I, Willhelm

It was here in Trinidad that Robbie Samuel became interested in what he began to call the "Aphelion Case". Trinidad was never meant to be the start of a new story. He was there to visit family for a destination wedding, not work. But when he heard 17 year old Ellis Baptiste ranting at the bar about how his sister was framed, his leaned in to listen despite himself.

Ellis was no longer the joyful young boy his dead sister had know, the years had marked him far more than they should, and despite being only 17, he worse the frown-lines of a man decades older.

“What makes you say that your sister was framed?” Robbie asked.

Elis looked the man in front of him up and down, braced for a fight. Like most of the white tourists, he had baked himself into a vivid shade of angry pink, and for some daft reason had decided to wear an obnoxious neon Hawaiian shirt. He looked like a stunned prawn.

“My sister was a nurse. She knew how to draw blood, not hack code!”

From behind the bar the boat owner scowled at Ellis, warning him to lower his tone and keep the mood light. Worried that Ellis might be fired on the spot Robbie reached for his card to pay for another round of drinks. The owner quickly smiled again.

“I read that she accidentally knocked a chip off it’s neck. It was just an accident.”

“That’s bullshit. The ART 2’s don’t have a chip at the back of their neck. That chip is inside them.”

“AR 2’s?” Robbie asked, before he remembered.

“Aphelion Robotics 2.”

“I still think that’s an awful reference.” Robbie laughed into his drink

“They want the name to sound familiar, so people feel safe.” Ellis sneered. “My sister was a good nurse. Tired, but a good nurse. She hated those robots, but she would never have done anything that would have endangered anyone. Especially us.”

“What do you mean, you were endangered?”

“My sister took care of us when mum ran away. Once she was gone”- Ellis furiously poured a new row of cheap cocktails, the vodka splashing over the sides of the glasses. - “Once she was gone we had to come back to Trinidad.”

“Trinidad isn’t too bad. I really like it here.”

“I moved to the UK when I was 3. I went to school in London, all of my friends are in London. I was planning to study media. My entire life changed because Aphelion Robotics decided to make my sister the scape goat. I hope they all burn in hell.”

“The weather is better here surely.”

“I’d rather it was pissing down all day every day if it meant my could have my friends and my sister back.”

One month later Robin Samuel returned from Trinidad severely sunburnt and considerably more somber than he usually was post holiday. He did not tell his publisher about the story he was working on. Partly this was because he was still so far away from having a final story that it didn’t seem right, but mostly because a nagging voice in the back of his head wouldn’t stop whispering that if it were true, then this was something he would need to pursue very, very carefully.