The ninth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files commenced airing in the United States on November 11, 2001, concluded on May 19, 2002, and consists of twenty episodes. Season nine takes place after Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) goes into hiding, following the events of the eighth season finale, "Existence". As such, the main storyarc for the season follows Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), John Doggett (Robert Patrick), and Reyes on their hunt to reveal a government conspiracy who are creating "Super Soldiers".