ICE

                         The depth of the ice sheet was 3000 metres thick...the team found an icesheet twice that                                 depth..they were drilling inside a meteor crater

The episode begins 250 miles north of the Arctic circle, with an ice core project team working at a remote outpost on the Icy Cape, and as a dog wanders around the complex we see what appear to be a few dead bodies. One of the team, a male, brandishes a gun and attempts to broadcast a message on the radio....'we are not who we are' echoes around the complex....until another member of the team enters with a gun and they face each other - before turning the guns on themselves. We hear two gunshots in the distance as the camera pans away from the outpost.

At FBI HQ Mulder reviews the available evidence - it would appear John Richter led the Arctic Ice Core Project team out to Alaska, and they were drilling into the ice core and taking samples of trapped gas, dust and chemicals, which in turn would reveal a historical insight into the climate of the earth. For a few months things appeared to be progressing well, yet the latest transmission was that of the events described above. Mulder informs Scully that they have been handed the assignment to find out what has happened to this research team, and that they are to fly to Alaska and meet three scientists who are familiar with the project.

We then switch to Doolittle airport, Nome, Alaska. Mulder and Scully meet the three scientists - Murphy, Da Silva and Hodge, a geophysicist, toxicologist and medical doctor. A further addition to the party is Bear, the pilot who will transport them to the research base. Upon reaching the compound the group discover the bodies and begin to investigate, but not before Mulder and Bear are attacked by the pet dog, who is still alive, and the latter is bitten as a result. The dog is examined and strange black nodules are found, along with something that moves under its skin. We then see Bear experiencing pain, and the appearance of nodules under his arm - a result of being bitten by the dog..... Meanwhile Scully examines the bodies and concludes that three of the team killed each other, and the other two killed themselves...and that no black nodules were evident. Upon re-examination of the dog the black nodules had also disappeared. Mulder meanwhile realises that the team had been drilling into a meteor crate...

Blood samples taken from the deceased indicated that ammonia hydroxide was present, and that ammonia was also contained within the ice samples. The scientists concluded that earth could not have sustained this level of ammonia.... and for Mulder this introduces the possibility of a meteorite crashing to earth and bringing with it some form of organism. Bear meanwhile doesn't seem to want to stick around for further analysis and says he is leaving - however Mulder suggests that they cannot let him leave as he may be infected, and thus a risk to the human population. They manage to restrain him, and as he gasps for breath they see movement under his skin and attempt to remove the object by cutting it out of him. Whilst they remove what appears to be a tapeworm type creature - Bear dies. The group conclude that those infected act aggressively, and that Richter and Campbell killed themselves to save everyone else. The group decide to check each other for the black nodules and they all seem to be clear.

The remaining team bed down for the night - although Mulder is awoken and investigates the noise - discovering that Murphy has been killed. The suspicion is immediately cast upon Mulder and he is quarantined by the others. Scully continues to broadcast a distress signal, but the onset of a storm means there is no immediate help. Whilst looking at bloods they accidentally discover that by having two of these organisms in the same host - they kill one another. This is tested on the dog and it works, with the dog passing both dead worms through its stool. They then decide to put the last remaining captive worm into Mulder - yet he manages to convince Scully that he is not infected. As fights break out between the group it soon becomes clear that it is Da Silva who is infected - and they manage to get the worm into her body.

We then switch to Doolittle airport and Da Silva being taken away for quarantine. The remaining three survivors reflect on events, and Mulder states that he is going back to the compound to investigate further. However he is soon told that the base was destroyed by the military......

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