The Old was a representation of the original, orthodox philosophy of the Q Continuum. When crewmembers from the USS Voyager visited the Q reality, The Old was presented to them in a form they could understand, as an old time-worn book which a member of the Continuum was seen to be reading.

The Q's New Era, on the other hand, was presented as a young woman reading a magazine called The New. (VOY: "Death Wish")