In Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism, Amanda Montell explains how cults rely on language to attract followers and retain power through manipulation, thought termination, and coercion (all in the name of ideology, of course). Manifestos are persuasive by design, and their language-first format makes them an attractive vessel for a cult to sell its breed of eternal salvation. Heaven’s Gate, founded in 1974 at the intersection of Christian morals, New Age mindest, and UFOlogy, believed that followers could transform themselves into immortal extraterrestrial beings and ascend to heaven. This manifesto by one of their leaders, Marshall Applewhite (known as Do to his followers) is part story, part gospel, full recruitment. He uses the form to assert the validity of his leadership by way of another manifesto, The Bible, and recruit others to follow his lead. Through the recontextualization and creation of words — “Luciferians,” physical bodies as “vessels,” “Next Level,” “classroom” — he builds a world brimming with promise. This bright and shiny vocabulary is a calling card to individuals who want to believe in a higher purpose but never had the words to express it. The language creates an air of exclusivity that makes people feel above the average human, or even chosen. As the words migrate from the page to everyday conversation, they simultaneously bond members and alienate them from the rest of society by teaching them to speak a different language — further reducing their chances of leaving the cult. If there’s a lesson here, I suppose it’s that manifestos, like all tools, can be used for evil, and knowing how to separate the means of delivery from the truth of the message has never been more necessary.