Afterword of Stellartale AU and novel

Stellartale is my post-Pacifist Undertale fanfic with key pacifist spoilers. Set 2237 years from where the Pacifist ending leaves off, it imagines Asriel Dreemurr will be revived with future tech.

I've had the core Stellartale idea for almost 3 years now. What held me back for so long was the lack of alien factions in mind, but then I started making new things within Undertale canon rules and themes. Concilium each have multiple SOULs as a group mind. Soulmakers take the canon line "SOULs can't be artificially created" and find a high-tech way to bypass that rule. The reality-warping Voidglitch is clearly inspired by WD Gaster but isn't a one on one parody. Tekiihaj would be a LOVE-based society.

I've worked to comply with canon; since this was only a fan sequel I'd avoid replacing canon lore or filling in empty spaces. The one thing I reinterpreted was the resetting meta; since I couldn't have a single red SOUL in charge of the whole universe I wrote it as simply time travel. This did not ban me from assuming whole alien empires were out there millions of years before Undertale canon started, humans and monsters could coexist as their own high tech empire, or that with centuries to live canon characters would learn new skills and choices while keeping some of their core canon persona.

I originally planned Frisk to be purely the villain who'd be completely killed at the end. Frisk being the Pacifist Route's player-hero I decided my intended readers would find this too controversial, nor did I entirely like the idea as an Undertale fan myself. My SOUL cloning subplot gave back Frisk's chance to be a good guy, and I went back to foreshadow that change of heart.

Found any Easter Eggs? Feel free to comment or message me.

Glossary of real hacking and IT terms in novel

Exploit: Script that uses the way a program is written to damage/access that program in an unauthorized way. Can only attack programs that have said flaw, and changing the way said program is written can make it immune to the exploit.

Flaw/bug: Formally known as vulnerability, a way the computer code is written that allows someone else to damage and/or use its system in an unauthorized way. Privilege escalation flaws can allow others to take full control as the user. Software makers patch, or update their products to remove known vulnerabilities. A zero-day is a vulnerability the software maker doesn't yet know, meaning it isn't patched and so an attacker can exploit it.

Fuzzing scanner: Program that inputs random data to find new zero-day vulnerabilities. Some security researchers use these to find such flaws and privately tell software makers to patch them before someone else uses them harmfully.

Neuromorphic computing: Computer systems that work in a way similar to organic brains, often doing similar intelligent tasks. In Stellartale this can be used to clone existing SOULs or even make new ones.

Remote access tool (RAT): Program on a computer that allows someone else to access and control its data. Though this has many legal uses, "RAT" often refers negatively to malware designed to do this without the computer owner's consent or knowledge. "Bad" RATs, which try to hide from their system, can sometimes be bought from illegal online markets.

Worm: A malware type that copies itself across a computer network, often by using at least one exploit on those computer's flaws. Some worms install a backdoor so the attacker can control the system remotely. At least one real worm, Stuxnet, caused nuclear equipment to physically damage itself. The fictional GearsRat remote access tool contains worm-type code to copy itself in the system.