RYAN: Yes sir.

MULDER: Any idea why they gave it to you?

RYAN: No one else wanted it. Because of the lack of evidence, this is still officially a missing persons case, not likely to end up on the front page of the daily paper.

MULDER: Well, don't be so sure about that.

RYAN: Can I ask what you think may have happened?

MULDER: At first blush? Spontaneous human combustion.

SCULLY: Having a little fun?

MULDER: What are you talking about?

SCULLY: Spontaneous human combustion?

MULDER: I have over a dozen case files of human bodies reduced to ash without any attendant burning or melting. Rapid oxidation without heat.

SCULLY: Let's just forget for the moment that there's no scientific theory to support it.

MULDER: OK.

MULDER: Maybe these people aren't just disappearing, maybe they're being hunted. And the hunter is working the train station.

SCULLY: And whatever happened to spontaneous human combustion?

MULDER: Maybe it's not so spontaneous.

DAVEY: Polarity Magnetics does - or did - primarily two types of research. Mostly, we were designing mag-lev applications ... uh, people movers, bullet trains ... but for Chester, that was just the way to pay the bills for the really theoretical stuff he was interested in.

MULDER: Which was what?

DAVEY: Researching dark matter, quantum particles, neutrinos, gluons, mesons, quarks ...

SCULLY: Subatomic particles.

DAVEY: The mysteries of the universe. Theoretically, the very building blocks of reality.

SCULLY: Except no one knows if they truly exist.

SCULLY: This is a particle accelerator.

DAVEY: One-fifth the power of the Texas supercollider in a space the size of a Wal-Mart.

MULDER: Powered by what?

DAVEY: Couple of billion megawatts. Virginia Power loved us.

SCULLY: Exactly what happened here?

DAVEY: Well, the work involved bombardment of beta particles with an alpha target. Negative against positive.

MULDER: Look at this!

DAVEY: As far as I can tell, it burned Chester's shadow right into the wall.

SCULLY: How did he survive?

DAVEY: All I can figure is - the quanta liberated off the target have virtually no mass, that they slid right through his body.

MULDER: Like getting an X-ray.

DAVEY: A two billion megawatt X-ray.

MULDER: ... look here, there are hardly any shadows cast.

SCULLY: What do you mean?

MULDER: The lighting in here is diffused. It's soft light. What if that was what Banton was looking for?

SCULLY: Looking for his shadow?

BANTON: How can you even begin to understand what it's like?

MULDER: We're trying to understand.

BANTON: Living in a train station, day and night. Living like a bum, afraid to fall asleep because of what might happen.

SCULLY: The accident in the lab... the quanta bombardment... you believe that altered you physically?

BANTON: You could say that.

MULDER: Can you tell us how?

BANTON: Even if I could, you wouldn't understand.

SCULLY: But it has something to do with dark matter.

BANTON: It has everything to do with dark matter. My shadow isn't mine. It's ... it's like a black hole. It splits molecules into component atoms, it unzips electrons from their orbits, reduces matter into pure energy.

MULDER: Hope you know what you're doing, Scully.

SCULLY: What do you mean?

MULDER: Putting Detective Ryan's ambition ahead of all good sense in this case.

SCULLY: Ambition? She's a woman trying to survive the boys' club, Mulder. Believe me, I know how she feels.

MULDER: The difference is you never put yourself ahead of your work, and that's what happening here.

MULDER: He's [Banton] being held by the Richmond Police in connection with several bizarre murders. He's a physicist, researching quarks, gluons, dark matter. He believes the government is out to get him.

X: It's tax season. So do most Americans.

X: I'm afraid I can't help you.

MULDER: Why?

X: The last time I helped you, I bloodied my fist and regrettably exposed my identity to associates of yours.

MULDER: Yes, I know, and you can trust them as you trust me. I promise.

X: Dead men can't keep promises. The next time the blood and regret could be yours. I'm not at your beck and call, Agent Mulder. I have nothing to gain and everything to lose by helping you. Promise you won't contact me again unless absolutely necessary.

MULDER: Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you, Scully...

MULDER: Put yourself in his head, Scully. I think the only reason he hasn't tried to kill himself is because he's afraid his death will release the dark matter.

BANTON: I'll die before I let them use me.

DAVEY: You're lightning in a bottle, Chester. We're not about to let you die.

MULDER: A young detective is dead because of you! Who do you answer to?

X: Despite my loyalty to my predecessor, I've never made you any promises.

MULDER: All right, promise me something right now. Promise me this will be our last meeting. We're finished.

X: You're choosing a dangerous time to go it alone, Agent Mulder.