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FIGHT THE FUTURE

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Cue opening credits as the familiar theme and title images fill the air and screen – then we fade into another beloved slideshow about the boy and how normal he is. Mulder sexily eases onto this desk while Scully looks on, wearing a white jacket with some of the biggest lapels I've ever seen – seriously, they look as though they could fold up any second and envelop her head, like a Venus Flytrap. But they don't and Mulder continues to debrief her (As if! Scully won't get any real debriefing from Mulder for at least five more seasons) about the case. Scully joins Mulder as the exposition continues and we learn there have been two other victims nearby with the same writing on their backs. This is the part where Mulder posits a crazy theory while Scully pleads logic and science. Instead, Mulder passes the crazy-buck and says a local Wisconsin sheriff thinks the kids have been possessed. I guess Scully will have to cock her eyebrow at someone else this time.

Next we find the dynamic duo in WI, driving along with said sheriff. He tells them about the Church of the Red Museum, a group of radical vegetarians in the area who bought a ranch and made it a "monument to barbarism", turning 500 head of cattle into pets. Pets? What, do these cows fetch their slippers and roll over for belly rubs? Anyway, we find out a guy named "Odin" runs the cult and he's from California so you just know he's nuts!

As the car approaches the ranch/church we get our first look at the cult members; they're decked out in white tunics with loose white pants and bright red turbans. It's raining and Mulder holds an umbrella over himself and Scully while she tells the sheriff they don't look much like people who would do awful things to those kids. Why she thinks this is anyone's guess – never trust a cult member in a blood-red turban, I always say. As they enter the building we see a gathered group of cult members in chairs staring at a blank screen up on a stage where another cult member sits. Is it their first day? Will they get a Powerpoint presentation called, "So you've decided to join a cult!"? Unfortunately, they don't and this Odin soon takes the stage and bows to the audience. The actor looks familiar if you're an X-Phile, and here's why; he makes an appearance in a Season 7 episode that actually follows through on concepts floated here. But more on that later…now back to RED MUSEUM where Odin sits at a computer and begins to type with his eyes closed as another cult member reads his writing aloud – here's what she says, "Today is a blessing from our lord and master, who awaits his flock in this time, the dawning of the Age of Aquarius. Eighteen earth years from the beginning of the new kingdom. The guides speak through me today as messengers of word that we may be free from death and the passage into spirit. As the acceleration continues, we, the enlightened, must bring our teachings of the skills for survival to mankind. Repeat in prayer..."

Now, references to the musical HAIR aside (sing it with me, "When the moon is in the seventh house…and Jupiter aligns with Mars…"), what's really telling about this "automatic writing" passage is the bit about "Eighteen earth years from the beginning of the new kingdom." – this episode is set in 1994 and in 18 years it will be 2012, the date of alien colonization. Put that in your continuity pipe and smoke it! Of course, it will be quite hard to pry the pipe out of the hands of the stoned red-eyed 1013 crew but just distract them by exclaiming, "Oh, look! A squirrel!" and you'll have your chance. But that's not all! Mulder goes on to explain what's driving the cult's actions. Again, I'll quote "They're walk-ins…They're believers in soul transference, enlightened spirits who have taken possession of other peoples bodies." See, walk-ins aren't only welcome at nail salons and beauty parlors – they're also here at the Red Museum and, infamously, are the reason behind the mysterious disappearance of Mulder's sister, Samantha. That's right – years from now we'll find out that these mysterious "walk-ins" saved Samantha from horrible tests and a life of pain by spiriting her away into starlight. And the connection I mentioned earlier? The one concerning the actor playing Odin, Mark Ralston? Well, he plays a different character in SEIN UND ZEIT, the first episode in the Season 7 two-parter that answers the Samantha question. To be brief – Ralston plays the father of the missing girl, Amber LaPierre, whose disappearance leads Mulder to the truth about Samantha. And the same type of "automatic writing" displayed in RED MUSEUM plays a big part in SEIN UND ZEIT/CLOSURE. But enough about future episodes and back to the cow-loving, spirit-transferring and turban-wearing cult; Odin soon calls out the "three who do not believe" in the audience – he must mean the sheriff, Scully and the mouse in her pocket because we know Mulder, as a general rule, believes. Odin warns the three about eating meat and we're left to wonder if the cult is behind the attacks on the kids. Could the "He is one" mean "He is a meat-eater"?