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Gibson Andrew Praise (played by Jeff Gulka) was a chess prodigy who first met FBI Agents Mulder and Scully in 1998.

Biography[]

Gibson Praise was known to live with his parents somewhere within the Philippine Islands.

For reasons unknown, he carried within him alien DNA and was capable of reading others' minds. In 1998, he was targeted by the Syndicate because of his ability and sent an assassin to kill him during a chess match, however, Praise sensed him and outsmarted him, forcing the man to kill his opponent instead. Mulder, Scully, and Diana Fowley then questioned and had the child evaluated for telepathic abilities at the Inget Murray Psychiatric Hospital. The Syndicate sent the Cigarette Smoking Man to kidnap him. While guarding Praise, Fowley was intentionally shot and the Cigarette Smoking Man took Praise away and handed him over to the Well-Manicured Man and Alex Krycek. (TXF: The End)

Syndicate scientists performed a procedure on him to learn about his abilities. The CSM later stopped it to use Praise to find an alien that had been born in Phoenix. Praise was taken to the house where the host died, and Praise told them the alien was not there. When the CSM's henchman wanted to check, Praise was insistent since he sensed Mulder and Scully inside, also investigating.

While at the nuclear facility, he was able to escape and get in the car Mulder and Scully was using. They brought him to the Camel Back View Motel. Praise told them he was being used to find the alien. Scully took him to the hospital to treat his wounds, but there he was soon taken by a Syndicate man to the nuclear facility to find the alien. Mulder and Fowley, also there to find the alien, observed them and followed. Praise watched as the man was killed by the alien and stared at it. He hid while the alien gestated. (TXF: "The Beginning")

Following the abduction of Mulder in 2000, John Doggett was made head of the FBI task force charged with his recovery. However, Doggett and Alex Krycek were dead set against the possibility of there being alien involvement despite the objections of Scully and Walter Skinner. With help from The Lone Gunmen, they were able to deduce a pattern of alien appearances in the days after Mulder's disappearance and realized that the evidence suggested that Mulder was collecting the evidence for some reason. Scully suddenly remembered Gibson Praise, the only person who could provide definitive proof of the existence of aliens.

Bounty Hunter as Mulder Gibson Praise

Alien Bounty Hunter disguised as Mulder with Gibson

Scully and Skinner traveled to Arizona, where the alien appearances had occurred, and were able to locate Praise at a school for the deaf. However, Doggett had been provided a file on Praise that was stolen from Mulder's office and arrived at the school alongside Scully and Skinner. Praise realized he was being sought and fled, only to be grabbed by Mulder himself and hauled away (TXF: Within).

Doggett tried to stop Mulder, who let Praise go free before walking backwards over a cliff and falling. However, Mulder's body was not found and Scully realized that they were not dealing with Mulder at all: it was actually the Alien Bounty Hunter who was collecting evidence. Praise fled to an underground shelter where he and his friend Thea Sprecher sometimes went to hide. Scully followed Sprecher and found Praise with a broken leg. Scully returned to the school where Doggett and the FBI agents were still convened. She and Skinner returned to Praise, who said he could hear Mulder's thoughts and that was near. Unknown to any of them, Mulder was indeed nearby inside a spacecraft that was cloaked. Skinner drove Praise to a local hospital for emergency care to mend his broken leg.

The bounty hunter was not to be deterred, though. In the guise of Thea Sprecher, he entered the hospital, knocked out Skinner and made off with Praise. He was then rescued by Agent Scully, who killed the bounty hunter (TXF: Without).

It is revealed that Mulder spent a year living with Gibson Praise in Arizona after he left Washington D.C. while on the run from supersoldiers and the New Syndicate. Gibson Praise returned to testify on Mulder's behalf when Mulder was on trial for his life. Mulder first denied Gibson's appearance in the courtroom due to the fact that his supernatural powers might put him in danger. During the trial, Praise identified the Toothpick Man as a supersoldier, causing a small riot between Mulder and the court officials. After the trial, Gibson's whereabouts became unknown, though it is assumed that he was sent to safety by the government (TXF: The Truth).

References[]

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