Syndicate

In The X-Files television show and feature film, the Syndicate is a "shadow government" group. They were also known as The Elders, The Consortium, and The Group. Because of their cover-up of extraterrestrial life, they were the primary antagonistic force opposing Dana Scully, Fox Mulder, John Doggett, and Monica Reyes during the series. Goals and methods An embodiment of the concept of the "shadow government" in conspiracy theory lore, the Syndicate is composed of covertly allied influential government officials and businessmen. The Syndicate, operating at the highest levels of power, concealed from the world a program by an unidentified extraterrestrial species to colonize and repopulate the planet, as well as their own plans and stake in that future, which they held to be inevitable. To carry out murder, cover-ups, sabotage and other wetworks projects, the Syndicate used an unknown number of henchmen commonly referred to as the Men in Black. The Men in Black were merciless protectors of the conspiracy whose true names, like the members of the Syndicate, were rarely, if ever, known. Many worked ostensibly for the U.S. Defense Department, Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, along with various other government agencies. Prominent Men in Black agents included X, Alex Krycek, the Crew Cut Man, and Quiet Willy. The leader of the Syndicate was a former German industrialist named Conrad Strughold, who had fled his home country and relocated to Tunisia. However, most of the Syndicate's meetings were held at a nondescript building located on West 46th Street (with parallels to the Century Association and Ivy League alumni clubs) in New York City, and did not involve Strughold, due to the fact that his entry into the United States would potentially draw too much attention because of his ties to Nazi Germany. Meetings with Strughold were instead held in London. A possible front for the group, evidenced in the episode "Redux II", was a biotechnology firm called Roush. Reportedly, series creator Chris Carter named the company after USA Today TV critic Matt Roush, who was an influential early champion of The X-Files. Roush's facilities were used in some experiments involving the virus, as shown in the sixth season premiere "The Beginning".