Warped values

Phasers on stun! Christie's, we hear, is to boldly go where no auction house has gone before. In a sale to be held in Los Angeles, a quantity of Star Trek memorabilia will go to the highest bidder, including four pairs of rubber Vulcan ear-extensions with a reserve of £5,600.

Phasers on stun! Christie's, we hear, is to boldly go where no auction house has gone before. In a sale to be held in Los Angeles, a quantity of Star Trek memorabilia will go to the highest bidder, including four pairs of rubber Vulcan ear-extensions with a reserve of £5,600.

The auction also includes original scripts from the first two Star Trek movies as well as posters and other props. The lots are being offered by the heirs of Fred Phillips, the sole make-up artist on the original series and the first films, and surely an earthling who deserves better recognition.

Trekkies will no doubt be brought to warp factor 3 by the news that an original (stardate: 1967) "life mask" of William Shatner - or, as Christie's puts it, "Captain Kirk, frozen in time, and exactly in his prime" - can be yours also, listed at £4,000.

The reserve prices should be exceeded easily, but the biggest bargain among the space junk is surely the mould for those Vulcan ears - listed at £14,000. Possession of that particular piece of kit could allow the owner to flood the known universe with faux-Vulcans. So why would anyone want to pay £5,600 for only four pairs of ears? Surely that is, as First Officer Spock might say, "illogical, Captain".