The show centers on Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files.
In the episode, Mulder and Scully have 24 hours to save Assistant Director Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) from a biologically engineered disease.
In order to combat the disease, Scully looks for a medical answer, while Mulder searches for the culprits behind the attack on Skinner's life.
To aid him in this task, Mulder visits Senator Matheson, whom he hopes can help him find who is responsible before time runs out.
The episode opens with Assistant Director Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) unwell and horribly discolored in hospital.
He is discharged from the hospital but Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) witness a bruise on his ribs growing.
After trawling through security footage from the entrance to the J. Edgar Hoover Building, Scully recognizes a physicist named Dr. Kenneth Orgel, who advises a Senate subcommittee on ethics and new technology, and who stopped Skinner in the hall that same morning.
Mulder does a background check on the kidnapper, which leads him to Senator Richard Matheson (Raymond J. Barry); this results in a dead end, however.
[2] Shiban began crafting his story by incorporating a nanobot plot that had been considered by various writers for several seasons.
Shiban noted that, "[Krycek's control] gives Skinner an agenda that Mulder doesn't know about [...] Which was something we ultimately used again in the seasonender [sic], and will carry us into next year".
[2] Mitch Pileggi had boxed competitively in college and went for "refresher course[s]" at the Goosen Gym in Los Angeles to prep for the episode.
Pileggi had had little to no makeup in previous episodes and later said, "They did a beautiful job and [the veins] looked awesome, but man, I hated it!
"[8] The episode was nominated for three 2000 Emmy Awards by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore).
Tom Kessenich, in his book Examination: An Unauthorized Look at Seasons 6–9 of the X-Files wrote positively of the episode, saying, "'S.R.
[11] She did, however, write critically of Skinner's role in the episode, noting that his lack of presence made the entry a "disappointing one".
[12] Robert Shearman and Lars Pearson, on the other hand, awarded the episode two out of five stars in their book Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen.
[13] The two, despite writing positively of the "traditional X-File" feel, called the episode "a return to the sort of murky storylining which promises so much but delivers so little".