The X-Files Walkthrough & Analysis

Day 5 — April 6, 1996

Sandpoint Hangar Four
Seattle, WA

Everything falls apart on this day. Everything will become clear to Willmore by the end of the day (except information about where Mulder is or what he is up to). Look around. There should be two walkways. Willmore has to enter the second one from the left. A tall man enters. It’s Mr. X (informant of Mulder & Scully)! Three choices of emotion are given. The best choice is “Distrustful.” Once chosen, the two men will exchange a few words. Be extremely careful here. Don’t play with Mr. X. He has very little patience and very little time. Don’t test his patience. Co-operate with him. Remember what the priority is, here – finding Mulder & Scully. Once Willmore gives Mr. X his word in regard to not telling anyone about this conversation, Willmore is not required to say anything more. I prefer that Willmore doesn’t ask any questions when given the choice – X will ignore all questions anyway. So, the best thing to do for Willmore is just to listen without talking till Mr. X leaves.

Mr. X tells Willmore that Mulder & Scully are indeed alive. But he adds that they will not be for much longer until Willmore does something about it. Mr. X says that Scully and Mulder are not together, and that Willmore needs to check on the Jane Doe that was checked into the Presbyterian hospital (actually it is a sanitarium) in Gold Bar a few days ago. Mr. X reiterates that Russian smugglers have nothing to do with Willmore’s investigation. Wait till he speaks again. Mr. X hands a weapon (a stiletto) to Willmore saying that Willmore needs that weapon if he is to help Mulder & Scully. He goes on to say – “Men have died in order to possess this. I’m going to loan it to you for a short time. Because without it, there’s no way that you could survive.” Mr. X says that the man Willmore needs to find if he is to help Mulder & Scully can only be killed by inserting the blade (that comes out of the stiletto) into the base of the the man’s neck. Wait till Mr. X speaks out again. Mr. X tells Willmore that the man is not what he seems – Injury should be precise or he’ll kill Willmore. Mr. X warns Willmore to not try firing a gun or try anything other than using the stiletto. Mr. X tells Willmore that no one should discover Willmore’s possession of the weapon. If anyone does discover Willmore’s possession of the weapon, Willmore will be killed. Mr. X reminds Willmore about Jane Doe at the Presbyterian Sanitarium before leaving. DON’T FOLLOW HIM! Do not step forward!

Turn right. Willmore hears something behind him. He’s ready with his gun pointed at the entrance of the walkway. He spots a woman coming towards him. It’s Astadourian! Willmore won’t take anymore heated words from Astadourian without giving some back. They exchange a few heated words, and then decide to talk about everything that has happened on the way to Goldbar. DO NOT E-MAIL UPDATES TO SHANKS AND SKINNER! NO ONE MUST KNOW OF WILLMORE’S CONVERSATION WITH X! Get to Gold Bar.

Important things to note:

  • Willmore must have realized, by this time, that his suspicions were warranted – his investigation has nothing to do with Russian/Georgian smuggling. Someone else is involved. That someone is the man he saw in the videotape earlier, whose identity will be revealed soon enough.

  • Looking at his field notes, one might think why Willmore still doesn’t understand why he needs any special weapon to kill someone. Bear in mind that although Willmore knows that something unusual is going on and had expected unusual occurrences, he still doesn’t know what exactly these unusual occurrences are. All he knows by this time is that the man in the videotape is the one who killed the crew-cut man. But he still doesn’t know what the radiation blast is or how it came from the man. After X told him that the man can only killed by a particular weapon though, it must have occurred to Willmore that the blast came directly from the man’s body. But how such a thing is possible, Willmore doesn’t know yet.

  • By this time, Willmore has figured out that the man in the videotape is not Mulder and that he was the one who attacked him at Gordon’s Hauling. Who is he? That Willmore will know only later in the day. Willmore would have made connections between the bright flash of light and the weirdness of the man’s eyes, by this time, as well. He cannot explain either of them though.

  • It is reasonable for Willmore to assume at this point that the man in the videotape is the one who killed the Tarakan crew as well. Willmore never talks about any of this openly. But, he has certainly made the connections. He just cannot explain the source of the bright flash of light – how could have it come directly from the guy’s body. It is reasonable if Willmore thinks at this point that the man in question is not human, although that is not really the case.

  • Who is Jane Doe? Well, right after X said Mulder & Scully are not together, he said Willmore needs to check on a Jane doe who was checked into the Presbyterian sanitarium. That’s one clue who Jane Doe is. X said Jane doe was checked into the Presbyterian sanitarium a few days back. Mulder & Scully arrived in Seattle on March 29th. That fits the description of a “few days.” That’s another clue. Jane Doe is Special Agent Dana Katherine Scully.

Presbyterian Sanitarium
Goldbar, WA

Willmore and Astadourian arrive at the sanitarium. They’re stopped in the hallway by a middle-aged female doctor who asks what their business is here. Tell her the obvious – that they’re there for Scully. Don’t fool around. No reason to fool around. She asks Willmore and Astadourian to identify themselves. Do It – no reason to fool around. Willmore says that he’s with the FBI. She wants to see their ID. Show Willmore’s badge. Astadourian shows hers. She asks if Willmore recalls the name of Scully’s immediate superior. She needs to call him – she misplaced his information. Again, don’t fool around. Choose the right one – Walter Skinner. The doctor points out where Scully’s room is – right behind her. Ask the doctor all questions before proceeding.

The doctor says that Scully’s wound has begun healing. However, she adds that she has no idea how to account for her “other” condition. Willmore asks “What other condition?” The doctor says she hasn’t been able to diagnose it yet; so she has been treating the symptoms – lethargy, nausea, extreme listlessness, dehydration, memory loss, etc. Willmore asks how Scully got to the sanitarium. The doctor says that Scully was brought in. Astadourian asks – “By Whom?” The doctor explains what sanitarium is all about – she basically states that whoever brought Scully in is not of importance to the sanitarium. Willmore asks if Scully is ready to leave. The doctor doesn’t think so – “Moving wouldn’t be life threatening but she might not find it very pleasant.”

Get into Scully’s room. Be careful here. Scully’s NOT AT ALL friendly. Willmore asks, “Are you Dana Scully?” Scully asks, “Who are you?” Select the most obvious and straightforward one – Willmore. She asks how she can be sure that she can trust Willmore. She asks – “Who told you I was here?” Select “A friend of yours.” She’ll ask who. Astadourian says, “Huh..we don’t know his name.” Scully doesn’t believe this (why not?). Before she goes crazy, show her the stiletto (I know, no one must discover Willmore’s possession of the stiletto. But here, he has no choice but to show it to her). She’s calm now. She says, “Let’s talk (as if it’s an order)” Ask her all questions. Scully has no idea where Mulder is.

Willmore asks Scully if she knows what the stiletto is used for (he’s trying to give her the impression that he doesn’t know what it’s used for; I’ll explain why later). She says that she has no idea what the stiletto is used for (actually she knows exactly what it is used for. She doesn’t want to give Willmore the impression that she knows what it’s used for either). Willmore asks what happened in the the warehouse. Scully tells him everything that was seen at the beginning of the game (the prologue if you’d like to call it that). Willmore asks about the connection with Tarakan. Scully sticks to her usual scientific routine talking about the smuggling involvement and everything that Astadourian initially said – accident at sea involving smuggled plutonium. Although he never indicates it to Scully openly, Willmore doesn’t buy this theory. Not this time. Scully says that Mulder thinks that the Tarakan crew were killed by an EBE. Astadourian doesn’t know what that means. Scully clarifies – Extraterrestrial Biological Entity. Mulder is right. Willmore is inclined to believe Mulder’s theory although he cannot explain certain things. Willmore knows that unusual things have been happening. So, Mulder’s idea that an EBE is involved here sounds plausible to him.

Willmore asks what Scully’s autopsy on the Tarakan crewmen revealed. She says that, according to the autopsy, “The crewmen had all been exposed to levels of radiation consistent with a large-scale nuclear blast.” But she, typical of her character-type, does not believe in the possibility of such an event. She goes on to say that Mulder took the autopsy results as proof that a UFO had landed in the area and irradiated the Tarakan crew. Mulder is right again. Things are beginning to make sense now (for Willmore and Astadourian). Astadourian got the impression that Scully doesn’t believe this theory. She checks to confirm – she’s right. Scully doesn’t believe that theory (According to mainstream X-Files, it’s not that she really doesn’t believe it. It’s just that she doesn’t want to accept such theories as her job is to put Mulder’s theory to the test of Science. It’s fair to say that Scully actually knows Mulder’s theories are the right ones).

Willmore checks on Scully’s health. Scully now wants some answers herself. Willmore and Astadourian explain everything they’ve seen. Willmore and Astadourian tell Scully that they’ve yet to determine the identity of their assailant in Gordon’s Hauling and to visit Rural Route #1121 in Fante County, WA. Scully suggests that Willmore and Astadourian do that while she checks out of the sanitarium and get in touch with Skinner. E-mail updates to Skinner and Shanks (and Cook if you must; usually I stop e-mailing Cook after the raid, but again I would think it’s a heads/tails decision here in regard to trusting Cook) – make sure to start the e-mail updates again only from the Goldbar part. Head to RR #1121.

Important things to note:

  • Now, although Willmore and Astadourian are a little shocked to hear Mulder’s theory, they know it makes sense. Now, earlier I said that something triggers the “We need to focus on Mulder & Scully” statement made by Willmore. That something also triggers another line of thinking in Astadourian. If Astadourian goes by this alternative line of thinking, she will not buy Mulder’s theory. She’ll be as skeptical as Scully. In fact, she’ll be even more skeptical than Scully. However, if she does not go by this line of thinking, she will find Mulder’s theory to be fascinating and will dislike Scully for her strict scientific adherence. Willmore will find Mulder’s theory to be very convincing (although he is shocked to hear it), regardless. Willmore now would have made the connection between the thin film of black oil, the radiation and the UFO theory of Mulder. But he still doesn’t know what the alien form looks like. It’s understandable if Willmore assumed that the man itself is an alien form. He has no idea about these things. But, he has follow procedures. So, he does. One thing he knows for sure now – That light really did come directly from that man’s body.

  • Now, Willmore knows for sure why the fire on the Tarakan never damaged the cabin and the interior portions of the Tarakan – because there was no fire. As he had suspected and as Truitt had mentioned, it was a radiation blast. Now, the three-figure shadows make sense to Willmore.

  • Whatever the alien form looks like, it is the one responsible for frying the Tarkan crew and the crew-cut man. That explains why a nuclear radiation blast did not flatten the entire city (this is a different kind of an unusual blast) and why Willmore’s assailant was unharmed in that incident. It is also explains that man’s incredible strength.

  • So Why did Scully and Willmore give each other the impression that they do not know what the weapon is used for? To put it in simple terms – because they know what it’s used for. Scully knows more than Willmore in regard to the weapon. In fact, Mulder does not know the existence of such a weapon – so Scully knows more than even Mulder in regard to the weapon (soon Willmore will know more than Mulder, thanks to Mulder). She never admits it because of her scientific personality and to save her own life. Remember, no one should know of Willmore’s possession of the weapon? If anyone discovers Willmore’s possession of the weapon, it will put Willmore’s life in danger. Willmore’s hoping that by pretending not to know about the details of the weapon, he will increase his chances of survival. That’s exactly what Scully’s trying to do as well, although she doesn’t have the weapon herself. Now, how come Mulder doesn’t know the existance of such a weapon. Mulder will only know about the existence of the weapon in another mainstream X-Files episode where his mother suffers a stroke and is hospitalized. Going by the story, this Willmore episode precedes that episode.

Rural Route #1121
Fante County, WA

Willmore and Astadourian arrive at RR #1121. It’s a railroad. Both are looking for a boxcar with the number “82434” on it. Go forward all the way up to the end and climb up the post. Use the binoculars. Nothing. Turn right. Use it again – 82434 boxcar visible. Great. Get down. Talk to Astadourian. Now, Astadourian could say two things to the “Whose theory do you believe…?” question.

1) If Astadourian’s line of thinking is similar to Willmore’s, she’ll say that she’s not impressed by Scully’s strict scientific adherence. She’ll say that Mulder is a creative thinker and that she is looking forward to meeting Mulder. Although Willmore and Astadourian know the unusual occurrences and pretty much believe Mulder’s theory, going by this line of thinking, they don’t want to talk about it openly with each other (that’s why Astadourian still mentions plutonium smuggling. Willmore goes along with that).

2) Alternatively, if Astadourian is not as willing as Willmore to accept Mulder’s theory, she’ll be very skeptical of Mulder’s theory. In fact, she’ll be even more skeptical than Scully.

Turn right. Go forward. Turn right. Keep going forward until Astadourian spots a burned boxcar. Zoom in. Get inside. Open the door. Willmore and Astadourian enter. The boxcar is smoky – it has been burned recently (correctly ascertained by Astadourian). Look around. Someone has been very anxious to burn and clean everything out – who could it b?. Go forward again. Looks like an operating room to Astadourian (she’s right). Look around. Empty again. Get out of the boxcar.

Willmore spots a homeless man fooling around in Willmore’s car – “Hey!” Astadourian circles around. They trap him. He’s scared – “I ain’t doing nothing.” Astadourian assures him saying that they just want to talk to him. Ask all questions. The guy’s a little crazy, although he has all the information Willmore and Astadourian are looking for. The homeless man says that the rail yard is used to conduct covert operations. Willmore checks if the homeless man knows anything about men in suits visiting the rail yard. Homeless man responds in the affirmative. Willmore asks if the homeless man knows anything about the fire in the boxcar. He does – men in suits set fire to the boxcar (after bringing it there) the previous day. Bear this in mind. This is important! Homeless man has something for Willmore and Astadourian. He got it out of the burnt car.

He wants Willmore to guess what it is. Select Photographs, then select moving pictures and then, finally, videotape. He’ll give it to Willmore for $10. Unfortunately, Willmore doesn’t have $10 (he either left his wallet in his apartment or all he has in his wallet are credit cards for that moment). No worries – Astadourian pays. Willmore is grateful. Click on Willmore’s PDA. Read the e-mail sent by Monte Joffin (BATF Senior Forensic Scientist). Interesting isn’t it? E-mail updates to Shanks and Skinner (and Cook if you must). Head to the field office.

Important things to note:

  • Monte Joffin’s e-mail is important. He’s completed his analysis on the bomb that destroyed the Gordon’s Hauling structure in Charno. The bomb was a very professional device. It is used exclusive by the U.S. navy. It has never been available through the black market. So, as Monte Joffin says, either some ex-navy or active navy operative is involved in Willmore’s investigation. Willmore will know who that is soon enough.

  • Men in suits brought the car to the yard. So, it wasn’t initially there. Whatever the boxcar was used for, someone has taken special care to hide the details about it. And they set fire to it the previous day. Imagine what would have happened if Willmore didn’t participate in Cook’s raid – he would have visited Rural Route #1121, the previous day itself with Astadourian and stopped these men (or at the least would have observed what they were doing). By participating in the raid, Willmore had put himself back one step.

FBI Field Office
Seattle, WA

Astadourian and Willmore get inside Willmore’s office and are ready to see the videotape. Put it in as Astadourian says. Cook walks in, curious about what’s going on. Willmore introduces Cook and Astadourian to each other. Notice that as Cook goes and stands to the left of Willmore, Astadourian stares at him continuously. I think it’s a hint that she doesn’t trust him and that she dislikes him. She’s still not happy with everything that happened the previous day. The tape shows about 3 surgeons operating on something or someone (patient not visible) inside a boxcar while one surgeon is supervising the entire thing. He removes his mask. Hey, that’s the guy who attacked Willmore and Astadourian. That’s the guy who fried the crew-cut man. The supervising surgeon suddenly notices something – apparently he notices a camera. Tape goes blank. Willmore wonders what a surgeon could be looking for in Gordon’s Hauling. Astadourian wonders what the operation is all about. Willmore correctly ascertains that the patient is not human.

Astadourian wonders if the supervising surgeon’s identity can be determined. Cook responds in the affirmative – “All you gotta do is take a frame of the video and match it against the databases. It can definitely be done.” Astadourian say, “Okay, so let’s do it.” Do this. Click “Capture.” Check on all databases. “Bingo” on Government database:

Dr. Jonathan Rauch
Navy Surgeon

A lot of information has been censored as per order of the NSA. Note his stint in Perky, West Virginia and where he is stationed at the moment. A video conference invitation flashes on the screen. Click Connect. It’s Byers, Frohike and Langly! They check if it’s Willmore. Willmore confirms. So, things are starting to make sense now for Willmore (will explain later).

Ask all questions. The three men found Willmore’s IP address in the Peekaboo White Pages list. Willmore asks who they are. They say they’re friends of Scully (actually they’re friends of both Mulder & Scully). Willmore asks what they want from him. They say that, based on the information they got from Scully regarding Willmore’s investigation, they believe that a secret government facility in Alaska is involved. Willmore asks them to elaborate. They say that the facility in Alaska is used as a nexus point for most of the government’s west coast boxcar work. They say that Alaska was chosen as a nexus point because it would allow the government to use the aurora borealis to hide UFO traffic into and out of the base. They also believe that an alien craft recovered from the Pacific is stored there. Willmore asks what boxcar work means. They say that the government has a massive network of rail cars that it can use as mobile surgical theaters, autopsy rooms and quarantine facilities. They go on to say that the boxcars serves as – a way to quickly pick up and transport stray EBEs and as a mobile base of operations to conduct a series of genetic experiments. Willmore’s next question is obvious – “What kind of genetic experiments?” They answer – “The cross-pollenization of the human race intermingling human DNA with genetic material from EBE.” Astadourian while beginning to accept the unusual things that occur around her finds this to be too much to digest. If she’s the skeptical Astadourian, she obviously is skeptical of this as well.

The three men esquire about the identity of Willmore’s assailant. Willmore tells them. Frohike asks where he is stationed. Willmore tells them. Langly says – “Oh yeah, that’s the guy.” Byers checks if Rauch served a stint in Perky, West Virginia. Cook confirms. The three men are shocked and concerned. Byers tells Willmore that Mulder may not have much time left and that he needs to find Mulder as soon as possible. Byers asks Willmore to get to the base after visiting Rauch’s house. Willmore asks instructions on how to get to the base. No worries since Willmore has a GPS software in his PDA – Langly will e-mail GPS co-ordinates of the base to Willmore right away. Willmore receives fax. Astadourian reads it out – “A Canadian border guard was found dead this morning with massive unexplained burns and Mulder’s rental car was observed crossing the Canadian border into Alaska.” This is all too much for Astadourian to digest. Willmore’s not surprised by the entire turn of events.

Byers, Frohike and Langly inform Willmore that they have sent the GPS co-ordinates to Willmore before signing off. Cook tells Willmore that he’ll keep everything nailed in Seattle while Willmore does what he has to do in Alaska. Cook checks with Astadourian if she can book a charter flight for Willmore. She says, “Sure, I can do that.” Cook urges Willmore to get ready to leave, and leaves. Willmore wants Astadourian to go along with him. She can’t – Alaska is out of her jurisdiction. She urges Willmore to be safe. Willmore promises to be careful (this is another sign of a romantic relationship developing between the two).

Willmore can be given a chance to try getting Barbara on the phone before he leaves for Alaska. No point to it though. He always only gets the machine. E-mail updates to Shanks and Skinner. Head to Willmore’s apartment and read his journal (if necessary). Then leave for Alaska (DON’T DELETE THE E-MAIL THAT THE LONE GUNMAN SENT).

A few missing links are no longer missing:

  • Dr. Jonathan Rauch is the man who fried the crew-cut man (the radiation blast came directly from his body). He is also the one who attacked Willmore and Astadourian at Gordon’s Hauling in Charno. But is he the alien being itself or did an alien life form changed its appearance to look like Rauch? Or is it that Rauch is being controlled by an alien-being that is using him as a host? Willmore doesn’t know this yet. Who knows? Scully knows – she never wants to admit these things though (scientific personality). Who else? Mulder knows! Willmore needs to find him.

  • Willmore now knows that the bomb in Charno was not meant to trap and kill anyone. It was indeed protecting something in the office. To put it in clearer terms – that bomb was meant to destroy all evidence of the links between RR #1121, Gordon’s Hauling, and the dockside warehouse. Papers detailing the boxcar experiments, etc were also present there. Everything needed to be destroyed. Apparently, Gordon’s Hauling was a cover operation that housed many documents related to boxcar experiments, UFO, etc. Those trucks were involved in transporting these EBEs as well, and perhaps any other surgical instruments required to conduct the experiments with the EBEs. This is perhaps what Willmore observed in the dockside warehouse. Whatever they removed from the hidden compartment on the floor of the warehouse is connected to the genetic experiments that The Lone Gunman mentioned. Remember Mulder’s note attached to his file that he left at the Comity Inn Motel? Remember the note? The note read:

    “Majestic Cover Op. Warehouse at Dock Railroad. Connect”

See the connection Mulder made here? Mulder was trying to indicate on his note that the Majestic Shipping Warehouse at the Docks is a Cover Operation. Numerous deliveries between the warehouse and RR #1121 were made. Documents that details these shipments were being housed at Gordon’s Hauling, which was a part of the cover operation. Willmore’s investigation had led him to the warehouse, which in turn led him to Gordon’s Hauling, RR #1121, etc. The people involved in this cover operation knew that Willmore’s investigation is going to lead him to all these places. So they (includes Cigarette Smoking Man) decided to destroy all the evidence.

  • Who set the bomb? Why, it’s Dr. Rauch of course. He is the navy seal who set that bomb.

  • Well, the thin film of black oil was in Rauch’s eyes. So if it’s an alien life-form, why didn’t it fry Willmore and Astadourian. That’s just Willmore and Astadourian’s stroke of luck. Once the door is slammed, the timer is set off. The bomb was already set. Perhaps Rauch (or the alien life-form) must have thought – “Why fry them individually? The bomb is going to destroy the papers as soon as the door is shut anyway. Let the bomb kill them.” It’s also possible that a nuclear radiation blast right there would have caused the bomb to detonate prematurely killing Rauch as well, thereby making things difficult for the alien being. That’s another reason why the alien life-form did not fry Willmore and Astadourian.

  • If it’s an alien-form, why would it be bothered about the papers in Gordon’s Hauling? That will become clear once Willmore meets Mulder. Cigarette Smoking Man is involved here.

  • Willmore now knows what that boxcar in RR #1121 is all about and as to why someone went through all the trouble hide what went on in that boxcar.

Willmore now knows most of the above links now if not all.