>>20340016
>>20340015
Initially inspired by an anonymous online poster who claimed, without evidence, to have insider government information, QAnon has become a nexus for several related conspiracy theories relating to COVID-19, Trump and U.S. elections.
As the pandemic wore on, Ramona's anxiety increased. She worried about her future, about her aging father and what a bout of COVID-19 would do to his bad lungs.
She had had many friends in college, but because of the lockdowns and her relationship with Don, she spoke to them less and less. Don went to work every day, leaving Ramona with little companionship. "He’d be at work for eight to nine hours a day. I’d have nothing to do,” she said, but dig deeper and deeper down into the bizarre and frightening stories she found online.
The conspiracy theories didn’t do much to help Ramona’s anxiety, but they did offer answers. They provided an outlet for her fears and gave her the idea that if she just did enough research, perhaps she could have power over them. She joined Facebook groups dedicated to QAnon. She started visiting online chat rooms and forums dedicated to conspiracy theories.
“The world is scary enough without conspiracy theories,” she said. “But when you believe them, at least they can give you answers. If you’re scared of the unknown,” conspiracy theories offer “an answer, no matter how farfetched it is.”
TRAINING FOR ARMAGEDDON
Ramona and Don spent much of the pandemic preparing for a grim future. QAnon lore prophesied that the forces of good, led by Trump, would triumph over the forces of evil in a final battle known as the “Storm.” Ahead of the Storm, QAnon believers say, all power will be cut, perhaps worldwide, as well as most means of communication.
QAnon adherents call this time the “10 Days of Darkness.”
The couple began practicing for their escape with drills designed to test their readiness. When Don gave the word, they would scramble to get dressed and load their essentials into the car. Often the training exercises were prompted by something Don had read online.
“Sometimes I’d just be laying there on the couch and he’d say, ‘I think we need to get the stuff ready,’” she said. “Usually he’d have been scrolling on his phone before and he’d seen something that would make the lightbulb go off.”
On the night the power went off, Ramona helped load the dog, the go-bag and the guns into the car. They planned to head to Ramona's parents' house, but when they got to the main road, they saw blue lights flashing up ahead. Two police cruisers were parked along the shoulder.
Don eased the car close and put it in park. He told the others that he wanted to ask the police what was going on.
“Stay inside,” he told Ramona. “Don’t get out of the car. I’ll be right back.”
He walked to the squad car. A policeman rolled down his window. There was a quick exchange before Don turned around and walked back to the couple's car, his face set in a grim expression that to Ramona could have been anger, could have been fear.
Don said the officers told him a semitruck had hit a transformer. Power was out for a good chunk of town.
“Does this mean we should go home?” Ramona asked.
No, Don said. He didn’t believe the officers’ explanation. With the outage in Vatican City, it was too much of a coincidence.
“That’s just what they’re telling us,” Don told Ramona and his brother. “That’s just what they want us to believe.”
They drove on and as they rounded a bend, they saw the neon glow of a strip mall up ahead. Cars were lined up at a fast-food drive-thru. People were picking up a late dinner, while she and Don were driving off to confront the end of the world.
Don turned the car around and headed home.
The next day, he dismissed the incident as just another drill and said he hadn't actually been frightened.
Ramona had a harder time moving on from the episode. Her mind went over Don’s explanations. Why would the police lie about a power outage? What would an outage in rural Tennessee have to do with Vatican City?
“I started to think: Maybe this is all a hoax,” she said. But when she confessed these creeping doubts to Don, he shook his head. Stay strong, he said. “Keep the faith,” he’d said. “The storm is coming.”
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