The
mythology of
The X-Files, sometimes referred to as its "mytharc" by the show's staff and fans, follows the quest of
FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder (
David Duchovny), a believer in
supernatural phenomena, and
Dana Scully (
Gillian Anderson), his
skeptical partner. Their boss,
FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner, was also often involved. Beginning with season 8, another skeptic named
John Doggett, and
Monica Reyes, a believer like Mulder, were also introduced. The overarching story, which spans events as early as the 1940s, is built around a
government conspiracy to hide the truth about alien existence and their
doomsday plan. Not all episodes advanced the mythology plot, but the ones that did were often set up by Mulder via an opening monologue.