The definitive story of QAnon from an expert on cult and fringe culture: how it started, what it is, and its growing power to destabilize society and promote conspiracy. What does QAnon want, and what comes next?On October 5th, 2017, President Trump made a cryptic extemporaneous remark in the State Dining Room. He called this gathering of top-ranking military officials “the calm before the storm,” and refused to elaborate as journalist and politicos inquired further. But on the infamous message boards of 4chan, elaboration began all on its own. In the days that followed, an anonymous poster spun a yarn inspired by Trump's remarks that rivalled Tom Clancy and satisfied the deepest desires of MAGA-America. Did any of it come to pass? No. Did that stop people from clinging to every word they were reading, expanding its mythology and promoting the theory for years? No. How did this happen, who are these followers, and how do these adherents reconcile their worldview with the America