| Josh Exley | |
| |
| Josh in his true alien form. | |
| Species: | Colonist |
| Home world: | Colonization |
| Status: | Deceased |
| Media information | |
| Portrayed by: | Jesse L. Martin |
| First appearance: | "The Unnatural" |
Josh Exley (nicknamed Ex by his friends) was a member of the Colonist species and a character from The X-Files TV series episode "The Unnatural". Exley disguised himself as a baseball player in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947.[1]
History
In 1947, Josh Exley disguised himself as an African American man so that he could play baseball and escape the other aliens. He made himself a black man so that it would be harder for him to make the majors, as he didn't want the kind of exposure that could uncover his true form. Exley played for the Roswell Grays and hit 61 home runs in 1947. When threats were made against Exley's life, Roswell Police Department officer Arthur Dales was assigned to protect him, though Exley himself was hesitant of the idea. The same night, on the bus with Exley and his teammates, Dales saw Exley's reflection in the window as an alien while he slept.
During a game the next day, Exley was hit by a pitch and began uttering a strange language before coming back to his senses. Dales then noticed a mysterious green ooze on the ground where Exley's bleeding head had been resting. Dales looked into Exley's hometown of Macon, Georgia and learned that a boy with the same name vanished about five years ago. When Yankee scouts arrived at one of the games, Exley purposely performed poorly but denied doing so when Dales approached him about it. That night at the hotel, Dales heard noises coming from Exley's hotel room and broke in, only to find Exley in his true alien form. Exley explained that he was forbidden from intermingling with the human race, but that he fell in love with baseball and disguised himself as an African American to play the sport and to escape the other aliens.
Josh Exley dies in Dales' arms.
Later, at another game, Exley hit a towering foul ball. Some of the other players thought that Exley had the ability to play in the major leagues, but Exley didn't want to because he desired to avoid the spotlight. Suddenly, a group of Ku Klux Klan members in search of Exley arrived on horseback. The baseball players fought back, but, when the mask of the KKK leader fell off, he was revealed to be an alien bounty hunter. The bounty hunter told Exley that he had to die now and demanded that Exley revert to his true alien form, but Exley refused. Just as Dales arrived, the bounty hunter killed Exley with a gimlet weapon. When Dales found Exley dying and held him in his arms, Exley became hysterical and warned Dales that his blood was like acid to humans. To both of their surprise, Exley bled red human blood instead of green ooze.
"The Unnatural"
In 1999, FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully looked through Roswell newspapers from the 1940s and found an article showing a picture of Arthur Dales, Josh Exley, and an alien bounty hunter. Though Mulder sought out Dales at his apartment, he found Dales' brother who was also named Arthur. Dales told Mulder about when he met Exley back in 1947. When Dales was finished recounting the story, he told Mulder that Exley had become a true man through his love of baseball because he embodied the essential qualities that make men, men.
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