Futuristic A World of Rust and Metal

[Vampunk]

Locations​

The war that covered the entire globe did leave its mark on the world, changing the landscape in the aftermath of the destructive power of the bombs that ended the war, abruptly and with no winners to celebrate their victory.
Yet, after almost two hundred years after the war, the world is recovering, or at least to some extent, leaving a vast wasteland to be explored.


America, the year is 2241
Most of the cities established in the prior centuries, once blooming examples of human civilization, were targeted by atomic explosions, leaving most of the west and east coast a ruined stripe of land. The cities of New York, San francisco and Washington are highly radioactive wastes that sadly, still haven't lost any of their importance as vaults filled with the technologies of a bygone age still remain hidden in the ruins of that age.

The center of the once great continent was mostly untouched by atomic bombs, yet evacuation and the war raging on in the heart of the country left most cities ghost towns, retaken by nature as vegetation grows on cold metal and cement.
Scrap metal, useful tech and other trinkets could still be found in these homes, with these ruins often even housing hermits...or worse.

But the majority of the land, where humankind was completely removed, is now covered in vast grasslands, reaching as far as the eye can see.
Lush green grass and flat earth, prairies of old now being the testimony to the notion that there is no definitive end...

Humankind​

Humankind almost went extinct from the horrors of war, the last remaining specimens surviving in vaults or other refuges, as the world wide conflict destroyed human civilization. What once connected the entire globe was gone, with society being reduced to simply surviving. Continents being no longer in contact, as Americans no longer know what Europeans are up to, or if "Europe" even exists anymore.

The survivors of the war now had to struggle to find their new place in the world...
Small town-like societies were built around plots of fertile land, unspoiled water or the refuges they had used to survive the war in. Farming being one of the only ways to survive as humanity had to go back to the basics of living, just like their ancestors had to.

But not everyone lives this simple, yet idyllic life.
There are Scrappers, individuals who venture out into the wasteland in search of treasures. Old tech, unclaimed Mechs, vaults that may be filled with other riches, or simply in order to find new habitable ground or find others just like them. They are rangers in a hazardous land.

And then there are bandits and war bands, wicked humans who still seek to rule with fear and metal terror. They carved out their own little kingdom and seek to expand their reach, claiming good farm land and enslaving those living there as they're only proficient in one thing: Murder

The Mechas​

The last war was not only fought with men and women, but also with machines. Marvels of technology, not utilized to help humanity reach for the stars, but rather help them destroy each other.
Titans of steel, they are towering colossi that were created to aid their human partners, to be their loyal friends, to be their ultimate protector.

These Mechs are not just machines, they are sentient beings, sophisticated programming imitating the very processes that make us human in an attempt to create identities for these machines that contrast their pilot's.
They form a perfect circle with their partners, their behavioral patterns balancing out those of their pilot while​

adaptability gives them the capacity to learn and pick up on social cues.

Yet most of them can only link once to a pilot, going insane, or rather glitching out if their partner dies of unnatural causes and does not issues them a command to survive and bond with a different human.

These titans that go mad can be found wandering the endless wastelands, no destination in mind, just their bizarre code compelling them to wade across the fields. A memento to their fallen friends.


These Mechas, while designed for war, are intelligent being and have become some of the most important pillars of this new fledgling civilization, allowing them to survive in the wasteland and reclaim more and more of what was once lost.
Goliaths range from 6 to 20 meters in height and weigh up to 50 tons, with their cockpits being small, chamber like pods that their pilots can make their homes, life support systems and neural linking devices allowing the human mind and A.I to connect. An implant in the pilot's neural system being necessary for such a thing, a procedure that every human partner has to go through, leaving the human skull with a metal connection point for the titan's main frame.

Technology
Strong electrical sources make up the center of human society, powered by wind, by flowing water, or in some extremely rare cases, tech from before the war. They are situated in the heart of their colonies and power most of their households, farming equipment and other simple luxuries.
Analog tech from previous ages that have been scavenged make up most of the standard human devices.
Augmentation of humans is not widespread, but is common in most Goliath's David's, using neural transmitting devices to link to their titanic protectors. Some limbs can be replaced with metal prosthetics, yet the technology is far from refined and does not yield any benefit other than regaining one's bodily functions.
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