Alternate Universe 4

Alternate Universe 4 is a gen Star Trek: TOS Kirk-centric fanzine zine series with stories that take place in the shared universe known as Alternate Universe 4.
The series' premise centers around Kirk being court-martialed and eventually joining a secret organization of advanced aliens called Lightfleet (sometimes this is also called "Lightfleet Universe"). The zine is a psychological study of a hero rising out of the ashes of his own destruction.
This series "... ranks as one of the most outstanding Star Trek fanzines of all times. The publication gained immediate popularity, and was widely distributed." from Boldly Writing
"Alternate Universe 4" was mentioned in Star Trek Lives!.
==Regarding the Title==
The name of the series refers to Trek universes. 
The canon Trek universe is the first universe.
The Mirror Universe the second universe.
The fan-created Kraith universe the third universe.
"Alternate Universe 4" is the fourth, hence its title. 
==Sister Zine==
It has a sister zine, Echerni: The Lightfleet Letters which is composed of a series of letters written by characters in the shared universe, Alternate Universe 4. It was the last in the series. Kirk, Spock and Dr. McCoy do not appear.
==Zine's Purpose==
The editors note that the purpose of the fiction in this zine was "to honor a man often overlooked or treated as a minor character in much of the world of Star Trek fandom writing, Captain James T. Kirk." 
This statement was a reaction to some fans at the time who felt Spock was the center of too many stories, and that Kirk was merely a secondary character.
==Online==
The Lightfleet stories are now also online.
==General Reactions and Reviews==
===1976===
===1983===
==Read by James Doohan==
In 1980, James Doohan was asked in an interview printed in A Companion in Zeor #6 about his reading habits : 
==From Author Virginia Tilley in 1976==
Some excerpts from Alternate Universe 4: The Writing, The Content about the beginning of this famous series:
==From Author Anna Mary Hall in 1976==
Some excerpts from Alternate Universe 4: The Writing, The Content about the beginning of this famous series:
==Issue 1==
Alternate Universe 4 #1 was published in 1974 and is 62 pages long.
It was edited by Anna Mary Hall, Shirley Maiewski, and Virginia Tilley.
* Dedication (unnumbered page)
* No Tomorrow (1)
* Tomorrow (8)
* The Merchant (20)
* Recruitment (33)
* The Agent (42)
* Commitment (46)
* Look At Yesterday (54)
File:alternate4-1art1.jpg| from issue #1, Virginia Tilley
File:alternate4-1art2.jpg| from issue #1, Virginia Tilley
File:alternate4-1art3.jpg| from issue #1, Virginia Tilley
File:alternate4-1art4.jpg| from issue #1, Virginia Tilley
==Reactions and Reviews: Issue 1==
 
==Issue 2==
Alternate Universe 4 #2: The Debt was published in 1975 and has 140 pages. It was edited by Anna Mary Hall, Shirley Maiewski, Daphne Hamilton, and Virginia Tilley.
The cover is by Virginia Tilley.
* Above All Others (18 pages)
* The Gift Of Sorrow (7 pages)
* Of Comfort Let No Man Speak (5 pages)
* The Slow Death Of Peace (11 pages)
* A Time Of War (14 pages)
* The Killing (10 pages)
* A Plan For Death (2 pages)
* Debt From The Past (15 pages)
* Gagarin (15 pages)
* A Time To Heal 15 pages)
* Chelacrev (18 pages)
* The Final Battle (6 pages)
* Epilog (4 pages)
File:alternate4-2art1.jpg|interior art from issue #2, Virginia Tilley
File:alternate4-2art2.jpg|interior art from issue #2, Virginia Tilley
File:alternate4-2art3.jpg|interior art from issue #2, Virginia Tilley
File:alternate4-2art4.jpg|interior art from issue #2, Virginia Tilley
==Reactions and Reviews: Issue 2==
==Issue 3==
Alternate Universe 4 #3 was published in 1986 and contains 89 pages. Even though it is numbered #3 it was published six years after "Echerni: the Lightfleet Letters." It was the last volume in the series and was edited by Virginia Tilley.
* "The Decision" by Virginia Tilley, illustrated by the author (43 pages) (Spock deduces the existence of Lightfleet and goes out to find it... this piece is a stylistic tapestry more than a story.)
* "Symbiosis" by Virginia Tilley, illustrated by the author (27 pages) (Kirk and T'Ares go to a planet where the culture has inexplicably changed from a free society to a rigid social order.)
* "A Time to Die" by Anna Mary Hall, illustrated by Daphne Ann Hamilton (20 pages) (No ST regulars, set before Kirk comes to Lightfleet. A Lightfleet ship investigates a mysterious ship from its sector.)
File:alternate4art1.jpg|interior art from issue #3, Virginia Tilley
File:alternate4art2.jpg|interior art from issue #3, Daphne Ann Hamilton
File:alternate4art3.jpg|interior art from issue #3, Daphne Ann Hamilton
File:alternate4art4.jpg|interior art from issue #3, Virginia Tilley
==References==
Category:Star Trek TOS Gen and Het Anthology Zines
Category:1974 Zines
Category:1970s Zines
Category:1980s Zines
Category:Shared Universes