At the core of the story is a secret history which Pearlman described thus: "an interpretation of history - an explanation for the onset of World War I, or a revelation of the occult origins of it", in a September 1988 interview with Kerrang! magazine. Central to this history are "Les Invisibles", a group of seven beings worshipped by the natives of Mexico and Haiti prior to the arrival of Spanish colonists in the 1500s. The nature of Les Invisibles is left unclear, though it is hinted that they may be extraterrestrials, or beings akin to the Great Old Ones in the works of H. P. Lovecraft. Some fans have identified them with the Loa of the Voodoo religion. The star Sirius is of particular astrological significance to Les Invisibles, and it is during the so-called Dog Days of August, when Sirius is in conjunction with The Sun, that their influence over mankind is at its apex. By subtly influencing the minds of men, the beings are said to be "playing with our history as if it's a game," affecting events in world history over the course of centuries. For the three centuries after European discovery of the New World, this game plays out as the desire for gold is used to transform Spain into the dominant power in Europe, only to be usurped by England and, later, the United States.









