The SST AlterNet
Explore writing-prompt responses by character, arc, theme or available text.
Archive dates are dates recorded in the source or collection. They are not a verified publication calendar or fictional SST chronology.
Browse the collection below.
Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
"I did it!" Billy shouted. The teenager danced around an orange rock stuck in the air. It hovered several feet off the ground and glowed brightly with heat. "Vanilla! I DID IT!" He yelled at the white-haired woman restin
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
Gloria strolled through the park carrying a large, red-leather backpack. It was a bright Sunday afternoon; sizzling sounds filled the air with the delicious smell of cooking meat. Dozens of the park's grills were cooking
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
"HAhahaha," Laughter boomed behind Melanie the instant the quip crossed her mind. She glanced around at the other shoppers for a clue that some other funny thing that may have happened at the same time. They all stared b
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
"Esteemed U.N. representatives...," Dr. Saenz addressed the few countries that bothered to show up. He stood at the center podium with his heart beating a mile a minute. "You all entrusted me with the salvation of humani
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
After a vigorous scrubbing in the shower, Curt packed his bags. As a blogger, he could work from anywhere and he tended to move around often anyway. He planned to stay in the city longer but after waking up next to a cor
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
"Multiverse di- wait... Where am I?" Cameron asked the smiling waitress. "I don't know how I got here," he added with the hope that she wouldn't think he was crazy.
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
Ciani rushed to open the door when she heard the knock; she hoped someone had sent her something. Her heavy footfalls resounded through the house as she ran to the door on loud, metal, machine legs. She eagerly threw the
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
"Where'd you go?" Red asked Billy. The young man in navy-blue pinstripe suit stepped out of a black portal into the restaurant that served as the guild hall. Though he was a new member, a majority of the guild considered
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
"I respect what you're doing. As a professional courtesy, you may leave peacefully," Dana Sharp said. She addressed the self-proclaimed "Emperor of Earths" in his throne room on one of her Earths. The grey-haired, wrinkl
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
"Ask me anything," Mundo said.
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
"Van'droth the Dread Dragon," the wiry, wrinkled old man with silver stringy hair grinned. A bright red glow pulsed from his eyes. Britt nodded; she was used to dragons stopping by Donna Chang's and this one seemed to be
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
"Better hurry," Leo checked his watch. "10 seconds. She's really punctual." He stood with his friend in a small, dim back room. Leo's friend, Steven, was hunched over a counter scrambling a pen across an official-looking
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
"I'm kind of using them," Albert chuckled at the wild, wide-eyed, man. The stranger looked over his shoulder at something, then faced Albert again. He grabbed Albert's shirt and shook him while looking into his eyes.
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
"It's completely safe!" Grant reassured the 14-year-old girl, his granddaughter. The scrawny bundle of bags shook her head; everything else shook. She wore a bulging green canvas backpack on her back with several colorfu
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
"So why don't you have an AlterNet character?" WaterJet asked Billy. The pair wandered through a crowded bazaar. Humans, goblins, trolls, mermaids, centaurs and more manned various stalls to sell their goods. The white-f
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
"Cam? You there?" Anna's soft, familiar voice came through the vent as Cameron made himself comfortable in bed; she must have heard the rustling.
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
"That's it??" Jorge looked at the single five dollar bill in his hand then back to the blue half-genie tethered to the lamp. The genie shrugged.
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
Zeno looked stared at his father with wide eyes; his mouth hung open. After a moment he burst into laughter shaking his head. The orange-haired boy looked at his mother. She sat on the couch with her husband's arm around
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
The skittish mugger looked at his gun, then back at the lean, wispy man. It looked like his skin was pulled tight over his bones; his apparent malnutrition is what gave Linus the courage to victimize the man. He did not
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
The sudden vibrations startled Parker into dropping the shiny oblong object. It fell into the soft grass and began emanating a golden light from its chrome-like exterior.
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
"Ezey?" Harry called out for his caseworker as soon as he recognized the room. He woke up in a small office on a brown leather chaise. He'd been in the room several times before; it reminded him of a therapist's office.
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
"Thanks again for the upgrade," WaterJet said. She lovingly cradled the blue ceramic pitcher in her arm like a newborn while they walked through the outdoor bazaar back to the guild hall. "But are you sure giving LaughTr
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
"I can't stand your father," Julie said. Arthur narrowed his eyes and tilted his head. He sat in a giant purple bean bag across from his best friend; she sat on the bed.
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
"Geez. Here we go again," DarkBlack rolled his eyes as he sat down on the park bench. He raised and extended his cuffed hands for balance until he felt the cool metal beneath him.
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
"Just this once??" Arthur threw his hands up in frustration. "How many more times do you want to go to hell?" Julie shrugged.
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
"Here's the 'science stuff' you wanted," Eugene sighed the phrase. The round man in a white labcoat walked into Wallace's lab carrying a milk crate's-worth of shiny electronic components. The spacious lab was crowded wit
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
"She was beautiful," Alliane said then returned the node to Billy. He gave it to her to show a picture of a white-haired woman in an orange dress sitting atop a t-rex. "But she looks so sad in that photograph."
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
"I saw him pull a card from nowhere. He has to be one," Garth heard an unfamiliar voice as he came to. The last thing he remembered was a sharp pain on the back of his head while walking to his car after one of his shows
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
"I want to give these...," Alliane waved her hand over a pair of old white sneakers. They were frayed, faded and held together by strips of tape. "...the powers of this." She placed a single brown leather boot on the met
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
"This is a special case," Satan said. He nodded through the tinted glass window at the room on the other side. Two very different people sat on a red couch in warm, welcoming living room. Sunlight poured into the room th
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
"What Kingdom?" Matt yanked his hand out of the woman's filthy hands. He hoped she didn't think it was rude; the reflex was a direct reaction to her grabbing him when he did not expect it. Luckily she didn't seem offende
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
"Five pieces left," Stella sighed at the handful of candy. Five pieces of black licorice hard candy rested in her palms. Each one wrapped in translucent purple cellophane. The young woman sat cross-legged on her bed at n
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
"Honey, are you sure this is the right place?" Mrs. Topps asked her daughter. The three-person family stood in front of a Chinese restaurant. A neon red sign came on as dusk fell around them; it read: "Donna Chang's". "W
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
Continuation from yesterday.
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
Samantha walked at a fast pace along the crowded sidewalk. The bright sunshine encouraged throngs of shoppers to visit the downtown district that day. She felt glad for that when she noticed a black Suburban with tinted
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
Chris tumbled out of the black hole and into a wheat field. He landed face down in the ground but reacted quickly to pick himself up. He stood, spitting out a mouthful of tasteless soil. The lack of any flavor unsettled
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
"You've been to the AlterNet, right?" Carly asked as casually as she could. The question itself was awkward. Nicole, Carly's best friend, took every opportunity to talk up the VR network to her. "What's your take?" Carly
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
Maury watched Mary work. He did not make the connection immediately but he felt compelled to keep watching her roll the dough. She smiled and winked at him while she worked. Then he realized he could see her face. Her wo
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
Janet, a black cat, trotted out of the black portal and into an endless wheat field. A golden sun hung high in the bright blue sky but the swaying wheat stopped the light from reaching her on the ground. She sighed when
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
"Was that Esther?" Carlos asked the therapist. When Dr. Mundo opened the door a young dark-haired woman walked out and headed straight to the restroom. The doctor nodded with a smile.
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
Finnley positioned the empty bookcase on the dolly with a heaving grunt. He did not have to clean the basement by himself; his brother-in-law offered a hand but Finnley refused. He wanted to take his time. Cleaning out t
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
"So," Dr. Mundo leaned forward on his chair and looked at the couple seated on his loveseat. "Tell me about your week?" He asked both of them. The wife, Esther, had been visiting him on her own time. Through those sessio
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
"So he's fast?" Jenny asked with a smirk. "There's not a lot he can do in the AlterNet with just speed," she said. She stood next to an aluminum picnic table in the park meeting with a client. Her hands hovered above the
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
"Miracle?" Diego asked with a beer stein at his lips. After the question, he took a large swig to consider the question. "Don't worry 'bout it, it's on me," he said with a polite grin. The scraggly stranger shook his hea
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
Dana Sharp personal log:
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
"You don't know?" Clark asked with wide eyes. "Who doesn't know how and when they're going to die?" Eila nervously looked around the restaurant to see if anyone else heard him. She wasn't embarrassed exactly, but the 32-
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
Margie's phone vibrated when the message popped up on the screen. She giggled about the app's chosen terminology and pushed the 'Yes' prompt. She'd only been using the app for a couple of months but Brooks matched with h
Read the moment ↗Before Stellar Tour · unassigned stories
"I just realized...," Brooks said. He was sitting in a red and gold booth across from Margie; it was their first date and he suggested Chinese food. They made small talk until the waitress took their orders, then Brooks
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