Gom Jabbar: The Lost Entries – History of Old Terra

Podcast: Gom Jabbar: A Dune Podcast
Episode: The Lost Entries: History of Old Terra
Date: September 19, 2025
Hosts: Abu & Leo (Lore Party Media)

Overview of the Episode

This special episode launches a new series that explores the recently discovered, unpublished manuscripts from the Dune Encyclopedia, with a focus on the "History of Old Terra" by Wesley D. Ives. Abu and Leo delve into the document’s recounting of Earth’s history as perceived by far-future Dune historians, examining how these speculative entries shape and sometimes distort the lore of the Dune universe. The episode unpacks the manuscript’s content, discusses its canonicity, critiques its perspectives, and shares rare correspondence between the author and Dune Encyclopedia editor Dr. Willis E. McNelly, revealing reasons for its omission and editorial process.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: Why This Entry?

• The newly uncovered "History of Old Terra" manuscript was a foundational document for establishing the Dune timeline in the Encyclopedia, but was never published in full.
• Leo explains the significance:

  "If you go back in the feed, our very first episodes of this show of Gom Jabbar were about the timeline of Dune... this entry, the history of Ulterra entry, the manuscript is the one that was used to create that timeline." (05:00)

• The manuscript is unusually lengthy compared to other entries (about 3x average), offering a sweeping history from ancient times through the far future.

2. Canonicity and Editorial Approach (07:15 - 09:11)

• The lost entries are classified as "non-canon fun expanded lore" – interesting, sometimes insightful, but not authoritative against Herbert’s novels or the published Encyclopedia.
• Leo’s "lore tier list":
  • Tier 1: Frank Herbert Novels
  • Tier 2: Dune Encyclopedia
  • Tier 3: Brian Herbert material
• Many elements of the "Old Terra" manuscript were adapted piecemeal into other published entries.

Breakdown of the "History of Old Terra" Manuscript

3. Introduction: The Historians' Perspective

• The entry is styled as a far-future historian’s account, relying on fragmentary evidence (e.g., the Arrakis Find/Darius Blot Horde).

  "Evidence from old Terra is scarce. The planet was destroyed... in 733 AG." (10:16)

4. Solar System Profile in the Dune Timeline (11:19)

• Mars and Venus have been terraformed and assigned "similarity indexes," a metric for human habitability.

  "A similarity index of 0.75 or more means that humans can live on the planet with only moderate and self constructible life support systems." (11:26)

5. Early Human History (19,000 BG – 16,500 BG)

• Briefly covers the emergence of early city-states, often blending real and mythical elements (e.g., overestimating the scale of ancient settlements).
• Notable exaggeration:

  "These city states... were, 'approximately the size of a typical hunting preserve with populations of, of 1 million or less.'" (13:23)

6. The Western-Centric Lens (15:45 - 19:03)

• The manuscript’s history jumps rapidly from Alexander the Great to the Romans, often conflating myth with fact (e.g., treating Romulus and Remus as real figures), and is critiqued for its very Western, white historical bias.
• Abu comments:

  "I always cringe a little bit when stories, in particular sci fi stories, take an extremely Western centric view of human history..." (16:24)

7. Roman & Byzantine Empires: Communication and Soft Power (19:03 – 29:00)

• Attributes Rome’s success to control of communications:

  "If the government controlled communications, control of the empire would follow." (20:14)

• The Byzantine period is praised for shifting from military to economic and subtle conquest, drawing parallels to Asimov's Foundation:

  "Most conquests were slow, certain, and unrecognized by the victims." (27:03)
  "It was economic power applied unremittingly... that first caused the Jihad Empire to stagnate, then to fragment..." (27:23)

8. Glossing Over "The Rest" of Human History (30:13 – 36:02)

• The manuscript devotes long sections to the procession of Western powers (Spain, France, Britain, America) as "houses," largely rehashing familiar tropes and ignoring much of global history.
• Critique of Dune-lens colonial rhetoric:

  "'...explorers of the Madrid House, who first discovered and exploited the vast wealth of the Americas, which were tremendous continents with essentially no organized populace.'" (32:18)

• Real historical events (World Wars, Holocaust, etc.) are barely mentioned, with comedic inaccuracies (e.g., US nuclear use attributed to trade route disputes).

9. The Future: Migration and the "Terran Natural Park" (38:24 – 47:18)

• Humanity begins to colonize the solar system; by 13,600 BG, Earth is losing importance:

  "More than 20 billion humans live in the Sol system, while only 1 billion humans remain on old Terra itself." (39:16)

• After catastrophic wars and a planetoid strike (possibly engineered), Old Terra is converted into a “natural park” and only the tech-free, voluntary exiles (Luddites) are permitted to resettle – at a Bronze Age technological level.

10. The Luddites & Culture Loss (47:53 – 51:22)

• The manuscript speculates that these Luddites, over millennia, lose their knowledge of the outside universe and revert to "barbarian" societies. Later, during the Butlerian Jihad, these populations are resettled across the Imperium as "advisors," even founders of Houses—a plot device Abu and Leo find implausible and thematically inconsistent with Herbert’s vision.

11. The Final End of Old Terra (51:22 – 54:33)

• Under UTO the Wild (described only as "wild"), Old Terra is depopulated, its people sent to Seleucus Secundus, and Earth's moon is destroyed by collision with Europa, dooming the planet to lifelessness.

  "The battered, ruined husk of humanity's origin is now floating out there... mostly ignored." (53:06)

12. Cultural Echoes: Terrariums in the Imperium (53:44)

• Various Houses maintain "terrariums" simulating ancient Terran biomes: veldts on Giedi Prime, rainforests (House Diacrai), deserts on Arrakis, and oceanic habitats showcasing sharks and killer whales for tourists.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On the Western bias:

  "Shut the fuck up...it would make this a more interesting piece of writing if you encompassed more of human history that wasn’t just... very simple Western, white trajectory of history." – Abu (18:14)

• On future Luddites:

  "Voluntary exiles to prehistoric times." – Leo quoting the manuscript (42:56)

• On survival skills:

  "Are you tempted to return to Bronze Age technologies? ... We both wear glasses. This is not a good experience." – Leo & Abu (45:26)

• Editorial critique:

  "I think this article could have used a couple more editorial passes and a bit more polishing. And Ives certainly contributed great pieces to the encyclopedia. This felt like one of the weaker ones." – Abu (63:34)

Manuscript Correspondence: Insights from the Authors

(54:54 – 62:46)

• The hosts review newly unearthed letters between Ives and McNelly.
• Ives intended to portray an "unbroken chain of empire," with world history seen as minor events between Rome and the "era of Leto."

  "All that happened between the founding of Rome and the destruction of Ceres were minor provincial disputes and rebellions..." – Ives letter (57:18)

• McNelly, in a 1981 letter, explains the manuscript's length and redundancy led to its exclusion:

  "A single long essay is a bit more formidable than several shorter ones... much as I liked reading it." (61:10)

• McNelly also notes editorial priorities: readability and relevance over exhaustive historical recapitulation.

Notable & Fun Moments

• Leo learning about Romulus and Remus:

  "They sound like uncles from Harry Potter. I'm like, is Remus the one who dies? Like, I don't know." (20:30)

• The "video game pitch" for voluntary exiles on Old Terra evolves into a Horizon Zero Dawn anecdote. (43:52)
• Playful banter about Bronze Age survival skills, cobblers, and apothecaries. (65:44)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Episode Purpose & Spoiler Guide: 00:53 – 05:00
• Canonicity & Approach: 07:15 – 09:18
• Solar System & Terraformed Planets: 10:16 – 12:12
• Early Human History, Rome, Byzantium: 12:36 – 29:00
• Critique of Western Focus & Editorial Choices: 16:24, 30:13, 34:04
• Human Migration & Terran Park Era: 38:24 – 45:25
• Moon’s Destruction & Final Fate of Old Terra: 51:22 – 54:33
• Terrariums & Cultural Echoes: 53:44 – 54:52
• Author Correspondence: 54:54 – 62:46

Tone and Style

• The episode blends scholarship and irreverent humor, faithful to the hosts’ voices. Abu is often analytical and critical; Leo more whimsical, with both poking fun at historical myopia and their own gaps in knowledge.
• The dialogue is at times cheeky (“Shut the fuck up,” “Alexander the not very creative”), self-deprecating (“We both wear glasses, this is not a good experience”), but always with a deep respect for Dune lore and critical engagement with its interpretations.

Conclusion & Next Steps

• Abu and Leo ultimately appreciate the manuscript’s ambition and contributions to Dune lore, but agree with McNelly’s editorial judgment to select only the most relevant portions.
• More lost entries are queued for future episodes, supported by ongoing archive work.
• Listeners are encouraged to support via Patreon (for access to the primary documents), shop merch, and share their own hypothetical Bronze Age survival skills.

Essential Takeaway:
The "History of Old Terra" lost manuscript is a bold but flawed attempt to fuse real and speculative history through the Dune lens. Its greatest value lies in exposing both the limits of in-universe historiography and the editorial challenges of worldbuilding on the scale of Herbert’s creation.

For a deeper dive, join the Lore Party Patreon and watch for more “Lost Entries” episodes.