follows the instructions.

Mulder continues to struggle for answers, and finds himself approaching his friends at the Lone Gunmen, who upon reviewing the evidence ask Mulder is he had ever come across LSDM, the basis of an experimental toxic pesticide that acts as a natural pheromone on plants - that is it invokes a response from the pests. The Lone Gunmen suggest that maybe this substance could have the same effect on humans - although this was an experimental spray and should not have been used by the Government. Later that day Mulder watches the local crop fields and gets caught up in some of the spray spread by the choppers - and he winds up at Franklin Community Hospital. Mulder maintains that the killers all reside in heavily sprayed areas, and whilst the local representative (Larry Miller) does not deny the use of the experimental spray he maintains that there is no link between it and violent behaviour. Mulder however has other ideas, and after looking at the TV himself he comes up with the idea of subliminal messages - and from that the electrical devices destroyed by every perpetrator because the insecticide LSDM invokes a fear response, and that all killers were phobic, heightening the response. However the big question remains.....who would be sending the subliminal messages????

For Mulder the answer lies with the government - these people are the subjects of a controlled experiment, recalling issues surrounding DDT in the 1950s and germ warfare. He answers the question as to why by suggesting if you are distracted by a fear of what's around you it keeps you seeing the actions of those above....Larry Miller agrees to stop using the insecticide - yet there is one further problem for the agents - those others who could potentially kill. They decide that the best way is to assess prevalence of the substance through voluntary 'cholesterol testing' and when they investigate those who fail to undertake the test they end up on the trail of Funsch - who by this time has disappeared from his home with a gun. Funsch, who has a phobia about the sight of blood, heads off to the local blood drive at the Community College and positions himself at the top of a clock tower. Mulder and Scully arrive and the former goes on to confront Funsch....

We end with the final LED stating 'ALL DONE....BYE BYE....'

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