Conduit (The X-Files)

"Conduit" is the fourth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series ''The X-Files''. It premiered on the Fox network on October 1, 1993. It was written by Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon, directed by Daniel Sackheim, and featured a guest appearance by Carrie Snodgress as the mother of an abducted teenager.

The show centers on FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files. In this episode, Mulder and Scully, when investigating the possible alien abduction of a teenage girl, find that the missing girl's younger brother may be capable of receiving satellite transmissions and that her mother was also party to a UFO encounter over twenty years earlier. Mulder finds himself becoming emotionally attached to the case due to its similarities to his own childhood experiences, when his younger sister Samantha was abducted from their home.

The episode, although not directly tied to the series' ongoing story arcs, provides more information on how Mulder's sister had been abducted as a child; a plot thread which would go on to become one of the more prominent of the series. The episode was filmed in British Columbia, with Buntzen Lake being used as Lake Okobogee.

Plot

At a campground at Lake Okobogee National Park in Sioux City, Iowa, Darlene Morris witnesses a flash of light outside of her RV. When she ventures outside to find her young son, Kevin, he claims that his teenaged sister, Ruby, has vanished.

In Washington, FBI Division Chief Scott Blevins informs Dana Scully that, unbeknownst to her, Fox Mulder has requested travel expenses to Sioux City based on a tabloid article about Ruby's disappearance. Blevins also shows Scully an X-File on the disappearance of Mulder's sister Samantha. When Scully asks Mulder about the travel expenses, he explains that Lake Okobogee was the scene of a series of UFO sightings in 1967; Darlene, then a member of a Girl Scout troop, was one of the witnesses.

When Mulder and Scully travel to Iowa and meet the Morrises, Mulder observes Kevin writing down binary code on a piece of paper; Kevin claims they are coming from static on a television screen. After submitting Kevin's code for analysis, the agents meet with the local sheriff, who tells them that Ruby was a juvenile delinquent who likely ran away. They also meet a young woman, Tessa, who says that Ruby had gotten pregnant and was planning to run away with her boyfriend, Greg Randall. The agents are unable to find Greg at the bar where he works; however, his boss tells them about UFO activity at Lake Okobogee.

Kevin's code is revealed to be part of a Defense Department satellite transmission. NSA agents ransack the Morris household, looking for any other documentation that might supposedly compromise national security. After the Morrises are taken into custody (which causes Darlene to lose her trust in Mulder and Scully) Mulder examines the charred roof of their RV, prompting him to head to Lake Okobogee. There, the agents discover sand turned to glass and a burned tree line, indicating the presence of a massive heat source. Upon encountering some white wolves, Mulder and Scully find Greg Randall's body in a shallow grave.

On his person, they find a note in Greg's wallet that eventually leads Mulder and Scully to conclude that it was Tessa, not Ruby, who was pregnant. Under interrogation, Tessa confesses to killing Greg but denies Ruby was at Lake Okobogee that night. The agents return to the Morris' house, and, finding it deserted, discover the binary-covered pieces of paper laid out across the living room floor, forming an image of Ruby's face. They return to Lake Okobogee, where they find Darlene and Kevin in the nearby woods. A motorcycle gang appears, and as Mulder hurries to rescue Kevin from their wake, Scully discovers Ruby nearby.

Ruby is then seen in a hospital bed, with Kevin by her side. When questioned about her ordeal, she says she was told by an unnamed group not to say anything. Darlene also refuses to cooperate any further, given the ridicule that she faced after her past experiences. Back in Washington, Scully listens to a tape of hypnotic sessions in which Mulder recalls the night his sister vanished. Mulder, meanwhile, sits in a church, crying as he looks at a picture of his sister.Lowry, pp. 107–108.Lovece, pp. 52–54.

Production

The episode was filmed in British Columbia, with Buntzen Lake being used as Lake Okobogee. Several crew members became lost in the surrounding area after the van responsible for installing signage got lost itself.Gradnitzer; Pittson, p. 174. The mural of Ruby made up of binary code was designed by assistant art director Greg Loewen and Vivien Nishi, who hand-wrote all the numbers on the mural.Lowry, p. 108.

Co-writer Howard Gordon said of the episode, "Alex ansaand I made an effort to play to our own strength, which is character. We thought this was an interesting place to reiterate Mulder's quest for his sister. We set out to tell a simple abduction story, which was played out behind the shadows. We wanted to create an air of tension. With everything that happened, we wanted to explain what it could be. At every point, everything can be explained. Was she taken or killed by her boyfriend, who she was seeing against her mother's wishes? Is it ''Twin Peaks'' or an alien abduction? That was the theme of the show."Edwards, p. 42. Gordon and Gansa were afraid that series creator Chris Carter would not like the script, but Carter did and approved the episode they wrote.