During this time of the year, amid the costumed ghouls, goblins and other assorted fear mongers, I take the time to reflect upon my list of The Top Things I Am Most Afraid Of.

The world is constantly changing and with it do its scariest threats-this being the reason why I find it absolutely necessary to annually reevaluate and update my list accordingly. I prioritize based on probability of actual occurrence-this ensures I will be best prepared for only the most likely of scary predicaments.

For 2008, the "Scaries" go to: Neck punctures, going rock climbing and literally getting stuck between a rock and a hard place and of course, a zombie outbreak. Well, that list was final until a new contender crashed the after-party and demanded a recount. Never did I expect to have to add mind control to the list because well, frankly an apocalyptic zombie plague seemed more plausible. However, such is no longer the case.

According to a recent article in Time, the U.S. army has been granted a $4 million contract to start production on contraptions they call "thought helmets." These devices are intended to allow soldiers to send silent messages among themselves by analyzing their brain waves using, the new long word of the day, electroencephalography (EEG). The scientists at the University of California at Irvine, Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Maryland are set to begin research on the project.

The machine is intended to evaluate the parts of the brain that interpret speech, translate the activity of one person's brain into information that can be relayed to someone else's brain and then send the other person the message. Crazy, I know.

There is much talk of using this type of software among average civilians for their everyday needs of computer gaming or cell phone talking. Emotiv Systems, a hardware company based in San Francisco, is planning the release of a headset embracing neurotechnology in summer 2009. And although no concrete plans have surfaced for a brain wave cell phone, it is hoped that sending messages via thought will silence those irritating public phone conversations.

Now it can't be just me who is slightly skeptical about this new technology-much less being used among rootin' tootin' gun-totin' army soldiers. Granted, it's not as if they are being trained to invade our minds, but the sheer concept of literally being able to be in someone else's head is just off-putting. This is definitely going to prompt a reassessment and redistribution of the comfort zone boundary lines.

Are there any limitations or is this an information free-for-all fest? To the best of my knowledge, it isn't likely a person can pick and choose what his brain synapses are going to relay-does this mean every last minute afterthought is up for broadcast to his squad?

Maybe it's my penchant for the quintessential villainous move, but I can't help but wonder the magnitude of the havoc that could be wreaked should this technology fall into the wrong hands (or onto the wrong head).

You can call it pessimism, but I'm just being a realist: The capacity for good is directly proportional to the capacity of evil and as much potential as this invention has to ease and secure communication between military units, it has the exact same ability to strategically dispatch unwelcome covert attacks.

Talk about the ultimate security threat: Gone are the days of having to embed secret plans into letters, speak in secret code over the phone or even learn to write in special invisible lemon juice ink to conceal your underhanded operations-just silently dispatch it via telepathy. It's hard enough to intercept plots of mass destruction by means of the traditional sneaky ways of communication-now you can hide it all in your noggin.

It seems like the "little voice inside your head" won't be exclusively confined to your own head anymore. If you're very adamant about this new conspiracy of mental takeover via mind control, take the first step to warding against and shielding out the psychological manipulation by renting the 2002 sci-fi-alien-take-over movie Signs and replicating your very own tin foil hat. Not only is it practical, but it makes for one helluva' cheap Halloween costume.

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