There it was at the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition, bearing an amazing resemblance to the deadly ray-emitting “eye” of the alien creatures from the film War of the Worlds.

But unlike the eerie alien eye, its function is far more benign. It’s the new flex-arm, LED reading light introduced by B/E Aerospace at the EBACE show, and it emits nothing more terrifying than a soft, white glow.