Although the epidemic is not yet gone, we have become accustomed to its inconveniences. What will be the next disaster? Is there a bubonic plague strain that is resistant to antibiotics? The end of the world as we know it? Is there a mass ejection from the coronary arteries? Will the next disaster be natural, such as a big volcanic eruption similar to Tambora in 1815, which we haven't seen in over two centuries? Will it be a man-made disaster, such as nuclear war or a cyberattack? In our efforts to avert such disasters, can we accidentally slip into a new sort of AI-enabled totalitarianism?
The miniature of the Nostromo spaceship used in “Alien,” one of Tom Cruise’s fighter pilot helmets from “Top Gun” and a Darth Vader costume from the “Star Wars” 1977 promotional tour are among the highlights in an upcoming auction of movie props. The Prop Store’s Aug. 26 and 27 virtual auction — the company’s first …