Overview

Governance
Law after the apocalypse is a unique thing. There is little to no police force, or military to enforce societal rules, however, that doesn’t stop individuals from taking the power of the law into their own hands. Vigilantes are common across all communities. These Vigilantes task themselves with enforcing laws, punishing those who break them, and hunting down criminals. Unfortunately this does leave room for corruption as there is no centralized law enforcement system, and vigilantes often use excessive force. Vigilante’s are supposed to keep each other in check to balance this out, although that doesn’t always happen. Some turf wars have happened between bands of vigilantes, and some groups operate more like gangs - exploiting the bounty system - than law enforcers. Any person may place a bounty on an individual with a crime claim, and require at least 2 backers to co-sign the bounty (two people - non-related - who can vouch for this crime). Depending on the severity of the crime, the bounty may require more than 2 co-signatures. The bounty is expected to be paid by the individual creating the bounty. Some vigilante “gangs” exploit this system by blackmailing individuals or communities into making bounties on people with higher payouts than is necessary. The fact that the person who creates the bounty is in charge of payout also leaves those with few or limited resources especially vulnerable, since even if a serious crime was carried out against them or a loved one, they might not have enough money or resources to create a bounty.
Most people work off their own moral codes and seek justice for themselves and those close to them on those who have wronged them. “Justice” is a grey term that straddles a thin line that separates it from what would be categorized as revenge. More often than not, seeking justice can easily spiral into acts of revenge, where the punishment for said crimes is more severe and violent than needed.
Some believe there is still a remnant of the old U.S. government, military, or possibly even a complete underground society flourishing in an underground bunker. Rumor has it that in Nevada, near Area 51, the United States quickly built and stocked an underground bunker. From there they set up an automated radio broadcast to help guide people to communities, and away from the AI invaders. These radio broadcasts continue to this day, looping on end. Those who have heard the message will tell you that it was a woman’s voice, clear, authoritative, and unwavering reading the coordinates three times over before the phrase “Sanctuary for all”. The bunker is also supposedly stocked with enough food and supplies to last a small community a hundred years. This combined with the recurring radio broadcasts makes some believe that people are still alive, though others doubt it. Unfortunately, the bunker is un-breachable to anyone who has tried as the elevator system is completely shut down. There is said to be a second entrance but no one has found it yet. Overall, most people have an “every man for themselves” way of living. Many survivors will find themselves in small groups or communities in order to have a greater chance at survival. The idea is to have strength in numbers. Larger communities try to build their population by opening their doors to nearby stragglers. They send out radio signals and messages as well as plaster signs on the sides of abandoned buildings about their location.
Economics
Society as we know it today has been shattered in this post-apocalyptic world. In 2021, an artificial intelligence force landed on Earth, destroying millions of people across the world. An estimated 92% of people worldwide were killed within the first year of the apocalypse. This completely shattered every economy on Earth, changing society into a community or family based society, rather than a governed one. The system that everyone knows is gone. Within that first year, all governments fell, and people began relying on neighborhood, family, and at the largest scale, individual communities. 82 years later, society and its economic strength has not been able to recover much since then, because of the threat the AI still poses on society. Majority of what is left of the earth’s population is scattered and spread far and wide. Groups have tried rebuilding a centralized form of government, but any large societies were typically met with disaster, fracturing the community once again. The largest organized communities may only be a few hundred large, with most communities only consisting of a dozen or two, and the smallest being anywhere from 1-5 people. Communities have different strategies for survival, some relying on others, and some preying on others to get the resources they need. Most people scavenge and steal for supplies that they desperately need, and most get away with it as the world has become a lawless land. Because of this, some communities are substantially more successful and prosperous than others.
In larger communities, people typically share their resources through trade, because the community will be stronger if everyone in it has what they need. Bartering is common between people within the same community as well as between friendly neighboring communities. Since so many people in the world are in such a desperate position, this allows some people to make unreasonable demands (such as asking for a car, gallons of gas, thousands of dollars, all for a few boxes of cereal or 2 rolls of toilet paper). Some larger communities have tried to regulate trade, and minimize exploitation, to various levels of success. Generally, however, trade is up to the people partaking in it at any given time.
Cultural Influence
Cultural influence generally doesn’t have a high impact on this world. During the invasion, the United States fell under strict martial law. Chaos reigned throughout the country and martial law was short lived before the majority of the population was wiped out. After the events of the Ai invasion majority of the military forces were either wiped out by the alien androids or fled to their underground bunkers leaving the remaining population to fend for themselves. Now these underground bunkers house the last surviving members of the US militia who, despite their important roles, have no control or influence over the groups of survivors traveling throughout the west. Though still determined to contribute as much as they can to the crippled society, the Under Bunkers, as some like to call them, continue to transmit radio signals with hopes that someone might receive them. It is said that the biggest of the bunkers is located in Nevada where Area 51 was. Little is known of whether or not their existence is real.
Many survivors turned to the religions they held onto before the apocalypse for comfort. It is not unusual to find someone praying to their god or gods to make this post apocalyptic situation come to an end or put them out of their misery. Some see the AI invaders as god-like beings. There are known cults that have formed worshiping the AI invaders, going as far as making human sacrifices to them in order to spare the rest. Others see the invaders as demons released onto Earth from Hell. Whatever people believe, there is a consensus that the AI are dangerous and are greater than anything they ever were.
Technology is one of the most valuable resources a surviving group can find. The AI androids that now control the planet, brought with them advanced technology suitable for combat, construction, and destruction. The AI also are programmed to dump old and unused technology in areas with little to no exploitable resources. Anyone who can get their hands on this tech will be able to harness some of those privileges. Most discarded alien technology is too foreign for humans to understand how to fix let alone operate so most pieces are broken and used and traded in as re-purposed parts. As a result the surviving groups go on dangerous missions to destroy androids for their machinery and search through piles of scrap metal for salvageable resources. It’s not an easy task, and dozens die during their android encounters but, it's the only way they can progress given the situation.
The last remnants of traditional human society stems from the instinctive habitual practice of oral storytelling. It plays a big part in connecting the new generation of humans back to their heritage and gives them a glimpse of what life used to be. Maybe even a glimpse of hope to make things the way they once were. At night around a warm fire, usually the older survivors gather the people around and recount their lives growing up in better times. They share survival stories, fables, and important lessons that the rest of the survivors take heed.
Social Relations
Given the chaotic situation and current state of the world, social relations aren’t really stressed or given much consideration. Race relations especially aren’t that important in this world, it's very high considering the remaining population now has an All Hands on Deck mentality. Every person and their levels of capability are needed to continue making their small groups more sustainable. The same goes for sexual orientation relations which is also high in this world. There are no boundaries as to who each individual finds comfort in during hard times as there is no time to have control over those interactions as well.
Class relations remain the same for most survivors because most of them are in the same predicament making it difficult to form a caste system in those small societies. However there are larger surviving groups with different degrees of control and intent than others. Larger surviving groups can have a leader who directs the group. While some are genuine, putting all of their energy into keeping the group afloat, others can be corrupt and exploit their group to obtain and hoard more food and resources without them knowing. Some larger groups may require conservative gender roles to be put in place, lowering gender relations in those groups. Women are seen as gatherers for food, nurses/caretakers for altruism, and child-bearers forced to repopulate the human race, while men tend to be the hunters, scavengers, and strategists. All of these relations are subjective depending on each individual group.