Adventures of the Cosmic Woman

Chapter Twenty-Two

Africa looked bigger than Infield had expected. Infield elevated until she felt thought she must be midway into the exosphere and still it was practically the entire face of the planet. A hint of blue on either side. Europe a little dark shape to the north. A huge swathe of green covered two-thirds of the west coast while the, south, and all but a quarter of the east were arid looking brown. Swirls of clouds obstructed small patterns. But even the might of nature seemed small and weak against that giant continental canvas.

It didn't look this big in maps...

Infield closed her eye and hovered a finger over the big lake north of the two narrower bodies of water. Those were Tanzania. The big lake was Victoria. Kampala was on the coast of Lake Victoria.

Here goes

Infield hesitated and looked up. She floated within arm's reach of eternity. Could just fly away. Float off into nothing and just drift like Bender did in Futurama. How long would she live? It didn't matter. Somewhere down in that mess of a planet below her was Mahlia. There was no fleeing. She put a finger over Lake Victoria again and swept down toward it. Her protective orb shielded her from the heat of reentry and soon she was passing through the mists of the high troposphere toward the huge, dark blue lake. It swelled. Bigger and bigger. Infield aimed herself at the northwest side. She was right – a barren patch came into view that could only be civilization. There were the sprawling suburbs. The tangled web of major roads and the smaller offshoots like dead rivers. It was daylight again. Sometime early morning. She picked the biggest intersection of the thickest intersection of the biggest roads she could spot and went right for it.

Cars filled the roads like blood in veins with the peak morning traffic so Infield aimed for a nearby footpath and somersaulted into her gentle landing. The people in their suits and their overalls and their high-visibility clothing all on their ways to work jumped with shock to see the woman suddenly tumble from the sky. But there was no wonder as to whom she was. As the crowd gathered around her at a respectful distance. Hushed tones all around.

'That's the Cosmic Woman.'

'The Cosmic Woman is here...'

So, Australian media reached Uganda...

Motorcycle riders bunched at the intersection as they stared at her and the occupants of passing cars pressed their faces against the windows to get a glimpse. Infield felt especially lost. She was next to some kind of public park and beyond it stood the buildings, partially obstructed by huge billboards offering cellphones and cars and new housing developments. All in English. It didn't feel right. But at least that wouldn't be an obstacle.

A man in white overalls blew on a whistle and directed everyone to go on with their day. His radio buzzed. He lifted it to his mouth.

'Yes, the corner of Queens Way and Nsambya Road,' he barked. 'Everyone give her some room, please!'

The people smiled as they went back to their days and some waved at Infield. She waved back. Other men and a few women in white overalls stood around her and kept a barrier from the public. One of the smaller women stepped cautiously forward with a broad smile.

'Welcome to Uganda, Cosmic Woman,' she said. 'We have heard so much about your work in Australia. I am Officer Vivienne Evinajje of the Ugandan Police Force.' She referred to the big man who'd been there first. 'This is Officer Ssruyna Dauda. We were not expecting you. How can we be of assistance?'

'I...' she stopped and let the befuddling cloud pass through her mind. 'I need to speak to someone in charge, please.'

'We will take you to our headquarters, as our guest,' the female officer said.