19. The Road Not Taken

Complete story — includes the ending

The Fringe Division investigates the case of a woman ( Jennifer Ferrin ) who " spontaneously combusts " in a busy New York street. She is the subject of a ZFT experiment to cultivate pyrokinesis. During the investigation, Olivia experiences "visions" while awake. Walter suggests that she is seeing a parallel universe which has branched off from our own. Olivia and Peter visit an agoraphobic website designer ( Clint Howard ) who is apparently aware of William Bell, the drug trials, and the coming war, although his credibility comes into question when he believes himself to be a Star Trek character. Using information from her visions, Olivia tracks down the victim's twin sister, who moments before was kidnapped for more ZFT experimentation. Harris is actually responsible for the crimes, and while closing in on him, Olivia gets locked in a room with the twin sister, whose unstable pyrokinetic abilities threaten both their lives. With Olivia's guidance, the woman decides to focus her energy on Harris and incinerate him instead. The sisters were part of the same nootropic drug trial that Olivia was as a child. She presses Walter to reveal why he and William Bell were developing " supersoldiers," but Walter reveals only that it was for protection against some impending doom that he cannot recall. The ZFT manuscript was actually written by William Bell, and the copy of the manuscript ZFT uses is missing a chapter dealing with ethics. Walter locates the original, but the Observer appears and takes Walter away, stating: "It is time to go." Nina Sharp visits Broyles to discuss the Observer. Later, two masked gunmen using silenced weapons shoot Nina in her hotel.