Colonist (The X-Files)

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Colonist
The colonists in 1973 when they forged their alliance with the Syndicate
First appearance	"The Erlenmeyer Flask"
Last appearance	"This Is Not Happening"
Portrayed by	Various actors
Information
Affiliated with	Syndicate Other alien races

The Colonists are a fictional extraterrestrial species in the science fiction television show, The X-Files, and also in the first feature film. The mystery revolving around who they are and what they are planning is revealed across the course of the series. In the series' plot, the Colonists are collaborating with a group of United States government officials known as the Syndicate in a plan to take over the Earth and "colonize" it, hence their name.

[edit] Colonization

[edit] Origin and plans

According to the series mythology, an extraterrestial lifeform known simply as the Colonists were originally present on Earth in the early stages of human evolution, but were forced to abandon the planet during the last ice age (although the exact details concerning their departure are unknown). They highly resemble the well-known "grey aliens" in their mature form. In their immature stage, they are more yellowish colored, tall, and very aggressive. This form is sometimes referred to as the "reptilian" form, due to the fangs, claw, and scale like texture of the skin. They are a symbiotic species, as their blood contains an intelligent virus-life force (similar in texture to crude oil), which can either take over a host's body or incubate within other life forms, including humans. Once incubated, a human host, within 96 hours, gestates the immature alien form, and in the process, kills the host. The virus apparently contains the aliens' genetic blueprints, awaiting reconstitution when the master species returns to Earth. After the mature aliens depart, the black oil influences the development of life on Earth, even human evolution, until later going into hibernation in petroleum deposits.^[1]

While away from Earth, the Colonists evidently sought out life throughout the universe, and were apparently successful in subduing other species.^[2] The Colonists at some point returned and monitored Earth for some time, awaiting an opportune moment to reclaim the planet. In 1947, one of their ships crashed in New Mexico, with the crew dying from exposure to magnetite. Shortly after this event, a select few power brokers, mainly in the United States and the Soviet Union, though also from a few other nations, first learned of the Colonists' plot to retake the planet.^[3] These men eventually formed The Syndicate,^[4] and in 1973 an alliance was created between them and the Colonists. An agreement was reached that a small group of humans would be allowed by the Colonists to survive by becoming alien-human hybrids.^[5] The date for recolonization was set for 2012, and both sides began working on creating a hybrid.^[6] In exchange for the Syndicate's cooperation, the Colonists allowed limited military use of their technology,^[7] and promised that the heirs of the Syndicate members, who were turned over to the Colonists as an act of good faith, would survive the takeover.^[5] Meanwhile, both sides worked secretly against the other, the human conspirators attempting to develop a vaccine for the alien virus and the Colonists setting up the Black Oil to "birth" a new alien being within the human body as its incubator.^[8]

[edit] Alien-human hybrids

Early attempts to create alien-human hybrids were pioneered by German and Japanese scientists shortly after World War II, and for some time during the Cold War. However, these often met with failure, and the Syndicate started to rely more on their own scientists. According to the Alien Bounty Hunter, in the 1950s, Soviet geneticists found a unique genetic anomaly within identical twins. The Colonists and Syndicate scientists used this to eventually develop human clones with alien elements and partial hybrids, but they were still ultimately inferior.^[9] Hybrids of this type include Samantha Mulder, Kurt Crawford, the Gregors, Ernest Calderon, and Dr. William Secare. Child and adult versions of Samantha and Kurt are also seen. These clones have the same caustic greenish blood of the aliens, have greater muscular strength and higher physical endurance levels than most normal humans, and can breathe underwater. In addition to their intended use by the alien colonists, the Syndicate is occasionally seen using these clones to perform various tasks, such as research and physical labor.^[10]

The pinnacle of the project is Cassandra Spender (Veronica Cartwright), mother of Jeffrey Spender (Chris Owens) and wife of the "Cigarette Smoking Man" (William B. Davis). Cassandra is a hybrid created through a process other than cloning, and worked on by both the Syndicate and the aliens themselves, although the exact methods used to transform her are never fully revealed. The experiment presumably began when she, along with other family members of the Syndicate, were turned over to the colonists in 1973.^[11] For years, Cassandra was under the mistaken impression that she was to be an emissary of the aliens to spread a higher spiritual understanding to humanity,^[2] but after her final abduction in the late 1990s she comes to realize the truth.^[11] She is killed, along with most of the Syndicate, by the alien rebels.^[5]

[edit] "Super Soldiers"

With nearly every Syndicate member dead, the Colonists decided to create human replacements called "Super Soldiers," on which the Colonists have been working covertly since at least the Gulf War.^[12][13] To create Super Soldiers, the Colonists infect humans with a new strain of their virus, which slowly destroys and then rebuilds the body of the host. This process seems to involve a lengthy surgical procedure on abductees as opposed to simple infection (as with the black oil).^[14] They have normal red blood and are identifiable only by spiny protrusions on the backs of their necks or by analysis of a blood sample, which shows their DNA to exist as a complex with iron. Although they cannot shapeshift, Super Soldiers are practically unstoppable. They can survive being crushed by a garbage compactor,^[15] decapitation, and can rip through steel with their bare hands.^[16] The only known way to kill them takes advantage of their metallic biochemistry: Their bodies are torn apart by the magnetic fields present near large deposits of magnetite ore.^[17] The Super Soldiers quietly fill the positions of power previously occupied by Syndicate members and rarely use human conspirators. By the end of the series, they have virtually replaced the Syndicate. Currently, the Super Soldiers are presumably hunting down Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) after the leave of Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish) and John Doggett (Robert Patrick), as well as preparing for the final invasion.^[6]

[edit] Other alien races

[edit] Alien Bounty Hunters

[edit] Character arc

Alien Bounty Hunter
An Alien Bounty Hunter as seen in "Without", which would mark their final appearance on the show
First appearance	"Colony"
Last appearance	"Without"
Portrayed by	Brian Thompson Various actors
Information
Affiliated with	Colonists

There are, in fact, multiple alien bounty hunters; no individual names are ever given to them. The Bounty Hunters were tasked by the Colonists with tracking down and eliminating any threats by other aliens (e.g. the alien rebels) that may disrupt the Colonists' plans to invade Earth. In this way, their role is analogous to the role the Men in Black (MIB) served for the Syndicate. In fact, the Syndicate would regularly employ the bounty hunters in a crisis when traditional means proved ineffective. The Syndicate would refer to them as "our friends". This, however, was the last resort of the Syndicate—utilizing the bounty hunters meant increasing their vulnerability and therefore increasing the possibility that the Colonists would discover that they were working on a vaccine to the Black Oil. The Bounty Hunters helped to police the Colonists' plans, although their very identification as "bounty hunters" (who undertake assignments for pay) implied that they were merely hired to pursue Colonist goals and had no vested interest in such activities beyond loyalty to their employers, suggesting that they might represent an entirely separate alien race.

The bounty hunters had green blood which contained a retrovirus that was lethal to humans. The alien blood could burn through most surfaces like an acid, and would kill a normal human if exposed for too long to its noxious fumes. The alien blood would cause a normal human's blood to coagulate into a jelly-like substance, but its effects could be neutralized by extreme cold. They could also only be killed by piercing a small area at the base of the neck. The bounty hunters carried a kind of alien stiletto-like weapon to accomplish this task, though it could be used to kill them as well. Once dead, their bodies would rapidly dissolve into a pool of their severely acidic blood, which would eventually evaporate.

It should be noted that Alien Rebels, those aliens that opposed the plans of the alien Colonists, could assume the same appearance as the Bounty Hunter(s). The distinguishing characteristic was that these Rebels had all of their (visible) orifices sealed shut in an effort to avoid absorption of/infection by the parasitic black oil; this led to a somewhat grotesque appearance. In the latter seasons of the X-Files, the role of the bounty hunters was largely taken over by the Super Soldiers, human replacements capable of withstanding incredible amounts of damage.

[edit] Conceptual history

In the two-part episodes "Colony" and "End Game", Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz along with some help from David Duchovny created what would become a recurring character named the Alien Bounty Hunter. According to Carter, Duchovny came to him and said "it be great if we had like an alien bounty hunter?" Carter was positive towards the idea and acted upon it.^[10] The actor, Brian Thompson, auditioned for the role in a casting session, were he was competing with another actor. Spotnitz and Carter had not much time to cast this character, but they knew this casting would be important since they intended the character to become a recurring character. Thompson was choosen according to Spotnitz because he had a very "distinctive look" about him, most notably his face and mouth. After casting him, they told Thompson's agent that he needed a hair cut, because he was originally envisioned as a US Air Force pilot who'd been shot down. When Thompson came to Vancouver, Canada there had been some "misunderstanding" between them, and he hadn't been told of the hair cut. So the hairstyle seen in this and every episode since was a "compromise" between Thompson and the producers.^[18]

[edit] Black oil

[edit] Character arc

Black Oil
A black oil infected as seen in "Vienen"
First appearance	"Piper Maru"
Last appearance	"Vienen"
Information
Affiliated with	Colonists Syndicate

Purity, more commonly referred to as black oil, and called the "black cancer" by the Russians, was an alien virus that thrived underground on Earth, in petroleum deposits. The virus was capable of entering humanoids and assuming control of their bodies. It had sentience and was capable of communicating. It is revealed to be the "life force" of the alien colonists, which they seemingly use to reproduce their kind, as well as infect other alien races in order to conquer the universe.

The Syndicate in cooperation with the alien colonists, developed a way to quietly introduce the virus into an unsuspecting public, through the use of bees. The colonists would then be able to use human beings as a slave race. The Syndicate, however, secretly try to create a vaccine to protect themselves, which they codename "Purity Control." While the Purity Control project ultimately fails, a rival Russian shadow group is successful in developing a weak vaccine which eventually falls into the hands of the Syndicate.

The plot to cooperate with the alien colonization plan is implemented with the aim of being given access to the Black oil, in order to try and develop a vaccine. This attempt is semi-successful, as the "weak vaccine" administered to Scully while in the Antarctic alien ship causes the entire ship to depart its underground residence.

[edit] Conceptual history

Some fans have speculated that the original concept of the black oil was influenced by the parasitic ice worm creature seen in the season one episode, "Ice". The two concepts do share several similarities. In the episodes they are featured in, suggestions are made that both lifeforms came to Earth from space via a meteor. They are also both seen to infect their hosts and manipulate their hosts' behaviors, creating a mood of paranoia. Additionally, one of the parasitic worms in "Ice" can be seen squirting a black, oily substance in a scene where it is extracted from a human host. This substance is referred to as being a poison but it does look similar to the black oil.^[10]

The on-screen appearances of the black oil was done by visual effects. They created by putting them digitally on the surface of the cornea. At the time of its conception, Mat Beck was the Special Effects Supervisor. The crew went through various times to find the two "right" types of fluids. According to David Gauthier, they created a black oil mixed with acetone, which he believed gave the substance a more globular look.^[10]

The season eight episode, "Vienen", marked the last appearance of the black oil in the series. Molasses and chocolate syrup was used for the visual effects of the black oil. The scene with the black oil coming out of the mouth, ears and eyes was mostly done on a visual effects stage. It was shot nine takes to get the oil to spill on the right places.^[19]

[edit] Rebels

Alien rebels
First appearance	"Patient X"
Last appearance	"One Son"
Information
Affiliated with	Colonists

There also exists a faction of aliens who actively oppose Colonization. Though of the same species as the Alien Bounty Hunter(s), the Rebels are distinguished by their grotesque appearance: the orifices on their face are morphed shut (to avoid absorption of the parasitic black oil). Colonization has apparently begun where the rebels are from.^[20] They carry prod-like weapons that can quickly incinerate a human and do not hesitate to use it; they burn abductees with chips in their necks at abduction sites in attempts to prevent colonization from proceeding.^[2]

Though the Syndicate became an enemy of the Rebels because of their allegiance with the Colonists, the Rebels themselves have a vested interest in keeping the Colonists from finding out that a successful hybrid has been created. While the Rebels had an opportunity to destroy the hybrid, Cassandra Spender, they choose to let her survive in the hopes that the Syndicate will join them in fighting the Colonists. The Rebels go so far as to infiltrate the Syndicate and bring up the possibility of fighting the Colonists. However, it is decided by the Syndicate that fighting the Colonists would be futile.^[11] At this point, a fully-working vaccine has not been created, and it is therefore decided that the best thing for the Syndicate to do is to comply with the original deal and turn over the hybrid to the Colonists. Before this can be done, the Rebels kill all but a few members of the Syndicate in addition to Cassandra, the only living successful alien-human hybrid, an action which they believe will delay the colonist invasion.^[5]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The X-Files

• Colonization on The X-Files Wiki, an external wiki
• Colonists on The X-Files Wiki, an external wiki
• Alien rebels on The X-Files Wiki, an external wiki
• "Super Soldiers" on The X-Files Wiki, an external wiki

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