History is full of stories of societies that, just as they seem to be at the height of their power, fall to depths that their citizens could not have imagined. Some of these falls merely passed the reins of power from the falling empire to a neighboring rising empire, while others brought the downfall of the known world. This fall is one of the latter.

The Third Imperium fell in a frenzy of self-destruction unmatched in history. As many as 10 trillion deaths resulted from the Imperial Civil War and the artificially intelligent virus.

History is also clear that creative forces are ultimately more powerful than destructive forces. Inside every intelligent race there is a force which will be bowed. While it may be temporarily defeated, it will never surrender.

No matter the catastrophe, and no matter how long it takes, it is that force that will always find a survival margin.

The Imperium is dead. Long live the New Era.

Survival Margin contains:
• Selected Traveller News Service articles recording the long slide into chaos, from the 1116 assassination of Stephon to the 1130 release of final weapon. Annotated with the private, persoral observations of Emperor Strephon, Archduke Dulinor, and Archduke Norris.
• History of the "virus" -that artificially intelligent computer life form that changed the face of the Imperium.
• Overview of the emergence of the mysterious Star Vikings.
• Procedures for updating Traveller and MegaTraveller player characters into the Traveller: The New Era system.