[Brian has been working](https://hackaday.com/2015/02/21/making-the-dune-pain-box-a-reality/) to recreate the Pain Box from Dune and apparently has made something similar by combining two hot and cold elements right next to each other in a [thermal grill illusion](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_grill_illusion). The brain combines the two heats to make them feel exceptionally hot without doing any damage. If you touch either element there's no discomfort, but the two together trick the brain into feeling the pain.