Not to alarm anyone, but it seems that the XCOM program has officially launched into Earth orbit. We’re sure this is just fine, and that it does not necessarily indicate our certain doom at the hands of hostile alien entities.

Actually, the XCOM that lifted off from Kennedy Space Center May 4 was part of a suite of experiments destined for the International Space Station. This version stands for X-ray Communication, and it’s meant to demonstrate NASA and the Naval Research Laboratory’s ability to use the X-ray band for signal transmission.

But the name rang a bell for Jake Solomon, the designer of XCOM and XCOM 2.

Solomon might be right to be concerned. Just last year, some former Qualcomm executives split from the company to form their own tech startup. They called it… XCOM. And what did it specialize in? Why, communications, of course.

Coincidence? We think not.

In the immortal words of Kent Brockman, I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords.