I’m caught in a blizzard of sand as the sun goes down on the Sahara Desert. I stagger into a deep cave to take shelter, and behind a jagged rock I see the glow of an ancient oil lamp. I rub it, because what else do you do with a lamp? A great and fearsome genie emerges in a cloud of shimmering purple smoke. “I will grant you three wishes,” he booms. “Name your heart’s desires!”