The X-files
Teso Dos Bichos
Episode: 3X18
First aired:3/8/96
Written by: John Shiban
Directed by: Kim Manners
A very interesting plot!
An
Amaru urn, reputed to hold the remains of a female
shaman is unearthed at an
archaeological dig in the
Ecuadorian mountains. Dr.
Roosevelt, an
American scientist, orders the workers to load the piece but the man coordinating the dig, Alonso Bilac, notes that the local
Indians object, that they say that the shaman is sacred to the tribe and should not be removed. Roosevelt ignores Bilac's request. That night, tribe members, along with Bilac, chant and drink a yellowish
fluid. Roosevelt, in his tent, is attacked by what looks like a
jaguar.
Three weeks later, in a museum in
Boston where the urn has been taken, a security gaurd slips on blood and a
researcher can not be found. Mulder and Scully are told that the tribe, the Secona, have protested to the
State Department to have the urn replaced and that the dead researcher, Dr. Lewton, says he thinks the researcher was killed for working on the project. Lewton acknowledges the
curse, that those who disturb the bones will be devoured by a jaguar
spirit.
Mona Wustner, a
graduate student, tells
Mulder and
Scully that Bilac had lobbied on behalf of the Secona. When Mulder and Scully go to his house, Bilac seems dazed, saying that whatever happened will continue untill the bones are returned. Scully sees Bilac as the
prime suspect by Mulder is intrigued by the curse.
Leaving the
museum, Dr. Lewton's car won't start and he lifts the hood to find blood in his engine. Suddenly something attacks him, dragging him away screaming. Scully finds
rats in the engine at the crime scene, questioning an evasive Mona about Bilac. Searching the woods, a drop hits Mulder's face, and what he assumes to be rain turns out to be blood dripping from
human entrails hanging from a high branch above.
Mona goes to see Bilac who looks ill and behaves strangely, drinking the yellowish liquid, a
hallucinogen called Yaje that he calls the Vine of the Soul. Aggressive, he orders her out. At work, Mona calls Scully about her encounter. Hearing a noise, she goes to the
bathroom where the toilets vibrate and as Mona lifts one of the lids, she sees damp rats trying to clamber out.
Scully discovers the Yaje at Bilac's house, calling Mulder at the museum, where he's gone seeking Mona. Mulder follows a
trail of blood into the bathroom where he finds Bilac who tells him that Mona is dead. They find the dead rats in every
toilet. Mulder and Scully also find the body of Mona's dog, who apparently had died from eating a cat that consumed a
poisened rat. Mulder feels that hte spirit might be transforming into different animals. And maybe the rats were trying to escape something.
Bilac is missing and they find tracks leading to a vent tunneling beneath the museum. In the tunnels, they find Lewton's body as cats congregate around them. One
cat attacks Scully and the two escape throuh the vent, where they find Bilac's body.
All the bodies are recovered, but the cats in the museum can't be found. After the five deaths,
the State Department agrees to return the urn to
Ecuador. Mulder says that the deaths were ruled animal attacks without further explanations and that Bilca learned there is a world beyong them,
unseen and powerful, and as real as the urn itself. Somethings, he says, are better left buried.
Important Quotes:
Mulder -- "Personally, if someone digs me up in a
thousand years from now, I hope there's a curse on them too."
Scully -- "Label this."
Cop -- "As what?"
Scully -- "...Partial
rat body parts."
Scully -- "Have you been drinking yaje, Mulder?"
Mulder -- "Go with it Scully."
Back to The X-files: Season 3