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NEWS > SCIENCE > GIANT SAND WORMS IN ENGLAND RAISE FEARS OF SPICE WAR
GIANT SAND WORMS IN ENGLAND RAISE FEARS OF SPICE WAR
March 17 2009
Torbay, United Kingdom – Scientists today announced the discovery of the fossilized remains of a giant prehistoric worm in this quaint seaside resort of Devon. It is thought that the fossils date to 260 million years ago suggesting that the massive worms, which are believed to have travelled exclusively underground much like the modern day worm, existed long before dinosaurs ruled the Earth making them one of
the oldest forms of life yet discovered. It is also believed that the worms are indigenous to Earth and bear only limited resemblance to those depicted in the series of Dune novels.
In the novels, the giant sandworms, called Shai-Hulud, are considered the holiest deity of the planet Arrakis, the sole source of the much sought after spice Melange. The events in the Dune timeline begin approximately 20,000 years in the future and it is not expected that scientists will 
uncover signs of an ancient advanced civilisation near the worm fossils. Despite that fact, the region has drawn the interest of the UK government in hope and fear that Melange may be uncovered.
“It really is quite extraordinary. Nothing like this has ever been found before. The underground area is peppered with these burrows,” said Geologist Dr Kevin Pag. "There is no supporting evidence to suggest they were made by creatures we know about, so what were are looking at is an entirely new life form. It is very, very strange. They were made at the end of the Palaeozoic period before dinosaurs came along when the earth teemed with creatures which are now extinct.”
Frank Herbert, author of ‘Dune’ and its five sequels, was inspired to pen the saga after a trip to the Oregon sand dunes in 1958. There is no evidence to suggest that Herbert had any type of special knowledge of an ancient hidden history of the planet, alien or otherwise. ‘Dune’ is one of the best selling science fiction novels of all time and widely considered to amongst the greatest ever written.
“There is an interesting question there in regards to Herbert. Was he somehow in possession of knowledge that scientists have still not uncovered? If so how did he acquire that knowledge? Aliens? Some kind of psychic
experience? Was it a Gaia connection? We may never know but we do have the warning that he left behind,” said Scrape TV Science analyst Dr. Howard Poe. . “If indeed we do find Melange or so other kind of spice we must be careful to heed the words of Herbert and not engage in war or turmoil over its distribution. Our history in this area isn’t exactly great so we need to be careful.”
The British Empire of course was largely built on the search and harvesting of spices. The growth of the empire and even the discovery of the America’s by Europeans was due in large part to the lust for spice. Both the Netherlands and Portugal were also major traders in spice though it is believed that should a new vein be discovered that England would reap the majority of the related business.
“The English have no doubt been chomping at the bit to get their empire back and this could be just the thing to do that should it prove to be true. One would hope that they will be more magnanimous then they were in the past as it is a much different 
world than it was when they last ruled,” continued Poe. “I sincerely doubt though that things will play out just as they did in the novel, at least not in the near future. It is entirely possible that Herbert was seeing into the future and that Arrakis is actually Earth, but only time will tell. It is of course very unlikely that we will uncover living specimens of sandworms, especially of the size depicted in the novel, and so it’s reasonable to assume that if they were to arise it would be some years in the future.”
Reports indicate that residents in the Torbay area have begun digging earthworms from the ground and conducting makeshift religious shrines around them. The fossilized worms also bear resemblance to the worms from another science fiction epic, the Kevin Bacon feature ‘Tremors’ though it is believed that is even less likely to play out in the modern world.
“Tremors took place in 1990, not way in the future so we know they aren’t real. It’s more or less impossible to predict the future accurately though so we have to go on the best evidence we have,” continued Poe. “With global warming and this discovery my vote would be with Herbert’s vision of the future rather than Kevin Bacon’s, but we will see.”
Reports of English residents hoarding and burying their spice racks have proven to be inaccurate.
Anna Phillips, Science Correspondent
NEWS > SCIENCE > GIANT SAND WORMS IN ENGLAND RAISE FEARS OF SPICE WAR
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