John Byers
|
John Fitzgerald Byers (Bruce Hardwood), named after
John F Kennedy, was born on 22nd
of November 1963. Before the assassination, his parents were going to call him Bertram. He is the
military and information systems expert. His neat beard and dapper suits
seem out of place among his grungier colleagues, but his sharp mind and
no-nonsense demeanor attest to an encyclopedic
knowledge of conspiracy
theory and current speculation on everything from the Kennedy assassination
to the latest in DNA research.
|
 |
Before becoming a Lone Gunman, he
was working for the Federal Communication Commission, where he was "versed
in computer networks". Langly and his friends, when met him for the first
time, called him "The Nark". Though, after realizing that there was a
large conspiracy afoot, made him give up his job.
He usually wears his usual
clothes and a belted gray raincoat, even when breaking into secret
installations, and is an expert skater (Aporypha). He wears a wedding ring all
the time, though in Unusual Suspects, shot in 1989, he does not have any such
ring.
In "One Breath,"
Byers unerringly recognizes and describes the bizarre recombinant chemistry that
lies at the heart of Dana Scully's disease, and quietly expresses sympathy to Mulder.
He occasionally indulges in a wit as sardonic as Mulder's, as when he tells him,
"That's why we like you, Mulder: Your ideas are weirder than ours."
Unlike co-conspirators Langly
and Frohike, he
is the least liable to crack a joke or even a smile, but his calm intelligence
lends authority and believability to the unlikely trio's offices.
When undercover in a casino in
Las Vegas ("Three of a Kind"), Byers not only manages to get himself
and Frohike thrown out, but also loses three thousand dollars on the game,
suggesting he is not cut out for either undercover work, or for gambling.
(Langly: "It should have been me in there playing, why does Byers get to do
all the undercover?")
Byers wears a wedding ring. It is not known if he is married,
divorced or widowed, though. In "Unusual Suspects", though, which is
set in 1989, he is not wearing the ring. He does go all romantic and gallant on
us, getting involved in possibly dangerous things for the sake of a damsel in
distress (Susanne Modeski) and getting quite smitten with her.
Even ten years later, Byers is still smitten, having
recurring dreams about her:
From "Three of a Kind": "My name is John
Fitzgerald Byers. I was named after our 35th president, and I keep having this
beautiful dream..." As he narrates, two cute little girls run out to greet
him. Carrying one and holding the others' hand, Byers enters the house and the
narration continues.
"In my dream the events of November 22, 1963 never
happened. In it, my namesake was never assassinated. Other things are different
too, in my dream. My country is hopeful and innocent, young again. Young in
spirit. My fellow citizens trust their elected officials, never once having been
betrayed by them. My government is truly of the people, by the people, for the
people. All my hopes, for my country, for myself, are fulfilled. I have
everything a person could want. Home and family. And love. Everything that
counts for anything in life, I have it."
As he moves through the perfect house, a golden retriever
greets him, and follows him out into the backyard where he greets his dream
wife, who we see to be Suzanne Modeski. They're kissing, and the camera moves in
close to blackness as Byers continues his narration. The camera pulls out to
find Byers is now standing in the desert, alone in the hot sun, holding a ring.
"But the dream ends the same way every time. I lose it
all."
When Suzanne returns, in this episode, she asks him to run
away with her. He declines, since his life is now with his friends and his work,
but he is obviously very very tempted.
Back To: