by A. J. Low
“And-now-Pulau-Ubin’s-too,” Watson said.
“Pulau Ubin is part of Singapore,” Eliza said under her breath.
“Wait a minute, that wasn’t an insult!” I said. I beamed at my robot, ignoring Eliza.
“The-seawater-must-really-be-making-my-circuits-rust,” Watson replied.
A few weeks later, I was sitting at my desk in my room writing a report about conservation in Singapore in general, and in Pulau Ubin in particular, when Dad came in.
“Hey, son, guess what? I spoke with Officer Siva and he said that the ‘alien sightings’ on Pulau Ubin have almost entirely disappeared after our trip,” Dad said. “Occasionally, somebody reports some weird noises, but it always turns out to be dogs fighting over a bone, or boars looking for food, or that weird bird that sounds like a digital tone.” He chuckled.
I sighed. “Okay.”
“What’s wrong, son?”
I turned in my chair and looked up at him. “Do you really believe in aliens, Dad, or have you just been pretending to be nice to me?”
Dad knelt down and looked me straight in the eye. “I wholeheartedly believe extraterrestrial life exists, Sam. However, I do not believe aliens visit us often, if at all. This time at Pulau Ubin was a hoax, and there is a very good possibility that every time someone claims to have a close encounter and then puts it on the Internet, it is also a hoax.”
“So you think aliens have never visited Earth?” I asked.
He took my hands in his and squeezed them a little. “In reference to all these claims of alien abductions and UFO sightings, Carl Sagan said, ‘The extraordinary claims are not supported by extraordinary evidence.’ He meant that there was very little evidence, if any at all, that aliens had visited these people, like you found out at Pulau Ubin.”
Dad looked away, and I stared at the floor.
“However,” Dad continued, “he also said, ‘The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence,’ meaning just because we don’t have evidence of extraterrestrial life, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”
“So, always follow the evidence, no matter where it leads,” I said, still staring at the floor.
“You are a very smart boy who already does great things, and will do even greater, I’m sure, but aliens have always been a bit of a blind spot for you, and maybe I’m a little to blame for that.”
He exhaled deeply, then continued. “We watch and read so much science fiction, and we want so badly for these worlds to be our world. A world where aliens not only exist, but humans interact with them on a daily basis. That way we can debate logic with Vulcans, arm-wrestle with Wookies, and tinker with machines with Quarians.”
He paused again, and took my chin in his hand, forcing me to break my staring contest with the floor. “But we haven’t found them yet, son, and I don’t think they’ve found us yet either. And yes, you always need to follow the evidence, even when it leads somewhere you don’t want it to.”
“Like the complete and total lack of alien visitations.” I took his hand away from my chin and turned away. Aliens had been so important to me, and finding out that it was more than likely they had never interacted with Earth was a little depressing.
But I did have hope.
“You do believe they exist, right? Somewhere in the universe?” I asked, turning back towards Dad.
“The famous rocket scientist Wernher von Braun said, ‘Our sun is one of a hundred billion stars in our galaxy. Our galaxy is one of billions of galaxies populating the universe. It would be the height of presumption to think that we are the only living things in that enormous immensity.’”
He smiled at me. “Yes, I believe they exist somewhere in the universe. And I also believe that one day you will be the one to find them because you’re a great scientist and a great detective.”
I couldn’t help but smile back.
GLOSSARY
Dr. Albert Einstein—A German-born theoretical physicist who developed the general theory of relativity, and received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics. He is best known for his mass–energy equivalence formula, E = mc2.
Atap leaf—A leaf from the nipa palm, used to make roofs, especially in old-style kampong houses.
Bak kut teh—The name literally translates as “meat bone tea”, and at its simplest, consists of meaty pork ribs simmered in a broth of herbs and spices for hours.
Dr. Carl Sagan—An American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author and science communicator. He advocated scientific skeptical inquiry and the scientific method and promoted the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI).
Cereal prawns—A prawn dish which is deep fried in butter and coated in oatmeal flakes.
Changi Air Base—A Republic of Singapore military airbase that is located in Changi, very near the island of Pulau Ubin.
Charles Darwin—An English naturalist who established that all species of life descended from common ancestors and that evolution was a result of a process called natural selection. He wrote the book On the Origin of the Species to explain his theories.
Chilli crab—A seafood dish popular in Singapore. The crabs are stir-fried in a semi-thick, sweet and savoury tomato and chilli based sauce. Despite its name, chilli crab is not a very spicy dish.
Commander Shepard—The main character in the Mass Effect video game trilogy, she (or he, depending on player choices) is a human who saves the galaxy on multiple occasions from the Reaper threat.
Crop circles—Usually a large pattern created by the flattening of crops on a farm, often attributed to extraterrestrial activity, though many have been proven to be hoaxes.
Diamond wrasses—A type of fish that lives in the sandy parts of rocky shores. At low tide, they hide under rocks or bury themselves in the sand. They feed on small creatures and are also scavengers.
Doug Bower and Dave Chorley—In 1991, two self-proclaimed pranksters stunned the world when they claimed they started the crop circle phenomenon. They claimed responsibility for every crop circle prior to 1987, and another 200 until 1991.
Evolution—The change in the inherited characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.
Fanboy—A passionate fan of various elements of geek culture (e.g. sci-fi, comics, Star Wars, video games, anime, hobbits, etc.). Does not have to be a boy, though “fangirl” is becoming a more common term to refer to passionate female fans.
HDB (Housing Development Board)—This statutory board is in charge of public housing in Singapore. A large proportion of Singaporeans live in HDB flats that range from one-room flats to condominiums.
Heliocentric model of the solar system—The astronomical model in which the Earth and planets revolve around a relatively stationary Sun at the center of the Solar System.
Hermit crabs—A type of crab with a long, soft, spirally curved abdomen. The vulnerable abdomen is protected from predators by a salvaged empty seashell carried by the hermit crab, into which its whole body can retract. Hermit crabs tend to use the shells of sea snails, but will also use the shells of other animals and even hollow pieces of wood and stone.
Kampong chicken—A deep-fried chicken dish using a chicken raised in rural areas and villages. The word kampong means “village” in Malay.
Kang kong—A leaf vegetable found in tropical and subtropical regions. The leaves are usually stir-fried with chili pepper, garlic, ginger, dried shrimp paste (belachan) and other spices.
Mudskippers—A type of fish that can use their pectoral fins to walk on land. Unlike most fish which survive the retreat of the tide by hiding under wet seaweed or in tidal pools, mudskippers are quite active out of water, feeding, interacting with one another and defending their territories.
NCC (National Cadet Corps)—A youth uniformed group that is considered an extracurricular school activity for secondary school stud
ents (13-16 years old). It is supported by the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Education. Cadets participate in a variety of outdoor sports and activities.
Nicolaus Copernicus—A Renaissance mathematician and astronomer who formulated a heliocentric model of the solar system which placed the Sun, rather than the Earth, at the center. He was also a physician, polyglot, classics scholar, translator, governor, diplomat and economist. He contributed greatly to the scientific revolution.
Papier-mâché—material consisting of paper pulp, textiles, and adhesives, like glue, starch or wallpaper paste, and used for arts and crafts. French for “chewed paper”.
Prata—A fried Indian flat bread made of flour found all over Singapore. It can be ordered plain or filled with savoury fillings (like cheese, onion, egg, etc.) or sweet fillings (banana, cream, chocolate, etc.). It usually comes with a side of curry.
Quarians—An alien species from the Migrant Fleet in Mass Effect. They live in enviro-suits due to their very weak immune systems. They are very good with machines. Tali’Zorah is a Quarian.
Red jungle fowl—A tropical chicken found all over the world. It is thought to be the ancestor of the domestic chicken. It was first domesticated at least five thousand years ago in Asia.
Salted egg pumpkin—Pumpkin deep fried in salted egg yolk batter.
Thalassina—A lobster-like animal found in mangrove swamps. Its nocturnal burrowing is important for the recycling of nutrients in the mangrove ecosystem, although it is sometimes considered a pest of fish and prawn farms.
Toadfish—A type of fish with large mouths, ready to gulp any unsuspecting prey that wanders within reach. They croak like toads when distressed and are often found under or near stones.
URL—The web address of a webpage on the Internet; an abbreviation for “uniform resource locator”.
Vulcans—An alien species from the planet Vulcan in Star Trek. They are logical and show no emotion. They have green blood and pointy ears. Mr Spock is a Vulcan.
Dr Wernher von Braun—A German rocket scientist, aerospace engineer, space architect and one of the leading figures in the development of rocket technology. He is credited as being the “Father of Rocket Science”.
Wookies—An alien species from the planet Kashyyyk in Star Wars. They tend to have short tempers and are very strong. They are large and covered in brown fur. Chewbacca is a Wookie.
The X-Files—An American science fiction drama television series that followed FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully as they investigated unsolved cases involving paranormal phenomena. Mulder believed in the existence of aliens and the paranormal while Scully did not and attempted to explain everything scientifically.
Zi char—A term used to describe wallet-friendly, home-style cuisine. Zi char stalls serve a variety of Chinese à la carte dishes and are usually located in coffee shops or hawker centres.
ABOUT THE CHARACTERS
SAMUEL TAN CHER LOCK a.k.a. SHERLOCK SAM
Ten-year-old Sherlock Sam’s heroes are Sherlock Holmes, Batman and his dad. Extremely smart and observant, Sherlock loves solving any and all mysteries—big or small. He loves comics and superheroes!
WATSON
Built by Sherlock to be his trusty, cheery sidekick, Watson is, instead, a grumpy ‘old man’ who is reluctantly drawn into Sherlock’s adventures; or as Watson perceives them, his misadventures. Watson is environmentally friendly.
WENDY
Sherlock’s older sister. A year older than him, Wendy is a very talented artist but she is terrible at Chinese. Sherlock would like to be taller than her soon. She doesn’t like wearing dresses or skirts.
JIMMY
Sherlock’s classmate. Jimmy is the only boy in a Peranakan family with four sisters. Seemingly much younger than his actual age, everything is exciting and magical to Jimmy. He has terrible handwriting.
DAD
An engineer, Sherlock’s dad is a scientific genius, but is rather forgetful and bumbling in real life. He has never stopped reading superhero comics—a love he’s passed on to his son.
MOM
A homemaker, Sherlock’s mom is half-Peranakan and is constantly experimenting in the kitchen. Sherlock often wonders why she tempts him with food, then does not allow him to eat his fill.
NAZHAR
Usually shy and quiet, Nazhar will stand up for his friends when they are threatened. Sherlock admires him for his knowledge of history which Nazhar learned from his dad. Nazhar believes in the supernatural much to the dismay of Sherlock.
ELIZA
One of the prettiest and most popular girls in school, Eliza often bullies kids she sees as weird or geeky, for example, Sherlock Sam and his friends. Eliza spends a lot of time in front of the bathroom mirror, making sure her hair is neat.
OFFICER SIVA
A Deputy Superintendent in the Singapore Police Force, Officer Siva is an experienced policeman who is extremely impressed by the intelligence he sees in Sherlock Sam. He loves kaya toast and coffee from Chin Mee Chin, a bakery in Katong.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
The writers behind the pseudonym A. J. Low are the husband-and-wife team, Adan Jimenez and Felicia Low-Jimenez. Born in California to Mexican immigrant parents, Adan became an immigrant himself when he moved to Singapore after graduating from New York University with an English Literature degree. He previously co-wrote a children’s book, Twisted Journeys #22: Hero City. He loves comics, LEGO®, books, movies, games (analog and video), Doctor Who and sandwiches, and one day hopes to own a store that sells all these things. Felicia was born and raised in Singapore. She spent most of her childhood with her head in the clouds and her nose buried in a book, and now daydreams of owning her own bookstore. She has a graduate degree in Literary Theory, and the Sherlock Sam series is Felicia’s debut writing effort, after accumulating years of experience buying, selling and marketing books.
You can contact the authors at [email protected] or by visiting sherlocksam.wordpress.com and facebook.com/SherlockSamSeries.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Andrew Tan (also known as drewscape) is a full-time freelance illustrator and an Eisner-nominated comic artist. He illustrates for print ads, magazines and also enjoys storyboarding and illustrating for picture book projects. During his free time, he’s always creating his own comics for the fun of it. In his home studio you’ll find an overflow of art tools of all kinds as he loves experimenting with them. He has already too many fountain pens and tells himself that he will stop buying more. Andrew published his first graphic novel, Monsters, Miracles & Mayonnaise, in 2012.
Sherlock Sam and the Supper Club are off to Penang for a holiday! Of course, Sherlock Sam can’t go anywhere without bumping into a mystery: an antique tin robot vanishes from a toy museum without a trace! Did it walk off on its own? Was it teleported away? Will Singapore’s Greatest Kid Detective be able to resist all the local delicacies and focus on his most dangerous case yet?