The colonists have three stages in their life cycle. The first is the "black oil," or the "black cancer," or "purity." The black oil was originally thought by the Syndicate to be a controlling force over humans, something that on contact would take over the body from the pineal gland in the brain. The only visible evidence of infection is a black covering over the eyes. The Syndicate, knowing that Earth would be colonized anyway, decided long ago to help the colonists, in return for having their lives spared. All along, however, the Syndicate had been stalling for time to create a vaccine, which could remove the black oil from humans or prevent it from infecting them, at a per-infection basis. The Russians have always been a step ahead, testing the amber-colored vaccine on the "criminal" in a gulag in Tunguska (where Mulder was infected with the black oil and cured by an early vaccine), Siberia. The vaccine is something that the colonists must not know about. If they were to find out, the timetable for colonization would be stepped up. Most likely this has already occurred. The Russians have already sabotaged the Syndicate's attempts at a vaccine, but the Syndicate obtained the Russians' vaccine (deceptively) from a double agent, Krycek. This is what Mulder used to save Scully, who was infected, from the underground spaceship in Antarctica where she was brought by the Syndicate. The aliens discovered the vaccine when Mulder saved Scully using it. When he cured Scully, he spread the vaccine throughout the ship as well, allowing the colonists to adapt to it and leaving the Syndicate with no defense against the colonization.

The second stage of the colonists' life cycle is the "mean" stage, which the Syndicate didn't know about until recently. The colonists had been keeping it a secret from them because, as the name implies, the stage was a ferocious, instinctive alien that gestated from the torso of the person who was infected by the black oil. The Syndicate previously only knew about the black oil, which they thought would be just a controlling force, and the third stage, the "grey" aliens which are the most common perception of aliens. They were astonished when suddenly people accidentally infected with the black oil burst open at the torso to unleash a beast that proved that the colonists were using them all along. No one would survive the colonization, possibly not even them, because of the hidden stage of life that the aliens had tried to keep secret as long as possible up to colonization. Because of the unexpected nature of the second stage, it was known to the Syndicate as the "mutation." Scully was brought to Antarctica as an example to the colonists of the mutation. The Syndicate wanted the colonists' reaction and version of the facts. However, the entire ship was vaccinated, meaning the colonists now know the vaccine exists. The spaceship left Antarctica, presumably to space. ("Tunguska," "Terma," "Fight the Future")

Where are the aliens from? Cassandra Spender, an abductee, seemed drawn to the constellation Cassiopeia, often looking at it in the sky and even copying the pattern of its stars with her fingers on her window. Another possibility is that they are from Mars, since tests on a rock containing the black oil unearthed in Tunguska, Siberia indicated that its composition was the same as that of the "Mars rock" found in Antarctica. Scully believes that the original building blocks of life, along with the alien virus contained in the black oil, came to Earth on a meteor from Mars. ("Tunguska," "Terma," "Patient X," "The Red and the Black," "The Truth")

The black oil, although it has been on Earth underground for millions of years (most of the colonists have left), has been rediscovered accidentally in a number of ways. First, in 1908, a meteor was rumored to have hit Earth in Siberia, containing the black oil. This is where the gulag is now located, and where prisoners are forced to dig for black oil so that they will be infected to test the Russians' vaccine. But the cold climate in Siberia is also fortunate, because the black oil becomes dormant in the cold. More accurately, the black oil cannot "mutate" in cold temperatures. Heat is also required for the transition from the mean stage to the grey form, and speeds up gestation. The Russians, along with the Syndicate, knew nothing of the mean stage. ("Tunguska," "Terma") Another rediscovery of the black oil was when the French ship Piper Maru, from information sold to them by Krycek, came across it when it infected a diver. The diver saw someone still alive in a downed WWII plane, kept alive by the black oil, before it transferred to him. The location where this occurred is the exact same place where Japanese scientists on the ship Talapus previously captured a grey alien to do genetic experiments on. (The greys and the black oil are basically the same thing.) The black oil as seen in the infected Piper Maru diver exhibited slightly different qualities than the Tunguska gulag oil. The Piper Maru form seems to be intelligent, and has a number of capabilities, including flashing a bright white radioactive light that can kill. The light emanates from the host body. This black oil seems very intent on getting back to its spaceship (wherever it may be) if it ever gets away from it. If this is the case, the oil will transfer from person to person so that one person in the "chain" is infected at a time. Otherwise, the black oil can transfer from one person to many others and replicate inside the new hosts, spreading into the population. Also, someone infected with this black oil can communicate with an alien ship through radio waves that to normal human ears seem like static. Anyone infected by the oil is immune to the radioactive flashes used as self-defense. The other form of the black oil seems thicker, and renders the host almost totally immobile. It doesn't cause radiation burns and doesn't make the flashing light. When it infects a host, it breaks up into smaller "worms" that go into the body. Upon closer inspection, it actually turns out that both forms are the same substance in different forms for different situations. The black oil is an all-purpose tool for the aliens that can be tailored to fit their needs at any time or place. Usually it is used for reproduction as outlined above. More specifically, the black oil itself is actually a virus with radioactive properties contained in regular oil from under the earth's surface. This explains how the WWII pilot got infected (through the plane's motor oil) and why previous hosts are left with a film of oil over their body. The virus can also infect people by itself without the oil coating. It is highly possible that the virus exists in dormant form in all oil on the earth, ready to be activated for the aliens' new colonization plan. See below for details on this and more on how the virus works to create mean aliens. Finally, some humans have a natural immunity to the alien virus contained in the black oil. These people are specifically from indigenous tribes in Mexico; this supports even more that the Navajo tribe and/or other native people are the "original" humans; more on the origins of humanity and the Navajo below. When these indigenous people are infected by the black oil, the virus contained in it completely dies and the oil leaves the person's body. ("Piper Maru," "Apocrypha," "Agrippa," "Vienen")

Another rediscovery of the black oil occurred in North Texas in a town called Blackwood, where a small boy was infected by it. It was later discovered that the warm temperature and the coincidental occurrence of the boy falling into a cave where some black oil was located is the reason why it happened. The Syndicate discovered that the boy and four firemen sent after him in the cave were reacting differently than normal to the black oil. That is when they discovered the mutation. They then began to see the true forms of the colonists. The black oil contains the alien virus (more on this later) and is in fact the life force of the colonists. With it they can easily reproduce, transforming an entire population of humans into mean aliens. From there the mean aliens become the more docile greys. The Syndicate most likely realized that the mean aliens were just a short stage in the colonists' life cycle, meaning that they could still survive the colonization. The Russian vaccine works on both the black oil in controlling mode and people who would otherwise gestate. ("Fight the Future," "The Beginning")

When the time for colonization comes--on December 22, 2012, the last day on the Mayan calendar--the black oil was originally supposed to be spread in a more efficient way than simple contact. Specially bred bees, using the "pollen" from specially bred corn, were to spread the alien virus through their stings. This method had been tested by the Syndicate using the smallpox virus. (Dr. Bonita Charnes-Sayre, an expert on smallpox, ran tests on the vaccine to the black oil.) Smallpox vaccinations, incidentally, were essential to the Syndicate's cataloguing system. Ever since the smallpox vaccinations began, they had been used for the purpose of getting a DNA sample from every American to be used as "identification tags." This ensured that the identity of all Americans (at least) would still be known after colonization occurs. Clones were also identified in this way. Therefore, people without their left arms, where the smallpox vaccinations were given, won't be tested with the black oil in the Russian gulag. When colonization occurs, the Federal Emergency Management Agency will use its powers as the single controlling power of the United States whenever a major disaster occurs. In this way, the Syndicate, which controlled FEMA, would have controlled what happens on the day of colonization. Now that the Syndicate is dead, FEMA is controlled by a much more dangerous force within the government (more on this later). After colonization, the country will be controlled by the "shadow government" safeguarded in the Mt. Weather, Virginia military base where part of FEMA is also housed. Most likely the plans for the bees are destroyed. ("Talitha Cumi," "Herrenvolk," "Zero Sum," "Fight the Future," "The Truth")

The Clones and Hybrids

The Syndicate was helping the colonists in more ways than one. They were working with the colonists, from the colonists' design called the Method, to create hybrids from human and alien DNA that would be immune to the black oil. These hybrids would be able to carry out the preparations for colonization without becoming infected by the black oil, and would serve as a slave race after the colonization to the colonists.

The hybrids have many distinguishing characteristics, although they have the appearance of humans. First, they are clones. There may be a certain number of "original" hybrids, but the rest are cloned from them. The originals are the most important hybrids because the clones are all cloned from them. Because they are all clones, they have a major disadvantage: they must be spread out in order not to be noticed. Some clones carried out the preparations for colonization, and others helped the Syndicate with its secret research to better the hybrids in facilities across the U.S. and Canada. ("Colony," "End Game")

Also the clones have green "blood," containing the alien tissue called "purity control," which is also a name for the cloning project. Purity control has an extra base pair in its DNA, two extra nitrogenous bases that are not found in nature. Purity control acts like an acid and also causes humans that come near it to catch a virus that thickens the blood, causing death unless the victim is put in cold water. This doesn't happen if the purity control is coming from a dead hybrid, though. In fact, the hybrids can breathe underwater and are resistant to cold. It is also hard to kill them: not only can they not drown or freeze, but they can survive huge falls. The original source of purity control was an embryo of a grey alien. Purity control is the blood of greys and is therefore the blood of hybrids. However, the DNA in purity control and the DNA of the alien virus in the black oil are essentially the same thing. ("The Erlenmeyer Flask," "Colony," "End Game")

"Original" hybrids come from humans. The Syndicate members' children and some other family members were taken by the aliens in return for the alien embryo/fetus that would provide the alien tissue for hybridization. The fetus is a result of the aliens' natural reproduction process; in reproducing by using the black oil and humans as hosts, the "grey fetus" stage is bypassed for the mean stage instead. Mulder's stepfather, Bill Mulder, who was involved in the Project (as the cloning operations were also called), refused at first, then relented and allowed Mulder's sister Samantha to be abducted and taken to a cloning program. But unlike the other children, Samantha was returned secretly to the April Air Base, where Cassandra Spender and the Cigarette-Smoking Man raised her with CSM's other son, Jeffrey Spender. Jeffrey and Mulder are half-brothers sharing the same father, while Mulder and Samantha are half-siblings sharing the same mother. At the base, the Syndicate did hybridization and cloning experiments on Samantha. She was even abducted by the aliens from the base sometimes, and she had implants put in her too. The other Syndicate family members taken by the aliens were used as human collateral to ensure the Syndicate's cooperation. Mulder, it was hoped by Bill, would expose the Syndicate and its plans because Mulder's stepfather wanted the Project to stop. He could be assured that Samantha would survive the colonization as a hybrid made by the Syndicate. He quit the Project long ago after the Syndicate decided against resisting the aliens in favor of saving themselves. Secretly working on a vaccine to the black oil was Bill Mulder's idea. The vaccine was tested by the Syndicate by gaining access to the alien tissue/purity through "test programs" simulating the colonization, and the embryo itself. Dr. Bonita Charnes-Sayre, a "close friend" of WMM's, ran a convalescent home in which the residents were infected with purity and given an experimental vaccine for testing. Charnes-Sayre was killed by an ex-KGB agent (Vasily Peskow) working for "Agent Arntzen," or Krycek. ("Tunguska," "Terma," "Sein Und Zeit," "Closure") The stalling was done by the continuing work on the hybrids, which didn't seem anywhere close to perfection. Cassandra Spender, the ex-wife of the Cigarette-Smoking Man, was abducted on the same night as Samantha, November 27, 1973. Cassandra and others were used as test subjects by the Syndicate for their hybrid. ("Two Fathers," "One Son") They were first taken to the aliens (who do the abductions), then to Syndicate scientists who did their hybridization experiments in railroad cars. Experiments with hybridizing have been done in a number of other ways. Elderly women have been given hormones to stimulate production of eggs, which were used in the cloning operations. Women have been abducted, having their eggs taken away. This also would prevent them from ever having children. And whole towns have been given purity control through their meat supply. ("Red Museum") Scully had eggs taken away from her during her abduction. This resulted in her finding out that she had a "daughter," although she was really a failed hybrid used for tests. ("Christmas Carol," "Emily") Hybridizing has a unique side effect: it cures the human of all illnesses (like with Cassandra's paralysis), and the hybrid then becomes immune to all disease and can spontaneously heal itself. Experiments with purity control have been done on sick people. ("The Erlenmeyer Flask") Until very recently, the Syndicate hadn't been able to create a hybrid that was totally immune to the black oil, which is why the colonization hadn't occurred yet. But that changed when Cassandra became the first success--until she was killed by the rebels.

The reason the Syndicate was helping the aliens with making a hybrid is that they approached the aliens with the idea, so that they could stall colonization as long as possible under the guise of preparing a hybrid--and work on a vaccine. Cassandra being a success was not the good news that it would have been to the aliens, then. The deal was that when the Syndicate had a perfect hybrid, they would return the alien embryo and see their children again. Then they would give the hybrid (Cassandra) to the aliens, and receive the hybrid's genes themselves so they could survive the colonization. This isn't possible now because of the loss of Cassandra and the fact that the rebels also took the embryo. The deadline for completion was December 22, 2012, but Cassandra's success was unexpected. The Syndicate was forced to initiate colonization when Cassandra appeared as the first perfect hybrid because of the threat of the rebels. The rebels made it the one chance to follow through with the plans for colonization, because the 50 years of work were already being destroyed. If the threat posed by the rebellion had not existed, the Syndicate would have waited until the set date as planned--unless resistance was perfected. And since at this point the vaccine had been discovered by the aliens and was useless, there was no resistance. Now that the plans are destroyed, the aliens will still come on the same date. ("Talitha Cumi," "Herrenvolk," "Two Fathers," "One Son," "The Truth")

The cloning operations, sometimes overseen by clones themselves, cannot just be left alone. This is where the Alien Bounty Hunter, given to the Syndicate by the colonists, comes in. There are more than one, but they all have the same characteristics. The Bounty Hunters are actually greys, larger than normal, with exceptional abilities. They appear as humans when on Earth, because they have the ability to shapeshift. However, hybrids can recognize the Bounty Hunters in any form. They are controlled by aliens on spaceships through the alien virus, which all Bounty Hunters are infected with. Through communication with the radioactive virus, the Bounty Hunters are given orders from a "central command" of aliens. Successful hybrids (Cassandra has been the only one) show a limited ability to morph, too. Bounty Hunters, or shapeshifters, have the characteristics of hybrids when morphed into humans, with the added abilities of detecting and curing others' illnesses. The Bounty Hunter can only be killed by a puncture wound to the back of the neck, done with a kind of stiletto/"plam"/"gimlet"/ice pick. This is the same stiletto used by the Bounty Hunter to kill clones, if necessary. This stiletto is very important to the Syndicate, because anyone who gets a hold of it can kill the Bounty Hunter. Mulder's mother had one in their vacation home, until Mulder took it. The Bounty Hunter obtained it again, though. It seems that the stiletto can also be used to get the black oil out of someone infected with it. The stiletto works by severing the connections to the brain, causing the black oil to leave the dead host. If the killed person is a Bounty Hunter or clone, the exposed green blood won't cause the blood-thickening virus, since it loses that property when the person is dead. ("Agrippa") The Bounty Hunter can also be a warning to the Syndicate not to do anything out of line. He is also someone not to be told about the vaccine. ("Talitha Cumi," "Herrenvolk," "The Unnatural")

Early attempts at creating hybrids by the Syndicate were aided by the Japanese (from Camp 731 in Manchukuo, where experiments were done on humans) and the Germans, who came to America after World War II in Operation Paper Clip. These early hybrids failed. They also had the green blood. The Japanese have tried to defect from the Syndicate by making an unauthorized hybrid (the old type) and smuggling it out of the U.S. The early hybrids, known as the "merchandise," looked like the traditional alien, with large heads and beady eyes. However they had their smallpox vaccination marks still on their left arms, signifying that they are still part human. Most were destroyed. The reason that these older hybrids failed was that they were made from stolen alien DNA--from crashed UFOs and other such locations--that came from mature greys' blood. The new hybrids were made from the embryo's DNA, after the deal was made with the aliens. The deal was made because, knowing that the colonization would occur, the Syndicate was working to try to save itself by hybridization. When it was decided that these efforts would fail, they voted to ally with the aliens to create a hybrid, which would give them the time they needed to stall colonization. At first the Syndicate started after the Roswell incident, being a part of the government, in a project to create a hybrid. This technology could be used to save some of the population. The aliens' colonization plans were discovered in the crashed ship's data banks in Roswell. In fact, the Syndicate threatened to use the atom bomb to destroy Earth and make it impossible for colonization if the aliens did not let them cooperate. In 1973 the same vote to ally with the aliens decided that they would become a private group, and work to create a hybrid for the aliens themselves. ("Anasazi," "The Blessing Way," "Paper Clip," "Nisei," "731," "Two Fathers," "One Son," "The Truth")

The Abductions, the Coverup, and the Rebels

Many people have claimed to be abductees, or even multiple abductees. Abductions are done by the aliens in the grey form to either get ova from women for hybridization experiments or to experiment on the person directly. Then the abductee is handed over to Syndicate scientists, usually working in train cars, mentioned before, that are a part of the government's hidden railroad. ("Nisei," "731," "Two Fathers," "One Son") The traditional abduction scenario involves a bright white light, loss of nine minutes of time (if the abductee is returned immediately), radiation burns, not being able to move, weightlessness, charred surroundings, and a residue of a strange dirt-like substance. ("Pilot," "Conduit," "Little Green Men") Abductions may also be done to get attention away from or to cover up the Project. Fake abductions are done by the Department of Defense for this purpose. Abductees sometimes have "scoop marks" on their bodies, evidence of the tests.

An international agreement was made to kill any of the greys if found to cover it up. ("E.B.E.") The ships where abductees are taken to first are usually triangular in shape. Abductees are usually taken repeatedly. Sometimes they are drawn to a certain place where mass abductions occur. These mass abductions, when begun by the aliens, were to signify the beginning of colonization, because abductees could begin to receive the hybrid genes to become slaves, while the rest of humanity would be infected by purity. The abductees could then be cloned to become cloned hybrids. In the war between the rebels and the colonists, the colonists began the mass abductions early to provoke the rebels in an attempt to fight them. Abductees were lost, but rebels were also killed (a sort of beam from a spaceship sets the rebels on fire themselves). But when the Syndicate was killed by the rebels, this plan of colonization (hybrids, mass abductions, bees, etc.) was destroyed as well. ("Patient X," "The Red and the Black")

Abductees are drawn to mass abduction sites through implants placed in the back of the neck. Some earlier abductions used even multiple implants, some in the nose. These implants are placed on abductees on their first individual abductions by Japanese scientists working with the Syndicate. Some of them were secretly working to create their own hybrids, as said before, and were killed off. If an implant is removed, a terminal form of cancer will develop in the nose near the brain. Scully was diagnosed with it after she removed hers, and a replacement chip was found to cure the illness. The cancer stems from harmful branched DNA which under the control of the chip does no harm. The branched DNA, strands of already used DNA which appeared in abductees' bloodstreams after they returned, resulted from the experiments done during the abductions. She was abducted once to put the chip in, and drawn to a mass abduction site after she put in the new chip. Scully was probably abducted at CSM's insistence, so that she would survive the colonization by being abducted and turned into a hybrid. CSM would definitely give his son, Mulder, a vaccine or have him receive the hybrid genes. In this way both would be able to survive. Abductees who remove their implants can't be drawn to abductions. The chips are manufactured by a Japanese company with alien technology. ("Pilot," "Duane Barry," "Ascension," "Nisei," "731," "Memento Mori," "Gethsemane," "Redux," "Redux II")

Implants are used by the Syndicate to draw abductees to abduction sites. But their applications go further than that. The chips keep away the terminal cancer that abductees can get because they cure all human disease. This makes sense because hybridization with alien DNA cures people of all disease, and the chips are made from alien technology. At one point CSM used Scully to get the genetic research behind the chips to save his own terminal cerebral inflammation which resulted from his brain operation (more on this later). CSM needed Scully to get the information because he would be killed if the men he worked with found out he was exposing the research. CSM threw away the disk containing the data, however, and did not cure himself out of guilt. ("En Ami")

An interesting side note is that two separate incidents have pointed to Scully being immortal! This is just food for thought: Clyde Bruckman, who showed the ability to predict people's deaths, said Scully would never die. Years later, Scully looked away from the face of Death, which passed over her to take the life of someone else. These things in addition to the chip which she has, which CSM demonstrated works so well that it keeps people (such as Marjorie Butters) alive well past age 100 (and possibly forever?). Again, just something to think about. ("Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose," "Tithonus")

Abductions can happen to people who don't have implants. First of all, a "chosen" person who will become a multiple abductee is first abducted to get an implant. But sometimes if a person is within the vicinity of an abduction, they too will lose 9 minutes of time and probably will have been abducted to have their memory erased. In earlier abductions the time loss could be noticed when an abductee's watch jumped 9 minutes ahead. But later on the aliens caught on and stopped everyone's watches right before abductions. The "time loss" is actually memory loss; abductees' memories are stolen and they can't recall how they "jumped" 9 minutes in time. This is why they sometimes remember later on what happened through hypnotic regression. In some abductions a family member of an abductee can become a "conduit" to alien messages through TVs, etc., as a reassurance that they will return. ("Conduit," "Tempus Fugit," "Max")

There is a rebellion against the colonists. Because of this the abductees at the mass abduction sites, among others, are burned to death with strange "fire wands." The abductees are special to the colonists because they will become hybrid clones once the hybridization process is perfected (it has been, after Cassandra, but the rebels also killed the doctors who perfected it and Cassandra herself). The rebels are Bounty Hunters who are not, for some reason, under the control of the alien virus. They mutilate their faces--covering their eyes, noses, and mouths with scar tissue--to prevent the black oil from infecting them with the virus. They burn abductees and Syndicate scientists to destroy the efforts of the abductions and colonization. They are shapeshifters going against the colonists, who want to control Earth and its resources and have it for themselves. They can mimic other people's faces just as the Bounty Hunters can, except the rebels only make one facial layer with simulated open eyes and mouths that covers their mutilated eyes. In this way, they are still protected from purity, but it seems that they have open eyes and mouths. These "masks" are a logical extension of the Bounty Hunters' morphing ability. ("Patient X," "The Red and the Black," "Two Fathers," "One Son")

Mulder, Scully, Doggett, Reyes, and the X-files

Fox "Spooky" William Mulder (he lives in Arlington) underwent hypnotic regression in 1989 to regain his memories of his sister Samantha's abduction. He was Oxford-educated and a brilliant FBI agent. ("Pilot") He was led to undergo hypnotic regression and became interested in the X-files through at least two incidents. In 1989, he met the Lone Gunmen, who told him of the government doing experiments on the public. ("Unusual Suspects") And in 1990, after his regression therapy, he learned of his "father"'s involvement in experiments involving xenotransplantation, the grafting of alien tissue into humans. ("Travelers") After the hypnotic regression, convinced of the existence of extraterrestrial life, Mulder threw away his promising career in the violent crimes section and requested assignment to the X-files, unsolved and unexplained cases. He began working with and opened the X-files with Diana Fowley, his love from the Academy. She is also the one who recommended his hypnotic regression. Mulder started being skeptical about extraterrestrial life years later, when a man from the Department of Defense named Michael Kritschgau told him that the entire thing was a hoax created by the government to take the public's attention away from other things. Mulder was the "pawn," controlled by the government's elaborate plans, according to Kritschgau. He told him that the same people responsible for Scully's cancer were behind the hoax. The cancer was given to her to make him believe. Lab tests proved that the same DNA found in a fake alien body was in Scully's cancer. The truth, however, is that members of the government who know about the Syndicate are actually covering up the Project and actual alien life, not just covert government projects, using the UFO phenomenon and fake abductions administered by the government, which Mulder begins to realize after he witnesses the ship in Antarctica. Mulder himself was used to help the Syndicate cover up its plans, by completely believing the existence of alien life and making believers look silly. Kritschgau was not lying, he was just told by the government he worked for that aliens didn't exist, even though he worked on covert projects. He was trying to "blow the whistle" on the government by telling what he knew to Mulder, as revenge for the death of his son from exposure to a secret government project used in the Gulf War (possibly the black oil). He was ruined and fired, then killed by Krycek after helping Scully save an ailing Mulder later on (and starting to believe in aliens himself). The origin of Scully's cancer is the same as the origin of the fake alien--the Syndicate. The tests done in her abduction made her sick, the implant being the only reason she was kept healthy. The X-files began when a secretary at the FBI in the early 1950s began filing these unexplained cases under "U." When she ran out of space, she started filing them under "X." The first X-file was filed by none other than J. Edgar Hoover himself. ("Shapes," "Travelers") The X-files, of course, include files on the Syndicate's operations and Samantha. Those were added after Mulder discovered the X-files. The Cigarette-Smoking Man burned the X-files 5 years after Scully was assigned to Mulder and the X-files, keeping Samantha's file for himself. Mulder's sacred "I Want to Believe" poster was destroyed in the fire. He received a new poster to replace it from a veterinarian friend whom he met online. She was killed in an unrelated incident. Fortunately, Mulder was able to use a method of moisturizing the burned files combined with computer technology to recover most of the files. ("The End," "The Beginning," "Alpha") Mulder became an abductee himself later on but after his return (when Doggett and Scully ran the X-files) he was kept off the X-files then fired from the FBI by Kersh. Then, to protect Scully and their baby William, Mulder went into hiding in New Mexico Navajo country (with Gibson Praise to keep him company) because his life was threatened by the Super Soldiers (more on this later). Kersh told Mulder of the danger, and Scully persuaded him to go for the baby's sake. Mulder then returned months later when he finally learned the truth about the colonization's timetable. ("Requiem," "Within," "Without," "This is Not Happening," "DeadAlive," "Three Words," "Vienen," "Nothing Important Happened Today," "Nothing Important Happened Today II," "The Truth")

Dana Katherine Scully (she lives in Georgetown) was assigned to Mulder in 1993 by Section Chief Blevins, who was later killed by the very people he was loyal to, the Syndicate. ("Pilot," "Gethsemane," "Redux," "Redux II") Her assignment was to "debunk" Mulder's work--give his findings the test of science. Unbeknownst to her at the beginning, she was assigned to make Mulder look stupid and essentially keep him under wraps. Through her abduction and many other experiences she has had, she has begun to "believe." In one daring experience, she even got a tattoo on her back of an ouroboros (a symbol of completion, perfection and totality, the endless round of existence, etc.), which was removed after she found out that the dye contained ergot, which can cause dangerous hallucinations. ("Never Again") She especially has begun to seriously consider the probability of aliens on Earth after seeing the spaceship underwater in Africa and its effect on Mulder. She and Mulder have a good relationship, and they only trust each other. Recently they shared a passionate kiss on New Year's Eve 2000. ("Millennium") Scully graduated from medical school and went to the FBI so that she could "make a difference." Now the X-files and Mulder are the only interests she has there. Scully has to balance her belief that everything can be explained by science with what she sees and experiences while investigating the X-files, and also with her Catholic faith (sometimes helped by Father McCue). A significant point in her life was when she was coincidentally reunited with her former lover, Daniel Waterston. He was a professor of hers at medical school, and they broke up after Scully decided, against his wishes, to leave the medical profession for the FBI. Waterston was dying when they met again, and Scully opened up to ideas of mysticism and coincidence, things that may have helped her save his life. Mulder and Scully have grown closer and closer over the years: they seem to share a subconscious connection with each other. ("all things," "Anasazi," "The Blessing Way," "Paper Clip," "Requiem," "Within," "Without")

A very interesting theory that ties together the CSM's motives with Mulder and how Mulder became interested in the X-files is that Mulder was meant to see Samantha's abduction and remember it years later, making him believe in the paranormal. CSM has said before that Mulder was his "creation"; this is further supported by the fact that Fowley, who worked for CSM, recommended that Mulder go under hypnotic regression. CSM may even have "helped" Mulder get into the FBI, and he possibly allowed for him to be assigned to the X-files. He then realized that by assigning Scully to him, Mulder could both be allowed to publicize whatever he wanted, making him and other believers look silly, and he could be debunked by Scully's science. Along the way, CSM made sure that Mulder saw things he was meant to see in order to strengthen his beliefs, such as the fake alien body and a fake abduction. When Mulder found out about the fake things he thought were true, he almost stopped believing in the paranormal altogether as mentioned above, still helping CSM's cause. When CSM orchestrated the second closing of the X-files and when Mulder had them reopened, CSM made sure that they would be kept away from them under Kersh. At this point CSM knew that Mulder was getting too close and he tried to break Mulder by holding the truth under his nose only to take it away each time. Eventually CSM spilled the beans to Mulder, knowing that no one would believe him anyway. Finally, Mulder would have been extremely useful to CSM when he himself became the last alien-human hybrid. All this time CSM kept Mulder alive for his purposes, and finally Mulder (almost) helped him in the ultimate purpose. More on Mulder as a hybrid later. All this time, Samantha was held as bait in front of Mulder, who was led to believe that she was still alive so that he would continue his pursuit. Only after the Syndicate was destroyed and Mulder knew everything did CSM tell Mulder the truth about his sister. ("E.B.E.," "Gethsemane," "Redux," "Redux II," "The End," "The Beginning," "Two Fathers," "One Son," "Biogenesis," "The Sixth Extinction," "The Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati," "Sein Und Zeit," "Closure")

After Mulder's discovery of the truth about his sister and his subsequent abduction, Scully became the driving force of the X-files with Doggett as her partner. She was determined to find Mulder and the truth about his illness and her mysterious pregnancy. One advantage of Mulder's abduction, however, is that Scully finally got a desk after 7 years. ("Requiem," "Within," "Without," "Patience")

John Jay Doggett was in the NYPD (partnered with Duke Tomasick) and the Marines before joining the FBI and becoming a top agent rising fast. He has street smarts and is naturally skeptical and believes in the investigative process. He is blue-collar and could be classified as a "man's man," being very tough but also protective if necessary. Doggett is part of the fraternity at the FBI; he is very popular. He was assigned to lead the manhunt for Mulder by Kersh, and eventually was sent to the basement to work with Scully on the X-files. Doggett knows of the kind of obsession Mulder had from personal experience: his son, Luke Doggett, was killed, after which his wife Barbara divorced him. In the intensive three-day search for his son before he discovered the body, Doggett, then in the NYPD, was partnered with Special Agent Monica Reyes from the New York City branch of the FBI to track the killer. Doggett's intense skepticism solidified after his son's death, when he had a vision of ashes after seeing the dead body. Doggett forcefully denied ever having the experience because to accept such a paranormal event would also be to admit failing to exhaust all avenues of saving his son's life. This is why Doggett is so wary of the paranormal. Doggett reluctantly brought Reyes' expertise into the search for Mulder after hitting one too many dead ends. And when Kersh went under review for being involved with the alien conspiracy, Doggett assigned Reyes to the X-files, now without Mulder who went into hiding. Doggett later learned the truth of his son Luke's death. A man named Nicholas Regali killed Luke. Regali was involved with the Mafia, and often had dealings with petty criminals. One of these criminals was Bob Harvey, who kidnapped Luke when he was riding his bike around the block while Doggett looked on. Harvey molested Luke, and when Regali accidentally walked in he had to kill Luke, who was now a witness of his illegal dealings. Brad Follmer killed Regali, who was blackmailing him by threatening to expose Follmer's corruption. Harvey died in an unrelated car accident following a robbery. Follmer was presumably discharged from the FBI, since there was a witness who saw him shoot Regali without a struggle. Doggett has affection for Reyes which he will not allow himself to pursue. He also has a deep sense of respect and caring for Scully, although he would never try to ruin what she has with Mulder. ("Requiem," "Within," "Without," "Invocation," "This is Not Happening," "DeadAlive," "Three Words," "Empedocles," "Essence," "Existence," "Underneath," "Release")

The X-files were closed by higher powers (most likely CSM) a year after Scully first joined Mulder. This was done because Mulder and Scully got too close to proof--Mulder was exposed to the blood-thickening alien virus, and Scully saw the alien fetus when she broke into Fort Marlene. Skinner reopened the X-files after Scully's abduction. Before Mulder was abducted, the X-files were being audited and the project was in danger of being downsized. The auditor insisted that to save money, Mulder and Scully reduce their "vision" and concentrate their search solely to where aliens might be--in space. The X-files were then put in danger of being permanently closed after Mulder "reduced the auditor's vision" physically. After the abduction, these concerns were abated when Kersh piled on money for the high-profile search for Mulder. Certainly Kersh wants to keep the X-files open now to discredit Doggett. ("The Erlenmeyer Flask," "Duane Barry," "Ascension," "Requiem," "Within," "Without")

Monica Julietta Reyes investigated satanic ritual killings while working at the Salt Lake City field office. None of the cases were ever substantiated. She moved to Salt Lake City after breaking off an affair with Brad Follmer, then the Special Agent-in-Charge of the NYC field office, and later an assistant director at the FBI in Washington. When Doggett assigned her to the X-files, it was her "dream assignment." Doggett and Reyes subsequently ran the division themselves, with outside and unofficial help from Scully, who after giving birth taught forensics at Quantico. Reyes believes she has a special insight which allows her to sense things just beneath the surface of reality. This helps her detect evil or even past lives. She suspects that Doggett can see such things too but suppresses them. She and Doggett share a mutual affection, one which Doggett will never allow himself to pursue. ("Nothing Important Happened Today," "Nothing Important Happened Today II," "Daemonicus")

The Syndicate and the Informants

There are main members of this worldwide group, but they also have allies in the government, and agents to do the "dirty work" for them, such as the Red-Haired Man, the Crew-Cut Man, Luis Cardinal/Hispanic Man, Quiet Willy, the two Black-Haired Men (all dead), and the Gray-Haired Man. The Syndicate originated as a shadow intelligence agency after WWII assembled to create plausible denial, such as UFOs, to cover up government actions. After Roswell it concentrated on the Project. It evolved in time into the group responsible for all the interactions with the aliens and the carrying out of the plans for colonization and cloning operations. Their leader is the German industrialist Conrad Strughold, who lives in Tunisia, a central location for the Syndicate and possibly colonization. ("Fight the Future") They controlled a lobbying firm called Roush (close to the German word for "smoke") and a research (alien research of course) company called Roush Technologies. The latter continued research for the Syndicate of the black oil.

The Syndicate had control over the U.S. and other governments, Congressmen (i.e. Senators Sorenson and Matheson), and the military, all for their own uses. They could basically control everything and cause anything at all to happen, in their interest. Through the military, they used recovered alien technology for defense applications.

The Cigarette-Smoking Man (C.G.B. Spender) is the most rebellious of the group. He was orphaned as a child. His father was a Communist spy who was electrocuted and his mother supposedly died of lung cancer. He was recruited to the Syndicate in 1963 for his first assignment of killing JFK. He assigned Scully to Mulder after a changing experience--having "Ronald" Deep Throat, his associate, kill an E.B.E. from a crashed UFO in 1991. His new mission became clear: To cover up any evidence of the Project. Mulder and Scully are a part of these plans, mostly as a smokescreen. ("Musings of a Cigarette-Smoking Man") He was "killed" by Quiet Willy, an agent, but he went to live in the snowy wilderness. ("Gethsemane," "Redux," "Redux II," "Patient X," "The Red and the Black") He was later retrieved by Krycek. ("The End") He often lies to the Syndicate if he has other plans or is unable to do something. He used to stay in Skinner's office, directing things. This caused Mulder to (correctly) think that CSM was monitoring Mulder and controlling Skinner. Scully was all part of his plan to discredit Mulder. Skinner eventually kicked CSM out.

CSM is Mulder's father. It is for this reason that he has saved Mulder's life so many times and allowed him to live. He also hoped to let Mulder live until he discovered the hopeless truth--that on December 22, 2012, the colonization will occur. He was "killed" again by Krycek and Marita in retaliation, but turned up living in ancient Anasazi ruins before being smoked for the last time by government helicopters. ("Anasazi," "The Blessing Way," "Paper Clip," "Talitha Cumi," "Herrenvolk," "Demons," "Gethsemane," "Redux," "Redux II," "Biogenesis," "The Sixth Extinction," "The Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati," "Requiem," "Within," "Without," "The Truth")

The Well-Manicured Man was against the Cigarette-Smoking Man. He has tipped Mulder and Scully a number of times, and is one of the main leaders of the group. His grandchildren in England were the reason that he eventually spilled the beans to Mulder and then killed himself. ("Fight the Future") He was actually giving Mulder the real version of the facts that he had lied to Mulder about before. ("Anasazi," "The Blessing Way," "Paper Clip") WMM had an alliance with Krycek, since CSM tried to kill the latter several times.

WMM was also against the First Elder, someone who has also tipped off Scully. ("Nisei," "731") He seemed to be the main leader of the group next to Strughold, in their main meeting place in a private club on 46th Street in New York City. They also called emergency meetings in London so Strughold can arrive in a short period of time. Another meeting place was WMM's farm in Charlottesville, Virginia. Elders 2-4 are also powerful members of the group. Second Elder was killed by a rebel, who tried to have the Syndicate help the resistance by morphing his face into the Second Elder's and impersonating him. CSM took care of the situation through his son Jeffrey Spender and Krycek, who saved Spender's life. ("Two Fathers," "One Son")

Krycek began as Mulder's partner after the X-files were shut down the first time and Mulder and Scully were split up. He then showed that he was actually trying to sabotage Mulder's work. He aided the Syndicate in their plans of abducting Scully at Skyland Mountain, Virginia, a mass abduction site. When Scully was abducted, Skinner reopened the X-files. ("Sleepless," "Duane Barry," "Ascension") Now we know that he has ties on all sides, including Mulder, the Syndicate, the Russians, and even Marita Covarrubias, Mulder's latest informant. He had his left arm cut off by a band of one-armed men in Tunguska who did it for his "benefit" so that he couldn't be tested on with the black oil. Little did they know that he was on the Russian scientists' side anyway. Krycek devised a method to control Skinner by injecting microscopic nanorobots into his bloodstream which could cause fatal blood-thickening on command. Skinner finally had his revenge by killing Krycek as he was attempting to get rid of Mulder once and for all.

Dr. Openshaw has been a scientist with the Syndicate since Samantha and Cassandra's abductions in 1973. He was with them when they began as test subjects for hybridization, and he was with Cassandra when she became the first success over 25 years later. He was ordered to kill Cassandra if she was a success to protect the secret from getting out, but the rebels killed the other scientists who knew how to do the perfected hybridization procedure--and kept Cassandra alive to expose the Syndicate. As the only person left knowing the truth, CSM killed him to make sure the secret would never get out. Later the rebels killed Cassandra. ("Two Fathers," "One Son")

All of the U.S. members of the Syndicate and their families, who were also going to become hybrids, were killed by the rebels just before receiving Cassandra's hybrid genes. CSM initiated colonization because if it didn't happen at that time, the rebels would expose the Syndicate. But the rebels stopped it from happening. Only CSM, Fowley, and Krycek survived (and Strughold and the other members not in the U.S.), all of whom were killed later. It seems that CSM then recruited the help of the military, and they tried to prepare for the worst-case colonization scenario by working on defense against the aliens. Now the hybridization project is destroyed by the rebels, and the vaccine has no effect on purity. ("Biogenesis," "The Sixth Extinction," "The Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati")

Mulder has had a number of informants over the years, and with one exception they all came to him first. Deep Throat was Mulder's informant for a year until the Syndicate killed him. He wanted Mulder to expose all the lies fed to the public, although he lied sometimes to throw Mulder off when he got close to something important. ("Deep Throat," "E.B.E.," "The Erlenmeyer Flask") X was more reluctant, although he has saved Mulder's life at least twice. He didn't want the same fate as Deep Throat, but he was eventually discovered by the Syndicate. Before his death he was able to tip Mulder to the next informant, Marita Covarrubias, who works as a Special Representative to the Secretary General of the United Nations. She began as an assistant to the SRSG. ("The Host," "Sleepless," "Nisei," "731," "Talitha Cumi," "Herrenvolk") She can sometimes be loosened up to give information. She is also friendly with the Syndicate, and the Cigarette-Smoking Man has told her to "tell [Mulder] what he wants to hear." ("Zero Sum") The other two informants also had high positions in the government or Syndicate. Marita was infected by the black oil, and then cured with the Russian vaccine obtained by the Syndicate. Then she was used as a test subject to improve the vaccine, making her very weak. After that, however, she returned to her position as a henchman for CSM, but she "killed" him with Krycek because of what CSM put her through. Finally, Doggett had an informant in Knowle Rohrer, an operative deep in the government and CIA. Rohrer threw Doggett off several times since he was involved in the conspiracy. Later on he became an alien replacement (more on this later) and set up Doggett and Mulder, who narrowly escaped death. Rohrer was later liquefied and killed. ("Patient X," "The Red and the Black," "Two Fathers," "One Son," "Requiem," "Within," "Without," "Per Manum," "This is Not Happening," "DeadAlive," "Three Words," "Essence," "Existence," "The Truth")

Other Characters

Mulder met the Lone Gunmen in 1989, and ever since they have been informants to him. They are three computer nerds who have saved Mulder's life many times by hacking into building locks and other such things. They also assist Mulder with information on technical things and covert government projects that he comes across in his cases. They also publish a newsletter, The Magic Bullet, or The Lone Gunman, about conspiracies and such. They are Ringo Langly, the long-haired, Dungeons and Dragons-playing, Ramones- and Korn-loving dude; Melvin Frohike, the wannabe babe magnet; and Jonathan Fitzgerald Byers, the more serious of the three. Their name originated from an early encounter with X in which he denied that the assassination of JFK was a conspiracy. He said that it was a "lone gunman." Sadly, the Lone Gunmen died while saving hundreds of lives from a terrorist bioweapon. They died in the presence of Jimmy Bond, their dim-witted friend, and Yves Adele Harlow (a.k.a. Lois Runtz), their mysterious nemesis/benefactor. They are buried in Arlington National Cemetery thanks to Skinner. ("Jump the Shark")

Suzanne Modeski was a government scientist who got wind of the government's conspiracy to experiment on the public with paranoia-inducing gas. She tried to go public but was apprehended by X and the government in 1989. A pre-X-files Mulder actually was exposed to the gas, which may have helped him become so paranoid! Indeed, the Syndicate has continued its research in paranoia in a device which causes TV signals to subliminally cause paranoia and violence in people. ("Wetwired") Byers fell in love with her, and 10 years later they met again in a Las Vegas defense contractors' conference. It turned out she was saved from the government's experiments on her after the 1989 incident by someone other than Byers, and she was going to marry her savior and fellow scientist. He and she were going to go public with their findings of deceit from 10 years in government labs, after stalling the work as much as possible. But it turned out that her husband-to-be was playing both sides. Langly faked her death, and she now lives under a false identity, waiting for Byers to come to her. ("Unusual Suspects," "Three of a Kind")

Agent Jeffrey Spender is the Cigarette-Smoking Man's other son, Mulder's half-brother. Spender's mother, Cassandra, was a multiple abductee. He was very skeptical of Mulder's work because he believed that his mother fed him stories to make him believe that he was abducted. This made him very bitter about the X-files and his mother's beliefs. The truth is, Spender probably was an abductee at April Air Base where he was raised along with Samantha. Of course he has no recollection of this because his memories were meddled with. He was assigned to the X-files with Fowley, and Mulder and Scully were reassigned. Spender had a deal with his father to keep Mulder away from the truth and to discredit him. However, he went against his father and was "killed" by him, and at Spender's recommendation Mulder and Scully got the X-files back again. Five months after her latest mass abduction, Cassandra was made into the first totally successful hybrid, then killed along with the rest of the Syndicate by the rebels. Three years later, Spender returned, completely disfigured by experiments done on him by the CSM after he didn't die from the bullet meant to kill him. ("Patient X," "The Red and the Black," "The End," "The Beginning," "Two Fathers," "One Son," "William")

Agent Diana Fowley and Mulder have a romantic past, and her reappearance in the case of Gibson Praise made Scully jealous. Trying to protect Gibson from the Syndicate, she was shot, but recovered. She reopened the X-files with Mulder in 1991. The X-files were closed for the second time after Mulder tried to have Gibson's assassin pardoned in return for getting information. They were reopened after the incident in Antarctica, but Mulder and Scully were reassigned, with Fowley and Spender manning the X-files. Fowley was approached with the assignment, and took it "so that Mulder could have an ally inside." But, she was under the control of CSM and worked for him to cover up abductees in Europe while Mulder and Scully worked on the X-files. She also flew to Tunisia weekly during her stay in Europe. She was shot and killed after she helped Scully get Mulder out of the Department of Defense facility where he was being kept by CSM. ("The End," "Fight the Future," "The Beginning," "Two Fathers," "One Son," "Biogenesis," "The Sixth Extinction," "The Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati")

Dr. Alvin Kurtzweil was a "fellow traveler" of Mulder's father at the Department of State, where parts of the Project began. He was a gynecologist, suggesting his involvement in experiments on abductees and hybrids. He gave Mulder vital information about the Project, resulting in his murder by the Well-Manicured Man. ("Fight the Future")

Max Fenig was a multiple abductee who shared Mulder's search for the truth about the government's involvement with aliens. He had epilepsy which seemed to be induced each time he was abducted. In his earlier abductions, invisible aliens, only discernible by infrared vision or by the faint blur they make when traveling low to the ground, would kill anyone interfering with the abduction using radiation. It is possible that these aliens are a defense mechanism of the colonists or another form of their life force. His trailer, where he lived, was his base where he monitored secret radio transmissions and listened to the song "Unmarked Helicopters" by Soul Coughing. Max was eventually killed when he was abducted off an airplane. He would have been returned safely, but the UFO attached to the plane was shot down by a military airplane, which brought down the plane with it. He was abducted off the plane because he was carrying a part of a device that belonged to the aliens, which he obtained from a military base his "sister" worked in. She had another part, which was taken from her by the aliens. The third and final part of the device was located in a suitcase in an airport. Mulder obtained it, but a government worker in Mulder's plane got it from him just in time to "catch the connecting flight." However, the government obtained Max's piece from the wreckage of the UFO. The device, if found, would expose the Project. ("Fallen Angel," "Tempus Fugit," "Max")

Morris Fletcher is an Area 51 ("Dreamland") employee who accidentally had his body switched with Mulder's when a UFO flew over both of them. Fletcher had been stopping Mulder and Scully from entering Area 51 when the ship appeared. It appeared because it was sabotaged by Mulder's Area 51 informant, causing it to "decloak" so that Mulder could see it. But the government's secret test flights of these crafts of unknown origin weren't succeeding. Whenever one was flown, its top-secret engine caused a rift in time and space, making things exist simultaneously in the same area of space. This is what caused Mulder and Fletcher to switch bodies, and it is also what caused such things as coins joining together to occur. Mulder and Morris were able to "de-switch" by going back to where they switched, where a craft flew over them again. The point of all this is that Area 51 does exist, but it has nothing to do with the aliens. In fact, Mulder's informant, high up in the base's command, asked Mulder if aliens existed. The people at Area 51, he said, only fly UFOs; they don't know their origin (except that they are sent from Utah). The base, then, actually helps the Syndicate in its plausible-denial scheme. ("Dreamland," "Dreamland II")

When Mulder and Morris switched back to their respective bodies,