Behold the mighty cockroach.
Believed to have originated in the Silurian period
over 350 million years ago,
they can be found in every part of the world
from the tropics to the Arctic.
There exists 4,000 known species.
And in a year, a single female
can produce over half a million descendants.
Radiation doesn't kill them.
By evolutionary standards,
they are nearly flawless creatures,
but creatures nevertheless.
Possessing only a simple nervous system,
their behavior is dictated
solely by responses to environmental stimuli.
Unlike us, they are incapable of thought,
of self-illumination.
Compared to the roach, we are gods,
and must therefore act accordingly.
Is it true if you decapitate them,
they continue to live?
Eventually dying of starvation?
Look, buddy, I just kill them.
Well, that's why I called you.
I thought that
nowadays you froze the insects to death.
Freeze them?
Where's the fun in that?
No, we got a new pesticide that works like a fungus.
It not only kills the infected roach,
but that roach then spreads the disease to every other roach
it comes into contact with.
Just as long as you get rid of them.
Bugs...
...they drive me crazy.
Why, you arrogant little...
I forgot to tell you, I also found a roach on the...
Mulder.
Mulder, where have you been?
I've been trying to reach you all day.
Oh, my apartment complex was being fumigated,
so I thought I'd get away for the weekend.
I came up to Massachusetts.
Visiting your mother?
No, just, uh, sitting and thinking.
Widespread accounts
of unidentified colored lights hovering in the skies
were reported in this area last night.
Look, Scully, I know it's not your inclination,
but did you ever look up
into the night sky and feel certain that not only
was something up there,
but it was looking down on you at that exact same moment
and was just as curious about you as you are about it?
Mulder, I think the only thing more fortuitous
than the emergence of life on this planet
is that, through purely random laws of biological evolution,
an intelligence as complex as ours ever emanated from it.
The very idea
of intelligent alien life is not only
astronomically improbable,
but at its most basic level, downright anti-Darwinian.
Scully, what are you wearing?
I understand what you're saying, but I just need to keep looking.
Yeah, well, don't look too hard.
You might not like what you find.
Isn't that what Dr. Zaius said to Charlton Heston
at the end of Planet of the Apes?
And look what happened.
Scully, I got to go.
What? Mulder, what's going on?
Mulder?
How you doing?
What are you doing?
Just sitting, thinking.
Sitting and thinking?
And talking on the phone?
Who with, your drug dealer?
Let me see some I.D.
The Bureau?
You on a case?
I heard reports of several UFO sightings
in this area last night.
You see anything?
No, sir, not personally.
But we did receive a lot of telephone calls.
Any more calls tonight?
No, sir.
The FBI keeps tabs on these things?
No.
Excuse me, sir, I don't like to pry,
but why are you sitting here with your wiper blades on?
I was just knocking off some bugs that landed on my...
...landed on my windshield.
Cockroaches?
Maybe. Maybe beetles.
I don't know. I'm not really good with bugs.
This is dispatch.
Come in. Over.
Sorry to disturb you, sir.
What's the matter?
Another roach attack.
Hello.
I think you better get up here.
What is it?
It appears that cockroaches are mortally attacking people.
I'm not going to ask you if you just said
what I think you just said, because I know
it's what you just said.
I'm crouching over
a bug exterminator whose recently deceased body
was discovered with cockroaches crawling all over him.
The local sheriff says that two other bodies were found
in the same condition this afternoon.
Where are you again?
Miller's Grove.
It has a large science constituency.
The other incidents involved a molecular biologist
and an astrophysicist, and the witness to this case
is an alternative fuel researcher.
These reports are not coming from yahoos
out in the boondocks.
The image of those cockroaches
has been permanently imprinted onto my brain.
I see them every time I close my eyes.
Try not to close your eyes.
How am I going to sleep?
And where?
I'm certainly not spending the night here.
Maybe you could get a motel room or something.
Were there insect bites on the body?
Insect bites? No.
'Cause you know, Mulder, millions of people
are actually allergic to cockroaches.
There have been reported cases of fatal reactions.
It's called anaphylactic shock.
Anaphylactic shock?
Mm-hmm.
Many such reactions have occurred
to entomologists or exterminators.
Okay, we'll check that out.
You still want me to come up?
No, no, I'm sure you're right.
Thanks, Scully.
Who was that?
My drug dealer.
Dude, that's some good crap.
Come on, it's your hoot.
Mm, I don't know about this, you guys.
You really ought to, you know.
Try it.
This stuff takes your mind
and just sort of, you know...
expands it.
Yeah, well, something tells me it's more than my mind
you guys are interested in expanding.
Well, how about another beer then?
Okay.
I don't know.
I think you're making a mistake here.
Beer is just, you know,
beer.
But this stuff-- it, like...
swings the doors of perception so wide open,
you can see a whole nother world out there.
But it's still like this world, you know.
It tweaks your mind and does this whole
altered state thing to it.
And suddenly you see reality
as it, you know, really exists.
Oh, God!
Dude, what's wrong, man?
Oh, God!
Roaches!
Dude, you're freaking, man.
Roaches! Cockroaches!
Get them out of me!
Stop it!
Get them out of me!
Stay.
Hello.
I take it back, Scully. I think you better get up here.
Another roach attack?
Yeah, and this was no allergic reaction.
Two witnesses claim they saw the victim
screaming about cockroaches burrowing into him.
Are there still insects in the body?
We haven't located any yet,
but there are wounds all over the body.
From the cockroaches?
Well, the victim did attempt
to extract the insects using a razor blade,
but we're not sure all of the incisions are self-inflicted
except for the severed artery.
Is there any evidence of drug use at the crime scene?
Well, he did have a homemade lab set up.
But I'm not sure what he was producing.
Ah! Man, it smells like a septic tank.
Will you make sure this gets analyzed here?
You know, Mulder, there's a psychotic disorder
associated with some forms
of drug abuse where the abuser suffers
from delusions that insects are infesting their epidermis.
It's called Ekbom's syndrome.
Ekbom's syndrome?
The victim cuts himself
in an attempt to extract the imaginary insect.
Still want me to come up?
No. You're probably right.
I'm sorry to bother you.
It's no bother.
Bye.
Hey!
Kids are brain-dead.
I couldn't get anything out of them.
How about some urine?
For a drug test.
Did you get it?
Get me a container.
I think I killed it.
Didn't kill it, you annihilated it.
It must have molted.
It's just empty exoskeleton.
But at least we have evidence
that cockroaches were actually here.
We've got more than that, Sheriff.
I think that bug's exoskeleton
was made of metal.
Nothing more than a skin abrasion.
An abrasion caused by a metallic substance?
Why don't we wait until the, uh,
analysis of the compound is finished
before jumping to any conclusions.
Uh...
Agent Mulder, as a doctor, I always find it best
to be completely honest and open with my patients,
no matter how unpleasant the information.
What do you need to tell me?
No. I need you to tell me something.
What the hell is going on here?
Are we in any danger?
I don't know.
Well, should I evacuate my family?
I wouldn't know.
Doc, they're waiting for you
to examine the boy's body.
Yeah, uh... soon as I take a little break.
Uh, after talking with agent Mulder here,
I suddenly feel slightly constipated.
What's his problem?
He's upset that I don't know what's going on here.
So what the hell is going on here?
I see the correlation, but just because
I work for the federal government
doesn't mean I'm an expert on cockroaches.
So you're saying, you don't know anything about the government's
experiments being conducted here?
Experiments?
Couple of months ago, an agent claiming to be
from the Department of Agriculture
sets up base at a couple acres across town.
Nobody knows exactly what's going on out there.
It's top secret, very hush-hush.
What are you suggesting?
Killer bees were a genetic experiment gone awry--
let loose on an unsuspecting populace.
Who's to say the government hasn't created
a new breed of killer cockroaches?
You might want keep that theory to yourself, Sheriff.
No need to create a panic.
Oh, my God! Help!
Somebody help! Hey!
What the hell happened?
Cockroaches-- he was covered in cockroaches.
I don't see any roaches.
Well, when I went out
to look for help and I came back,
they disappeared.
Gently... gently.
Hmm...
doesn't appear odd in any...
Next time, let me handle the roaches.
Who died now?
The medical examiner.
His body was found
next to a toilet covered with roaches.
I really think you should come...
A toilet? Check his eyes.
Is one of them bloodshot, with a dilated pupil?
Yeah.
It's probably a brain aneurism.
Brain aneurism?
Straining too forcefully is very common causation
for bursting a brain aneurism.
Well, how do you explain the roaches, though?
Did you catch any?
Almost.
I don't know what to tell you, Mulder.
I just hope you're not implying you've come across
an infestation of killer cockroaches.
Mulder.
Mulder,
I've been doing some research.
Back in the mid-'80s, there was a cockroach species
previously only found in Asia.
And since then, it's made an appearance in Florida.
They've now completely established themselves
in this country.
Do they attack people?
No, but they do exhibit behavior
different than our domestic breeds.
They fly for long distances and they're attracted to light.
But do they attack people?
I'm suggesting that what's happening up there might be
the introduction to this country of a new species of cockroach--
one that is attracted to people.
Well, that all makes perfect sense, Scully.
I don't like it at all.
Did you know that the federal government--
under the guise of the Department of Agriculture--
has been conducting secret experiments up here.
Mulder, you're not thinking about trespassing
onto government property again, are you?
I know that you've done it in the past,
but I don't think that this case warrants...
It's too late. I'm already inside.
Well, what's going on?
What do you see?
I'm in a house.
It's apparently empty.
What does the place look like?
It's a typical two-story suburban house.
Nice big living room, sparsely furnished.
Nice carpets, fireplace,
nice kitchen.
Modern appliances.
Moving walls.
Moving walls?
Yeah.
They're rippling.
Oh! Cockroaches!
What?!
Cockroaches.
They're everywhere.
I'm surrounded.
Mulder, you've got to get out of there right now.
No!
Are you all right? What happened?
Flashlight went out.
Mulder, what's going on?
Got to go.
Mulder. Mulder!
May I ask why you're trespassing on government property?
I'm a federal agent.
So am I.
Agent Mulder, FBI.
Dr. Berenbaum, USDA.
Agricultural Research Service.
Well, Dr. Berenbaum, I'm going to
have to ask you a few questions.
For instance?
What's a woman like you doing in a place like this?
By studying how insects respond to changes
in light, temperature, air currents, food availability,
we can determine the best ways to eradicate them.
Why all the secrecy about your research?
You've got some of the good townspeople suspicious.
You expect us to advertise
that we've intentionally infested
a house in their neighborhood with thousands of cockroaches?
But those-those cockroaches--
are they a normal species?
They're a common one.
Have you ever come across a type of cockroach
that is attracted to people?
Most cockroaches have been known
to actually wash themselves after being touched by humans.
Really?
So you've never seen an instance where a cockroach
actually attacks a human being?
Well, there have been cases
where cockroaches crawled into a person's ear or nose.
Nose?
What is that there?
Oh, it's just a pet project of mine.
Since an insect's exoskeleton
is a dielectric surrounding the conductive medium
of its body fluid, when introduced
into an electrical field,
a brush discharge will result in a colored flare.
Oh.
What is that supposed to prove?
It's my theory that UFOs are actually insect swarms.
I don't know if you know anything about UFOs,
but all the characteristics of a typical sighting
are shared with nocturnal insects
swarming through an electrical air field--
the sudden appearance of a colored, glowing light
hovering in the night sky,
moving in a nonmechanical manner, possibly humming,
creating interference
with radio and television signals,
then suddenly disappearing.
As... nocturnal insect swarms.
That's, uh...
that's fascinating.
Everything about insects is fascinating.
They are truly remarkable creatures.
So beautiful and so honest.
Honest?
Eat, sleep, defecate, procreate.
That's all they do.
That's all we do,
but at least insects don't kid themselves
that it's anything more than that.
Does my scientific detachment disturb you?
No. Actually, I find it quite refreshing.
Not now.
You know, um...
...I have always found insects to be very interesting.
Really?
This is the fifth report of a deceased body
being found amongst a horde of cockroaches,
but police are not confirming-- at least not yet--
that the insects have anything to do with the fatalities.
Police have also disaffirmed the rumor
that these deaths were the result
of an outbreak of the Ebola virus
somehow being spread by infected cockroaches.
As for now, these incidents remain under local jurisdiction,
but a nurse here did confirm
that an FBI agent is on the case.
Police are asking
that if you see any cockroaches, don't panic.
Simply notify the local authorities
and evacuate the area immediately.
Reporting live, this is Skye Laten
for Channel 3 Night Watch News.
Then suddenly there was this terrible crash.
You know, you could've been killed.
Mulder, are you okay?
I can't sleep.
What happened at the USDA site?
They're conducting legitimate experiments.
I met an entomologist, a Dr. Berenbaum,
who agrees with your theory
of an accidental importation of a new cockroach species.
Did he give you any idea of how to catch them?
No, but she did tell me everything else
there is to know about insects.
She?
Yeah. Did you know
that the ancient Egyptians worshipped the scarab beetle
and possibly erected the pyramids to honor them,
which may just be giant symbolic dung heaps?
Did you know the inventor of the flush toilet
was named Thomas Crapper?
Bambi also has this theory I've never come across...
Who?
Dr. Berenbaum.
Anyway, her theory is...
Her name is Bambi?
Yeah. Both her parents were naturalists.
Her theory is that UFOs
are actually nocturnal insect swarms
passing through electrical air fields.
Her name is Bambi?
Scully, can I confess something to you?
Yeah, sure. Okay.
I hate insects.
You know, lots of people are afraid of insects, Mulder.
It's just, uh...
it's a natural, instinctive...
No, no, no. I'm not afraid of them.
I hate them.
One day, back when I was a kid, I was, uh...
I was climbing this tree,
when I noticed this leaf walking towards me.
Took me forever to realize that it wasn't a leaf.
A praying mantis?
Yeah. I had a praying mantis epiphany,
and as a result, I screamed-- not a... not a girly scream,
but a scream of someone being confronted
by some before-unknown monster
that had no right existing on the same planet I inhabited.
Did you ever notice how a praying mantis's head
resembles an alien's head?
I mean, the mysteries of the natural world
were revealed to me that day,
but instead of being astounded I was... repulsed.
Mulder,
are you sure it wasn't a girly scream?
What was that?
Oh, I got to go.
Mul... no...
Did you hear that, too?
Came from over here.
What the hell is going on?
Hello?
Is everything all right in there?
What happened this time?
One of the motel guests died.
Mulder, I'm coming up there right now.
Scully, I think this man died
simply from a reaction to the cockroaches.
Two cases of anaphylactic shock
in the same day in the same town is highly improbable.
No, I'm saying that I think this man simply had a heart attack.
Word about the cockroach infestation
and the deaths related to it has gotten out,
and I think this man simply saw some cockroaches
and scared himself to death.
Regardless, Mulder, something strange
is definitely going on up there.
Maybe not.
All your conjectures have proved correct.
The exterminator did die from anaphylactic shock.
The teenage boy did die from self-inflicted wounds
and was getting high off methane fumes
derived from burning manure.
The medical examiner did die from a brain aneurysm.
I still haven't been able to explain
the cockroaches at all those sites.
Or the fact that their exoskeletons
are made of metal.
Metal?
What are you talking about?
Mulder?
Mulder, I'm coming up there.
Whatever.
Can you tell what kind of cockroach it is?
I should be able to--
the abdomen is still attached
and we differentiate species by their genitalia.
Oh, my God.
Is it abnormal?
I'll say. He's hung like a club-tailed dragonfly.
Excuse me.
Does it still look unusual?
Well, yes, for an insect genitalia,
but maybe not for a microprocessor.
You're implying that this insect is mechanical?
Well, what am I supposed to be looking at here?
Have you ever seen anything like this before?
Only in science journals.
I've read about an artificial intelligence researcher
who designs robots that resemble and behave like insects.
I've never seen them myself,
but I've often thought of visiting his lab.
He works out of this town?
Dr. Ivanov?
Why are you scaring my robots?
For decades, my colleagues in artificial intelligence
have attempted to create an autonomous robot.
By struggling to give their machines
a human-like brain, they have failed.
A human brain is too complex, too computational.
It thinks too much.
But insects merely react.
I used insects
as my model, not just in design,
but by giving them
the simplest of computer programs--
"Go to moving object.
Go away from moving object."
Governed only by sensors and reflex responses,
they take on the behavior of intelligent, living beings.
So this one is just programmed to head towards
any object moving within the field of its sensors?
No.
Then why is it following me?
It likes you.
Your contract is with NASA?
The goal is to transport
a fleet of robots to another planet
and allow them to navigate the terrain with more intricacy
than any space probe has done before.
It sounds slightly fantastic,
but the only obstacle I can foresee
is devising a renewable energy source.
In any case, this is the future of space exploration.
It does not include living entities.
I'm just speculating here,
but if extraterrestrial life-forms do exist...
Oh, there's no need for speculation; I believe they do.
And assuming that they're more technologically advanced
than we are, and if your own ideas about the future
of space exploration are correct...
Then the interplanetary explorers of alien civilizations
will likely be mechanical in nature.
Yes. Anyone who thinks
alien visitation will come not in the form of robots,
but of living beings with big eyes and gray skin
has been brainwashed by too much science fiction.
Can you identify this?
I'm not really good
with bugs.
A cricket's leg?
Try it under the microscope.
Are you all right, Dr. Ivanov?
Can you identify that?
Sir?
It's...
beyond my comprehension.
Hey, kid, move it!
Give me that!
Back off, buddy!
Hey, what, are you crazy?!
Why are you stopping?!
Hey, you idiot! You hit me!
Excuse me. Do you sell road maps?
Could you tell me where they are?
Come on. Hurry it up.
What's going on here?
Haven't you heard about the roaches?
They're devouring people whole.
Everyone's getting the hell out of here.
Have you seen any cockroaches yourself?
No, but they're everywhere.
Roaches aren't attacking people, lady.
They're spreading the Ebola virus.
Look, keep the change.
We're all going to be bleeding
from our nipples.
All right.
All right, listen up!
I'm Agent Dana Scully
from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
I am assuring you that you are not in any danger.
Everything is going to be okay
if you just calm down and start acting rationally.
Now, where the hell are those road maps?
Hey! This last can is mine!
Roaches!
Well, Doctor, I, uh...
I appreciate you taking the time
to answer my questions.
Yeah.
Greetings from Planet Earth.
Well, it's a cockroach, all right.
It's not like the leg segment
you had me examine earlier; it's just a typical cockroach.
Even the...?
Yes, even the genitalia is normal.
Cockroaches are common in this area this time of year.
It's one of the reasons I set up my study here.
Mulder.
Mulder, this town is insane.
Oh, where are you?
I'm at a convenience store on the outskirts of, uh...
civilization.
Look, I think I may have a lead.
Remember that Dr. Eckerle
who was the alternative fuel researcher
that witnessed the exterminator's death?
Well, the fuel that he's researching is methane gas--
methane derived from manure.
Manure?
He has an import license
to bring in animal dung samples from outside the country.
Now, maybe you can confirm this with your Dr. Bambi,
but I think that cockroaches
are dung eaters, and if so, some of them may have been
shipped accidentally in some of the samples.
This fuel research facility
could be ground zero for the infestation.
Scully, if an alien civilization
were technologically advanced enough
to build and send
artificially intelligent robotic probes
to the farthest reaches of space,
might they not have also been able to perfect
the extraction of methane fuel from manure,
an abundant and replenishing energy source on a planet
filled with dung-producing creatures?
Mulder, I think you've been in this town too long.
Where's the research facility located?
Wait, Bambi, you better wait here
until I make sure it's safe.
Well, be careful. We still don't know what these cockroaches
are capable of... if they're even cockroaches.
Well, I'm not so much worried about the roaches
as I am about the human element.
Dr. Eckerle?
They're after me.
First at my house, then at the motel,
and then I came here to get away,
but... they're following me.
You're not in any danger. These insects won't harm you.
I've seen them kill two men.
They weren't responsible for those deaths,
but they might be responsible for ours
if you continue firing your gun in a plant full of methane gas.
Don't you understand?
The bugs...
they drive me crazy.
Let me guess-- Bambi.
Fox told me to wait out here
while he checked inside first.
Should I come along with you?
No.
This is no place for an entomologist.
Why are these roaches making those weird noises?
In Madagascar, they have roaches that hiss
by blowing air through holes in their upper thorax.
Really?
H-How do you know so much about them?
I don't. That's why we shouldn't kill these,
but capture them for further study.
Now, please, put the gun down.
Have I lost my mind?
No.
You've just had a very stressful day
that's affected your ability to think clearly.
Your judgment is a little clouded right now.
It is?
Then how do I know
that you're not a cockroach?
Mulder?
I assure you, Dr. Eckerle,
I'm just as human as you are,
if not more so.
You are one of them!
Mulder?
Get out, Scully!
This whole place could blow!
Get down!
Crap.
It's like a crematorium in there.
I don't think we're going to locate the doctor's remains.
Or anything else, for that matter.
Though it's not as bad as some of the other fires
we had last night.
There were others?
Four, to be exact,
plus 18 automobile accidents, 13 assault and batteries,
two stores were looted, 36 injuries all total--
half of them from insecticide poisoning--
but we didn't receive any reports
on cockroaches or otherwise for the last couple hours.
Maybe this town's finally come to its senses.
You two ought to go home and get some rest.
You look pooped.
Agent Mulder?
They told me I could locate you here.
Those, uh, segments you showed me earlier--
may I examine them again?
Well, they're completely desiccated...
just like the molted exoskeleton.
You know, many insects don't develop wings
until their last molting stage.
Perhaps whatever these things were,
they've had their final molt and have flown off
back to wherever they originated.
Yeah, that would explain everything.
May I borrow this,
Agent Mulder, for further study?
I've already had a similar sample analyzed.
It's nothing but common metals.
What do you hope to find from it?
His destiny.
Isn't that what Dr. Zaius said to Zira
at the end of The Planet of the Apes?
It's one of my favorite movies.
Mine, too.
I love science fiction.
I'm also fascinated by your research.
Have you ever considered programming your robots
to mimic the behavior of social insects
like ants or bees?
As a matter of fact, I have.
You know, I read in November of '94,
in Entomology Extreme...
Oh, I remember that.
...your article about the colonization of...
Oh, yes, I really enjoyed working on that.
It was so wonderful.
Smart is sexy.
Think of it this way, Mulder.
By the time there's another invasion
of artificially intelligent
dung-eating robotic probes from outer space,
maybe their über-children
will have devised a way to save our planet.
You know, I never thought I'd say this to you, Scully...
...but you smell bad.
The development of our cerebral cortex
has been the greatest achievement
of the evolutionary processes.
Big deal. While allowing us the thrills of intellect
and the pangs of self-consciousness,
it is all too often overruled
by our inner, instinctive brain,
the one that tells us to react, not reflect,
to run rather than ruminate.
Maybe we have gone as far as we can go,
and the next advance, whatever that may be,
will be made by beings we create ourselves,
using our own tech...
tech...
technology--
life-forms we can design and program
not to be ultimately governed and constricted
by the rules of survival.
Or perhaps that step forward
has already been achieved on another planet by organisms
that had a billion years head start on us.
If these beings ever visited us,
would we recognize what we were seeing?
And upon catching sight of us,
would they react in anything but horror
at seeing such mindless, primitive, hideous creatures?