Who or what is Q in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and what is his purpose?

gmackematix

Well here is a site about him or it: The Q Continuum is an extradimensional plane of existence inhabited by a race of beings known as the Q. As a race, the Q are apparently immortal and nearly omnipotent, possessing the ability of instantaneous matter-energy transformation and teleportation, as well as the ability of time travel. Their apparent abilities include moving entire asteroid belts and stars, creating alternate timelines, and affecting universal states of nature such as the gravitational constant. http://www.memory-alpha.org/en/index.php/Q_Continuum [Edited to replace broken link - McG] Jun 20 04, 8:01 PM