Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn't Know About The Bell Riots

When Cold And Distant Stars didn't work out, Behr drew inspiration from the Attica Prison Riot of 1971. There are several parallels between Past Tense and the Attica riots, though perhaps the clearest is the reasons behind them.

Before the outbreak of rioting in Attica on September 8th, 1971, many of the New York State prison's inmates were demanding improved conditions within the overcrowded facility. Attica, which had been designed to accommodate 1200 prisoners, had a population that swelled to over 2200. Racial inequality was rife, with African American prisoners forming more than half of the population. 

Warden Vincent Mancusi subjected inmates to restrictions on their reading material and belongings, further fuelling tensions. In August 1971, a prominent member of the Black Panther Party, George Jackson, was shot and killed during an escape attempt from San Quentin State Prison. The following day, many of the Attica prisoners staged a hunger strike in protest. With nerves frayed, and conditions as poor as they were, the riot erupted following a fight between two inmates, which quickly escalated, involving many prison guards.

The riot lasted four days, at the end of which time more than 40 people were dead, most of whom from gunshot wounds as the government retook the prison. 

The inspirations that Past Tense takes from these events are obvious. Another source that Behr and Wolfe drew from was the Kent State Massacre (4th May, 1970). There, Ohio Nation Guardsmen killed four, and wounded a further nine, Kent State students who had been protesting the United States' Vietnam War expansion into Cambodia, as well as the National Guard's campus presence, and the draft. 

The clear common thread between both of these inspirations was the deaths of unarmed people, as well as the historical vindication that followed these incidents.