First published by Game Designers' Workshop in the summer of 1977, Traveller was one of the first science fiction roleplaying games (indeed, it was one of the first RPGs of any sort). Traveller rapidly became the standard against which other SF roleplaying games were judged, and influenced many other designs in many other genres. The game went through several editions over the years, and quite a few changes were incorporated along the way. One of these was the Rebellion, something GDW did to bring conflict and excitement to campaigns that had become dull and mundane.

In the 1116th year of the Imperium, Emperor Strephon was assassinated by a rival, and the Third Imperium split into several factions. This change brought excitement to many campaigns, but other players and referees felt that the universe was exciting enough without an empire-wide civil war. It is for these people that an alternate history has been created, where Strephon, the 43rd Emperor of the Third Imperium, lives and the Rebellion never happened.