The “Hey Danny it’s Mulder” podcast interviewed Anne Simon, who was Chris Carter’s science advisor for much of the duration of the show and contributed with many realistic elements of the show’s mythology specifically.
What was discussed:
1X23: “The Erlenmeyer Flask“: plenty of contributions from her! The name of the episode itself, the solution contained in the flask that looks like “weak coffee” [“monkey pee” according to Scully], using an image of pollen for the alien bacteria, the two nucleotides as undeniable proof of alien DNA, the use of a scanning electron microscope, Carter naming the scientist “Anne Carpenter” after her…
4X01: “Herrenvolk“: using a real DNA sequence of cowpox virus just in case somebody would analyse it (which someone did of course!) to avoid having a random sequence like in Michael Crichton’s “Jurassic Park”.
5X02: “Redux“: the “blazing hot probe” story for the Southern blot test, which is normally done in two days but the script needed it to be done in four hours.
9X18: “Sunshine Days”: she and Margaret Fearon (TXF fan she met exchanging letters and became close friends with [a character in IWTB is named after her]) visited the set; they corrected several things in the set to make it more realistic (X-rays, position of the autopsied body, lab equipment…)
10X6: “My Struggle II“: all the details of CRISPR, Spartan virus (Margaret came up with the name), inserting the virus together with the smallpox vaccine, everything that got her and Margaret a writing credit for the episode. For the trigger for the loss of the immune system, she had many ideas around air pollution and climate change; but Carter wanted to use chemtrails specifically [it’s not very clear what the trigger was in the final episode].
[As noted in my My Struggle II analysis, this is all great science but it poses an issue of logic. It’s interesting that Carter asked them to come up with a way to have the virus and gene mutation inserted in all humans *specifically decades ago* and not recently: so the CSM’s Spartan virus plan was indeed set up a long time ago and that’s not a mistake or an overlooked detail. The CSM’s plan was in place decades ago, all the while the preparations for colonization and the hybridization experiments were taking place. This is all very difficult to reconcile: if the Spartan plan is in place and can destroy humanity, what’s the point of all the experiments related to colonization that we were presented for nine seasons?]
On scientists’ representation on-screen and scientists’ desire for a more realistic portrayal, on the Scully effect and the many times she became aware of it during her career.
But most importantly, Simon discusses the dire state of science funding in the new Trump administration, and how the United States is sabotaging itself by turning its back on science, and how a new generation of students is seeing its funding for research being taken away and its interest in science waning. [Progress based on science greatly helped make the American Empire during the 20th century. Now the situation is reversed and the US’s star, as a global beacon for people around the world and very practically as a leader of global affairs, is waning.]
More about Anne Simon on Eat The Corn:
- Analysis of her 2001 book “The Real Science Behind The X-Files”, including things that might presage the Spartan virus [when will we get an updated edition?]
- Discussion of her talk post-My Struggle II (and theorizing on My Struggle III)
- More interviews
