War of the Coprophages

"War of the Coprophages" is the twelfth episode of the third season of the X-files. The episode is of the "monster of the week" type and has nothing to do with the main "mythology" of the series set in the first episode.

Screenwriter deryn Morgan drew inspiration for the episode from the cover of a science magazine that featured a robot insect created by Rodney Brooks.

The title of the series is a reference to the radio play of the novel by H. G. wells "War of the worlds", performed by Orson Welles and caused mass hysteria in the United States.

In millers grove, mass., an exterminator treats Dr. Jeff Ackerley's basement for cockroaches. After trying to crush a cockroach with his foot, which was not affected by the chemical, the exterminator falls in agony, clutching his heart. Ackerley discovers his body covered in a large number of cockroaches. Mulder, investigating UFO sightings in the vicinity of the town, is talking to Scully, who has remained in Washington, on the phone, when the local Sheriff Frass, who accidentally found out that Mulder is an FBI agent, informs him about the "cockroach attack". They follow together to Ackerley's house, where they examine the scene, but find no signs of cockroaches.

Elsewhere in the same town, three teenagers drink alcohol and snort Jenkem (intoxicating fumes of heated fermented manure). One of them, after seeing a cockroach crawl into an open wound on his arm, in a panic, inflicts numerous fatal cuts with a razor. Mulder calls Scully from the scene and gets an explanation that the teen's death may have been caused by drug-induced psychosis. However, Mulder finds the cockroach's chitinous body, which crumbles at the touch of a finger and wounds the agent's fingers with sharp shards. Sheriff Frass expresses suspicion that a nearby fenced-in building with a sign of the US Department of agriculture is growing killer cockroaches. At the hospital, Dr. Newton gives Mulder first aid and sends the remains of the cockroach to the lab for analysis. After going to the toilet, Newton dies, and the nurse who found the body claims that it was covered in cockroaches. Scully believes the cause of death was an aneurysm caused by overexertion at the time of defecation. On the sink, Mulder finds the body of a cockroach, but when he carefully tries to take it, the insect escapes into the drain.

Entering the house indicated by the Sheriff, Mulder suddenly finds himself surrounded by a large number of cockroaches crawling out of holes in the wall, but then it turns out that the extremely sexy entomologist Bambi Berenbaum is conducting her research on insect control. Later in the evening, a guest at Mulder's hotel is killed by a cockroach attack, and Dr. Ackerley, who is staying there, sees a lot of cockroaches. Mulder finds a cockroach, which he takes to Berenbaum, while Scully decides to go to the scene in person.

Mulder, along with Berenbaum, pay a visit to the robot developer, partially paralyzed Dr. Ivanov, believing that the cockroach found in the hotel is mechanical. Ivanov is shocked by the discovery, stating that he has never seen anything so high-tech. Scully arrives in the city, faced with a mass panic among the local population, frightened by stories of killer cockroaches. Another cockroach caught by Mulder turns out to be a real one. Scully discovers that Ackerley was developing an alternative fuel from methane, bringing large quantities of manure to the city, which could have caused the cockroaches to appear. Mulder puts forward the theory that cockroaches are actually extraterrestrial robots that can eat manure to release methane as fuel.

Mulder and Berenbaum go to the research center, where Mulder discovers an armed Ackerley, hysterically frightened by the events that have occurred. Ackerley takes aim at Mulder, thinking that the agent is a masked cockroach, and Scully's untimely call leads to a shot and the subsequent explosion of methane pipes. The agents barely escape from the building explosion, in contrast to Akerley. The next morning, Ivanov arrives at the scene, who later leaves with Berenbaum, having intimate conversations with her about insects and robots. While typing a report on the case at home, Mulder discovers a huge cockroach near a plate of food and kills it with a thick folder with "Secret material".

One of the characters in the episode, an entomologist by profession, suggests that UFOs are swarms of insects that glow under the influence of electromagnetic fields in the atmosphere.

Mulder discovers the cockroach fragments, which, when examined under a microscope, reveal that they are made of metal and contain a microprocessor. One of the characters in the episode suggests that such cockroaches may be alien messengers intended for remote study of the planet Earth.