Contact High

Fanfiction
Title:	Contact High
Author(s):	Penumbra
Date(s):	26 August 1999
Length:	90K
Genre:	MSR
Fandom:	The X-Files
External Links:	Contact High at Gossamer
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Contact High is an X-Files story by Penumbra.

Summary

Author's summary: "Scully drops by Mulder's apartment one evening and one thing sort of leads to another. Colonization metaphors abound. Mulder's new bed has a cameo."

Author's Comments

In 2020, the author wrote about this story and its context:

The first fic I wrote was HORRIBLE. I put a link to it on my site, so that people can get a little hit of schadenfreude. Those early stories were on shaky footing. I had no confidence in myself. I felt intimidated writing about sophisticated, highly-educated career people when I was none of those things. Heck, I was cleaning motel rooms. I’m still none of those things, but, through Mulder and Scully, I’ve lived that life a little bit, and it was fun.

The third story, ‘Contact High’, was all sex and drugs. I’d done acid and shrooms, so finally, a subject I could assert some authority over! I decided to just go for it. That abandon was a breakthrough, and Penumbra came into being. But there was so much going on inside me, it was hardly harnessable; as stories like ‘Vespers’ and ‘Black Hole Season’ show, it was like getting on a horse that you can’t control and just clinging to its neck as it gallops.

This time around, in my latest incarnation, I feel that I have a better perspective on Mulder and Scully, more of an even footing. I’ve been through a lot, and in ’Hotel-Zero’, I wanted to demonstrate not just how to survive, but how to survive as yourself. I wanted to maybe create a sort of handbook for how to keep your head above water. Life is hard for all of us, people are hard on us. You need to keep a singular perspective on yourself, and allow no one modify it.

[...]

I’ve had two separate experiences, with a seven-year hiatus, and I wouldn’t have missed either of them for the world. Belonging to an obscure hive mind has been one of the most interesting and rewarding (not to mention super-secret) facets of my life, and that will always be my overall takeaway as an X-Phile.

However, as the fandom imploded there was understandable backlash against the whole Penumbra thing. The panegyric was just too much, the style definitely overblown. I posted ’Fathoms Five’ as things were melting down, and there was real outrage. People were boycotting it as a political statement. Oh, we were all so raw — the X-Files was ending and IWTB was a heartbreaker. At that point I’d been working on 'Heuvelmans’ for a couple of years and was forced to admit I couldn’t finish it, nor would it be well-accepted if I did. So you can sort of see the baggage I was carrying when I left the fandom, not to mention the creative angst.

Reactions and Reviews

Scully drops by Mulder's apartment one evening and one thing sort of leads to another. Colonization metaphors abound. Mulder's new bed has a cameo.

It's on Chronicle X's latest fic update, but it was written as a "Field Trip" post-ep. Smutty, sexy and incredibly written. Totally original and every time I read it I think... Damn, why didn't I write that? Plus it's way, way too smart. I had to look up words. I've got a friggin' writing Masters and I had to look up words. God, I love that. Penumbra rocks my little fic world.

Damn straight!! "Contact High" was one of the first stories I read last year. I was completely hung up on Field Trip, watched it obsessively while ironing, etc. Penumbra's use of the English language is phenomenal, my kind of writing, lots of creative imagery, but not so much that you are distracted by it. If you've ever been under the influence of anything, whether alcohol or prescription medicines, or anything (cough) illegal, you will recognize the mood and mind swings Scully experiences. The first paragraph or two will hook you completely. And the steamy parts...well! I've exhorted Penumbra to add on, to write another part of the story (the last few paragraphs will explain why), but her muse has taken her off into different directions. :-)

One of the hallmarks for me of X-Files fic is the abundance of great prose. There are dozens of amazingly talented writers in this fandom, people who can spin sentences that make me weep or cry or curl up shuddering under my desk.

And then there's Penumbra. Her prose is ineffable and inimitable, and every time the topic of favorites lines comes up, she is cited over and over again. She breaks all the implicit rules of ficwriting, and she makes you love it.

Contact High takes off from the sixth-season episode "Field Trip", in which (if you don't recall), Mulder and Scully are nearly consumed by a giant fungus, whose fumes give them hallucinations. There's some indication in the episode that the fumes even put them in psychic contact with each other. It's a fun episode (yet another Mulder!death!), not least because it resulted in the fabulous, dreamy, smutty festival of stunning imagery and quirky psychological insight which is Contact High. Penumbra starts with the assumption that this psychic link doesn't fade away immediately after our agents are rescued from the giant mushroom, and things progress from there.

This is one of my all-time favorite stories ever.

A deeply funny, intelligently written exploration of what it was like after Scully & Mulder got pulled out of that giant mushroom. Scully & Mulder are a lot smarter than average, and I like a story that makes use of that fact.

Penumbra is an amazing writer, and has penned several classics in X-Files fanfiction. Here she tackles a post-ep for "Field Day", with Scully and Mulder still affected by the hallucinogen from the episode, mildly telepathic, and coming to terms with their relationship with each other. Penumbra has a unique writing style, laced with dense, vivid imagery and intelligent, crisp dialogue. The language (as you might expect from a story about recovering from a trip) is interestingly disjointed and the sexual attraction just drips off the page.

I have only one other story to recommend, and you’ve probably already read it. “Contact High” by Penumbra is not my favorite of her fics (that would be “Fathoms Five”) but it is without a doubt the sexiest. While I admit that both Mulder and Scully are completely OOC in this fic, I don’t mind a bit, and I suspect you won’t either. Penumbra’s language is luscious. The plot is non-existent. I love the idea of what’s happening, even though I can’t quite believe in it, which seems oddly appropriate for a post-ep to “Field Trip.”