Through unimaginable labors, millions of our ancestors carved unexplained pictures on stone, numbering in the tens of millions. But what inspired this massive endeavor around the world? The laboratory experiments make clear that the ancient artists were copying spectacular electrical phenomena in the heavens. Indeed, the global correspondence between laboratory discharge configurations and the pictographs on stone is so detailed that same-scale images from the laboratory and from archaeological investigation can be overlaid with astonishing precision.
    By systematically comparing these images to the most prominent mythological themes, the authors reach a revolutionary conclusion. In ancient times, electrical activity produced gigantic and violently metamorphosing formations above the ancient witnesses. According to Talbott and Thornhill, these terrifying apparitions were the true source of the enigmatic celestial serpents, dragons, cosmic mountains, long-tongued demons, and metamorphosing gods, goddesses, and heroes of the ancient world.
    Perhaps the authors' most radical tenet is the role of the Solar System's planets in these events. For they contend that at least some of the planets moved on different orbits than observed today, appearing as giant spheres extremely close to Earth and anciently celebrated as towering gods. Thus, the demonstrable power of the electric force to override the weak force of gravity is vital to their hypothesis. From this new vantage point, the pervasive ancient reverence and fear directed toward planets and toward comets as harbingers of destruction finds a new interpretation -- a gauntlet thrown down to challenge the stable and predictable solar system of modern theory.