We’re doomed! I’m not talking about the kind of doom we usually discuss, the collapse of cultural norms. No, Dear Reader, today we will discuss the “don’t start any long books” kind of doom.

A classic movie came out in 1956 called “Forbidden Planet.” True, it did have some tacky aspects. (My favorite line was “Any quantum mechanic worth his salt could fix that.”) It starred Walter Pigeon, Leslie Nielson, Ann Francis, and Robbie the Robot (who would later return as one of the stars of the horrible “Lost in Space” TV series.) The burden of the film was that the inhabitants of a distant planet had developed a machine that could instantly turn one’s thoughts into reality.  When the machine was turned on, it worked fine until the first night when everyone went to sleep. Unfortunately, the violent thoughts that everyone has, described in the film as “monsters from the id,” materialized and everyone was killed except Walter Pigeon and his daughter.

In 1956 this was ridiculous. But today?

Let me remind you of two recent technological developments. The first is video games operated by brain waves. Right now you can purchase a set of electrodes to strap on your noggin and play Pong without lifting  a finger. Admittedly, Pong is a pretty primitive video game. But great oak trees from little acorns grow. It will not be long before our teenage progeny will be able to play “Grand Theft Auto” and “Call of Duty” using their weird little brain waves. Now hold that thought.

The second development is computer-driven three-dimensional printing. The most popular application, at least as the press tells it, is the production of guns. The press, knaves that they are, almost never mention that the few times these devices have actually been fired they have blown up, which renders them somewhat less fearsome than the press and the FBI think. However, practice makes perfect, and soon we will be able to print out a functioning 150mm howitzer.

You see where this is going.

Fast forward a few years (or a few months, or a few days, perhaps.) The video game makers and the printer manufacturers will get together and release a thought-powered printer driver. And we Earthlings will play out the Forbidden Planet script for real.

Gives you a warm feeling, doesn’t it?