By Mary O’KEEFE

Okay, hang on, get your fans ready and set your air conditioner to “stun” – we are heading for a heat wave.

As any Trekkie knows, you don’t mess with the elements or aliens that design a flying planet. In “For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky,” written by Hendrik Vollaerts and Gene Roddenberry, the crew of the Enterprise is attacked by missiles. They trace the missiles to a location and, when they beam there, they find they are on what appears to be a gorgeous planet with trees, mountains and rivers. It appears to be perfect … but that is only the facade, only what the alien race that populates Yonada and the Oracle wants them to see. The crew is captured and an “instrument of obedience” is implanted in them (the Oracle is an alien computer so there is always an implantation of something). As they try to release themselves from control they are met with the alien’s weapon of choice: heat … 120 degrees of heat.

I have been thinking about this episode – honestly, I can relate anything to “Star Trek” – but this episode in particular as the temperatures rise in our area and I realize the aliens were right: heat is a really good weapon.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 700 people die from extreme heat every year in the U.S. As it gets hotter, the body’s blood vessels open up, which can lead to lower blood pressure that can make the heart work harder to do its job of circulating the blood around the body.

Some will suffer from heat stroke or other heat exhaustion ailments without realizing they are heat-related. Symptoms can include dizziness, nausea, fainting, confusion, muscle cramps and headaches. Bottom line: extreme heat makes our bodies work harder to keep its core temperature at 97.7 to 101.3 degrees Fahrenheit. When temperatures rise, the body works harder to keep its core temperature down.

For the rest of this week and next, your body is going to be working hard to stay cool.

“It is obvious these [temperatures] are above normal but we are at the hottest time of the year,” said Joe Sirard, meteorologist with NOAA (National Oceanic Atmospheric Agency) in Oxnard. “We are looking at temperatures to be pretty hot today [Thursday], about 101 to 103, Friday [slightly cooler] with 97 to 99, then on Saturday 100 to 103 again and Sunday, right now, looks to be the hottest day with temperatures of 107 to 110.”

But wait! There’s more.

“Overnight lows are going to be quite warm in your area,” he added. “In the mid-70s at least by this weekend.”

NOAA has released an Excessive Heat Warning so, no, there will not be a cooling down for us and, unlike the residents of “Star Trek’s” Yonada, the Earth-type spaceship cannot just turn on the air conditioner. We must take precautions, so use common sense, drink plenty of water and NOAA recommends no hiking during this warning. Try to stay in an air conditioned area or in a cooling station. Unfortunately Spock, Kirk and McCoy will not save us and this Earth is not slowly heading toward a brighter paradise. We are going to have to get used to more heat waves as our planet heats up and use not only common sense when it comes to staying cool but common sense when it comes to combating climate change.