********************************************************** ML's e-mail address has changed to: msnsc21@yahoo.com ********************************************************** From: ephemeral@ephemeralfic.org Date: 29 Apr 2005 02:53:33 -0000 Subject: Living History by ML by ML Source: direct Reply To: msnsc21@yahoo.com 4/28/05 Title: Living History Author: ML Email: msnsc21@yahoo.com Feedback: yes, please Distribution: wherever fine fanfiction is read . Please just let me know where. Rating: all ages Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, I'm only borrowing them for non-profit recreational use. Living History by ML ===== /Transcript of speech given at the 25th Anniversary Dinner, March, 2018 in the old calendar :::tink tink tink::: Hello everyone...is this on? Hello everyone. Honored guests, friends, family, supporters...I guess, really we all fall into the same category: survivors. Thank you for the special honor of choosing me to speak to you tonight. Most of you have taken me on faith, and I hope that I have proved, and will continue to prove, that your faith is not unfounded. You all know why we're here tonight. I won't spend a lot of time on history that nearly everyone here can recount better than I. Many of you were eyewitnesses to some of the events that have brought us here, though in the way history often happens, no one knew at the time that they were living through events that would have such an impact on the future. Not just their own personal future, but the future of all of us. Before I go any further, I'd like to call out a few acknowledgments: we are especially honored tonight to have President-elect Skinner with us. Yes, please do applaud. Thank you, Sir. We are hoping for a satellite feed from Europe, where John and Monica Doggett are overseeing the reconstruction projects there. Likewise, we expect John Byers and Dr. Modeski to join us from Antarctica. That's if Mr. Langly and Mr. Frohike can get the connections up and running. [indistinguishable reply from either Langly or Frohike] Although this is meant to be a celebration, I'd be remiss if I didn't ask everyone to take a moment to think of those, known and unknown, who paid the price so that the rest of us could live to fight on. As you know, we will be having the formal memorial in a few days, but please allow me to acknowledge just a few of those who are never far from our thoughts. Margaret Scully and her sons Bill and Charles were early casualties. Bill Scully was slow to come to the Resistance but he became one of its fiercest supporters, and his brave service and leadership during the Battle of the Gulf of Mexico will not be forgotten. His wife, Tara, and his son Matthew are here with us tonight. [applause] Charles had actually been part of the Resistance before there was one. Most of you now know the story of how he found Mulder and Scully on the run, and got them to what would become Resistance headquarters. No one knew at the time, but that was a turning point for the human race. I'm sorry that I didn't get the chance to know either of these brave men, but their deeds will be forever remembered. It is not known what happened to Margaret Scully, only that it is likely she was a victim of the conspiracy that masterminded the invasion. She disappeared not long after Mulder escaped and Agent Scully disappeared. As difficult as it is, we owe it to those who gave their all to honor them by acknowledging how far we've come before we continue with the fight. We are grateful to them all. Tonight is not only a celebration for us, but a celebration of their lives and what they did to enable us to continue. There are so many others that I have not named. There is not a person here who has not suffered a loss, and we honor the memories of them all. Please, before we go on, let us take a moment of silence to think of those who have fallen. [pause] Who among us would have imagined this day, twenty-five years ago? Certainly not I. And with good reason, I know. But those of you who have been a part of this story, or who were there at the beginning...did you ever imagine anything like this? I don't think even our guests of honor tonight could have foretold this. How could they know that their meeting, twenty-five years ago, portended such events? Events that eventually unfolded on a global scale, that took them and their followers into places and into events that are beyond the scope of the average citizen to even contemplate. Some might say that perhaps it's a good thing they didn't know, or we might *not* be here tonight. Who among us, when confronted with our future, would be able to face it with equanimity? It's a question almost impossible to answer. So much of what Dana Scully and Fox Mulder have done has become legendary. It's sometimes hard to separate fact from fiction. And since they themselves often related differing versions of the same events, we may never know the whole "true" story. What we do know is this: In the spring of 1993, Dr. Dana Scully was assigned to work with Special Agent Fox Mulder and the X-Files Division at the FBI. Dr. Scully, according to official records, was sent to bring a scientific discipline to the work of Agent Mulder. He admits that he looked upon her as a spy at first. Although many of the early files have been destroyed, we know that the most important thing to them both was the truth. Whatever their differences of opinion might have been, they soon had one of the highest solve rates in the FBI. Their partnership was often the subject of much speculation and rumor, and their cases even more so. In their time, they investigated a wide range of unusual phenomena. They tackled the cases no one else wanted. And, little by little, they began to see a pattern emerge -- one that those responsible for bringing them together never wanted them to see. Over the years and many personal losses, they persevered. Their partnership weathered separation, even death, many times over. And yet they persevered. Even when it appeared they'd lost their last friends, that they had nowhere to turn, they kept on. Their perseverance got them attention. Some of it was unwanted. But in other quarters, they were reaching the right people. The ones who weren't beholden to anyone but themselves and what they believed. And, when the time came, these were the people who came forward. Some paid with their lives, as you well know. But together they believed, and together they helped tip the balance. These are the things that no one can predict. This is the sort of thing that, if you saw it in a movie or read it in a book, you'd think, "unbelievable." But it happened. Mulder and Scully, as the whole world knows them now, would be the first to say that no one gets there alone. It's hard to know if we were destined to meet as we did. I know that one way or another we would have. One of the reasons I was asked to speak tonight, besides the obvious, was to tell a little of my own part in all of this. I was living what I thought was a normal life with my adopted family in Wyoming. They'd never kept my adoption a secret, though all they knew of my birth family was that my mother had been trying to raise me alone and wasn't able to continue. When I showed off-the-charts aptitude for math and science, the family joke was that I was the offspring of a Nobel Prize laureate and a beauty queen. Lucky for me, it turns out I inherited my mother's brains and my dad's looks. [groans and general laughter] What, Dad? You don't want to be characterized as just another pretty face? [more laughter and an indistinguishable reply from Mulder] Anyway, I was encouraged and allowed to participate in a number of "special programs" involving the hard sciences. I attended special seminars and other programs that gathered young scientists from all over. Unknown to me and my parents, I had been under observation for some time by both sides. The types of tests I was given at school, even the sports I was interested in, were carefully orchestrated. "They" probably knew exactly who I was long before I knew it myself. There is no such thing as isolation in the age of satellite TV and the Internet. I grew up in a time of unrest. There were tales of "skunkworks" undermining government and business operations around the country. Oil prices climbed and there were occasional shortages. My folks told me that the same thing went on when they were growing up; it just seemed to be part of a cycle. The rumors of an underground group determined to overthrow the government got some attention due to the 24-hour news channels, but it was just one more story in a jumble of stories. The answers to what was happening might have been there, but you had to know where to look. When my parents were killed while I was at science camp one summer, I still had no idea of my connection to the Resistance. I was taken into "protective custody;" not allowed to return home or to attend my parents' funeral. For a long time I was sure that they were still alive and that I'd been kidnapped and fed this story to keep me from trying to escape. I was angry and afraid and uncooperative. When I first met Mulder and Scully, as everyone calls them now, I already knew who they were. The stories had become more strident, and they had been identified as former government employees who had become disaffected and were now responsible for a range of criminal activities. When they appeared at the compound where I was being held, I began to put two and two together and believed that they might have had something to do with my parents' deaths. [murmurs from the audience] I know, this isn't easy to hear and it isn't easy for me to tell. But one thing my parents taught me is to tell the truth, even if it's not pleasant. To their credit, they didn't try to convince me of anything, or let their desperation show. The important date was approaching, and though they knew I was the key they desperately needed to save the human race, they didn't force me to do anything. They simply laid out the facts and left me alone to think them through. When I asked to leave the compound, they agreed to let me go. I don't know how much discussion went on behind closed doors, but they let me walk out of there, no strings attached. I remember that Mulder told me the news; Scully was not there. I didn't know until later why she chose not to say goodbye to me. Why she *couldn't* say goodbye to me. So what does a twelve year old genius do when set free? I don't know. I tried to go back to my home. Within twenty-four hours I'd been picked up by what I now know as replicants, and was on my way back to captivity -- and probably this time, to my death. It was only because John Doggett and Monica Reyes had been tailing me that I'm here today telling you this story. Mulder had asked them to make sure I stayed safe on my journey home. Agents Doggett and Reyes -- they were still agents in those days -- accompanied me back to the ranch where I'd lived. Seeing what had become of my home started me thinking more clearly than I had since my parents were killed. I demanded that Agent Doggett tell me everything. Little by little, I began to believe the story that he and Agent Reyes told me. Many, many things I'd heard and thought and felt over the years started to fall into place. Agent Doggett is the one who told me the true story of my birth and adoption. Monica Reyes, who was also present for those events, contributed to the story. Eventually, I began to believe what they told me. You may ask why I trusted these strangers to tell me the truth? To this day, I can't tell you in a way that makes sense. Their sincerity -- and, truth to tell, the sense of deep skepticism on the part of Agent Doggett about the events he retold -- must have helped to sway me. Maybe, too, it was what I saw in Mulder's eyes when I left the compound. And then I understood why Scully -- why *my mother* couldn't say goodbye to me...again. To make a long story short, I returned with them to the compound, and to the people I now knew were my birth parents. I won't tell you about the reunion -- that's personal history, not for the record books -- but what followed that, everyone here knows. Although the date was near, once we began to work together, there was no question that we would win. [applause and cheers] So in conclusion, I ask our guests of honor: overall, can you say things turned out better than you expected, or better than you hoped? [indistinguishable reply from Mulder, laughter and scattered applause] You're right, it's a trick question, Dad. Legend has it that you once asked Mom if she'd known what was ahead, would she have still continued. Her answer was "I wouldn't change a day." [indistinguishable reply from the back of the room] Yeah, I know, the rest of the answer is "except for that Flukeman thing." Back to the bar with you, Langly. [another indistinguishable reply; general laughter] Anyway, now that all is said and done, I know you both still feel that way. A journey is not just a means to an end; it's what defines us, makes us who we are. You both knew that almost from the beginning. I suspect that all roads led to where we are now, even with the detours we may have taken along the way. For all the hard decisions you had to make, and the fear, uncertainty, and doubt, you made it through to this time, this place. Some would say it was foretold; we have seen a number of prophets as well as what used to be called Monday-morning quarterbacks. Regardless of the whys and the wherefores, the legends and the facts, we know the truth. It has been said that "when the legend becomes fact... print the legend." We all know how subjective truth can be, having been shown many different versions of it from various sources. No one knows this better than my mom and dad. One truth we all know: the people we honor here tonight will never cease their quest for it. This is far from the journey's end; it's a new beginning for all of us. The future is still uncertain -- we all know that there are no guarantees of safe passage, and that is underscored by the people who are no longer with us. The casualties were devastating until we could get enough vaccine into circulation to turn the tide. We mourn the loss of friends and loved ones. Of those who were caught unaware, who died simply because they were human. Who died because of the fearful secret that was hidden from them until it was too late. It's fitting that this anniversary should be taking place in the former headquarters of the FBI, where it all began twenty-five years ago. I, for one, am very glad that my parents not only met, but continued on their journey together. And I, for one, wouldn't change a day -- especially one day in particular, if you know what I mean. [laughter, whistles, scattered applause] Yes, you can see I've inherited my dad's sense of humor. Sorry, Mom. Thank you all for coming. Let's get to work. /end transcript/ ===== This was written as an anniversary present for a couple of dear friends, and here I share it with all of you. Words cannot fully express the wonderful things I've experienced over the years due to XF. I've made friends and met so many interesting people, and most of all, it awakened the desire to write. It may be that not everyone who reads this will think that's a good thing, but I'm very grateful! I tried to put the right words into the mouth of my speaker, but I will also say that I'm so grateful for the people I've met, and the things I've experienced, just because I tuned into an intriguing sounding pilot program lo these many years ago. It's still several years shy of 25, but I won't be surprised if the impact still lingers in some form. 4/28/2005 (12 years...or 13, depending the date you recognize...)