Sarah knew from the poll numbers that she was growing popular among Astrals, but it wasn’t until she looked out at the hundreds of thousands of people who had gathered on Planet Stupendia that she had any idea exactly what those numbers meant in real life. There was a big difference between seeing on her Telly that 74 percent of Astrals liked her versus actually seeing a huge, cheering, excited mob that had come out in droves just to hear her speak.

After noticing the huge spike in her popularity numbers, it had been Sarah’s idea to throw a big introductory event where she could speak to Astrals in order to demonstrate her popularity and hopefully win over the remaining skeptics. Mick had suggested they hold it on Stupendia, the most beautiful of the Astral planets, which had been reserved entirely for hiking enthusiasts and nature lovers. It featured spectacular sunsets every six Earth hours, followed by majestic auroras in the nighttime sky. Mick figured it would give the best visuals.

Sarah had taken side trips to the Grand Canyon and Yosemite during some of the college visits that her parents organized every summer, but those natural wonders paled in comparison to the physical beauty of Stupendia. The area they had reserved for the adoring crowds was in a valley surrounded by majestic snowcapped peaks, and behind Sarah was a green glacial lake that looked like it stretched on into infinity. The sky was perfectly blue and she was sure she’d never breathed such pure, unpolluted air. She figured half the people tuning in on their Tellys would be doing so just to experience the wonderful views.

The crowd cheered as Mick stepped to the podium to give her a brief introduction. She could barely listen to him, she was so nervous. She had never given a speech before, let alone before hundreds of thousands of people and millions around the universe watching on their Tellys. Her ears pricked up when she thought she heard Mick say she was working on her anger management issues, but she was still too distracted to really listen.

Finally, she heard Mick say, “And now, allow me to introduce my running mate, someone who reports to me, and who it was my idea to choose… Sarah Daisy.”

The crowd gave a deafening roar. Sarah couldn’t help but note that she had received a louder ovation than Mick. She wondered if he noticed.

When the cheering finally died down several minutes later, she cleared her throat and said “Hi,” into the microphone. The crowd erupted in cheers again and Sarah had to wait another couple of minutes for them to give her another standing ovation.

“Your support means a lot to me!” Sarah Daisy said as the cheering finally ebbed.

Sarah had given her speech a great deal of thought and had a feeling she knew exactly what to say. She had even curled her hair with swoops and swirls in what she hoped was a particularly Astral style.

She gave her voice a folksy inflection. “When I was growing up, why, I was too poor to go to space. I looked up the stars and I said to my daddy, ‘Golly, I sure hope I can go up there one day.’ I was just a little Earther girl with a big dream.”

Sarah didn’t like to call herself an Earther, but she knew that was what the Astrals wanted.

“And then one day a spaceship arrived, and it changed my life forever.” She leaned into the microphone. “But not in the way I expected.”

She paused for dramatic effect. She sensed things were going well.

“What I didn’t know at the time was that there was an incredible civilization out in space. So much more advanced than us silly little Earthers. You have so much to teach us. And so much love to give.”

The crowd roared at the mention of love, and over the din she heard many Astrals shout, “We love you, Sarah!” She waved at the crowd for silence.

“But gosh darn it, you don’t want to listen to me and this boring speech, do you? You don’t need to hear me go on for hours. I’m going to…”

This was the key moment in the speech. She knew she couldn’t wow them solely with her words. They needed something more exciting than that.

She ran to the side of the stage, hopped on a flying motorcycle, revved it loudly, and the crowd gasped in excitement when she sailed over them. They cheered in surprise and jumped up and down. She threw out candy as she flew over, and then pressed a button and her motorcycle lit up with lights. She completed her tour over the crowd and soared back to the stage, relieved that a day of flying motorcycle practice had been sufficient to prevent her from crashing into the side of a mountain.

She hopped off the motorcycle and walked back to the stage as the crowd chanted her name. She signaled for silence, and waited until the entire crowd was completely hushed. Then she whispered, “Thank you, Astrals. I love you.”

The crowd let out its most deafening cheer. She waved and waved and smiled until her cheeks hurt.

She knew she had nailed it. They loved her. There was no way they would want to destroy Earth if she were living on it, and she might have just ensured that she would be the future vice president of the universe. She beamed at Mick, but he didn’t smile back.

She didn’t care if he was jealous.