Whenever we’re stuck in a boring meeting, we always daydream about Scotty beaming us up to someplace that’s undoubtedly more exciting—like maybe behind a bar, serving James Bond his favorite shaken, not stirred, martini. Not that we’re in any way attached to this scenario. In some cases, we like to pretend that Doc has just arrived from 2015 and is asking us to save our future children from getting into serious trouble. What can we say? We love our sci-fi slash action movies as much as we love gadgets. And if we weren’t too busy zoning out of meetings, we may actually have the time to turn one of those epic gizmos from the big screen into a real-life thing, just like the creative minds behind the following devices.
1. Maxablaster
One thing’s for sure: if there’s going to be a geek off in our neighborhood, you can trust us not to bring our Luke Skywalker Lightsaber, EPIV Elite Edition. That baby is going to be safe and sound in our super secret room of awesomeness. But we will contact Dutch optics engineer Ralf Ottow (also our imaginary best friend) and ask him to lend us his Maxablaster. Said to be an invention that is “as close as humans have come to inventing a lightsaber,” the Maxablaster is a homemade “38-million-candlepower flashlight with the power to burn skin.” It can also light up a cloud four miles high, which Count Dooku may not find impressive but will, we’re hoping, be enough to scare a legion of sparkly vampires.
2. Watson
Remember when Deep Thought, the all-knowing computer in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, said that 42 is “the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything?” Well, Watson, an artificial intelligence computer system developed by IBM, may not sound like our celebrity crush Helen Mirren (Deep Thought’s voice), but we’re still impressed with his (its?) performance on Jeopardy! You know what else is impressive? Watson has enrolled in medical school and is expected to be an oncology expert this year. Reports also say that “IBM expects to generate billions in sales by putting Watson to work in finance, health care, telecommunications, and other areas.”
3. Jetlev R200 Jetpack
The name is Pack…Jet Pack. Sorry, we couldn’t resist. After all, when someone says jetpack, the first thing that comes to mind is Thunderball. You know? When Sean Connery’s Bond used a jetpack to escape the baddies, Anyway, the good thing is that even if you’re not as smooth as Connery, Lazenby, Moore, Dalton, Brosnan, and Craig, you can still channel your inner 007 with the Jetlev R200 Personal Flight System. Sure, it’s not cheap; this sweet ride will set you back 100 grand (lessons included), but considering that there are currently about 100 of these machines in the world, you might as well indulge yourself. After all, no one is lucky enough to only live twice.
4. Invisibility Cloak
Even if you solemnly swear that you’re up to no good, there’s little chance that a kindly old man is going to give you a cloak of invisibility so you can use it well. It’s also safe to say that no matter how many business phone numbers you try, the probability of contacting an Albus Dumbledore from Hogwarts who will give you a magical artifact is zero to nil. Now it’s a different story if you have a relative or friend who’s working for Maple Ridge, BC-based Hyperstealth Biotechnology or the Pentagon. According to reports, the Canadian company has developed “a type of camouflage that bends light around the wearer or an object to create the illusion of invisibility.” Called Quantum Stealth, this technology has the backing of the United States Military, which means that details about the material are leaked to the public only on a need-to-know basis. Still, we’re excited over this thing, even if some of you may not classify it as a gadget. One thing’s for sure, though: if someone out there makes a Marauder’s Map for real, you can bet your last dollar that it will be ours as soon as it hits the market.