History Main / ScavengerWorld

* In WesternAnimation/ThundarrTheBarbarian many humans and other beings live in the ruins of ancient structures and even wear oddly well-preserved 20th Century clothes.
* WesternAnimation/KipoAndTheAgeOfWonderbeasts takes place about two hundred years AfterTheEnd and our heroes subsist partially, by scavaging the ruins of shops where things like bags of crisps and cheese whiz have stayed fresh considerably past their sell-by date. Elsewhere in the setting, plumbing still works and mutant animals ride cars pulled by giant insects.
* WesternAnimation/{{Droners}}: Technology is usually a mix-and match between crude and advanced, human and Aqua parts. Even human-designed machines are often scavenged from the sea, or built with parts that were.

** While things like the UsefulNotes/{{Commodore 64}} or the UsefulNotes/{{Apple II}} have plenty of off-the-shelf components that are still produced to this day, anything that's gone out of production like the 6502 [[UsefulNotes/CentralProcessingUnit processor]][[note]]you can still get the more modern 65C02 if you know where to look, but the original NMOS 6502 and its custom and more unusual variants (like the Atari 6502C and the Commodore 6510) have been out of production for years[[/note]], keyboard keys, [=CRTs=][[note]]which have a limited lifespan, and are often weak or "burned in"[[/note]], etc. is finite and in constant dwindling supply.
** Meanwhile, while there ''are'' many third-party controllers for retro consoles still produced to this day, they are often poorly made and lacking necessary features (like a central pivot in the D-pad, or lacking the [[PressureSensitiveInterface pressure-sensitive shoulder buttons]] of the ''UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube'') that make them difficult to use in lieu of the ever dwindling supply of official leftover components. It's not uncommon to see these things on eBay, advertised as broken and non-functioning, actually being bid on by retro enthusiasts who just want to scavenge the parts.

* During the 2022 invasion of UsefulNotes/{{Ukraine}} by UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}, Russians have been hit by shortages of electronic chips that they used to import, mainly from the US, affecting many things from tanks to missiles. They resorted to using chips from home appliances, particularly washing machines and dishwashers, hence the mass looting of such appliances in Ukraine.\\\
Russian logistics issues and supply shortages have forced their soldiers to scavenge the occupied areas for materials. A picture of a Russian soldier wearing a child's VideoGame/AmongUs themed backpack has particularly become infamous.

** Meanwhile, while there ''are'' many third-party controllers for retro consoles still produced to this day, they are often poorly made and lacking necessary features (like a central pivot in the D-pad, or lacking the pressure-sensitive shoulder buttons of the ''UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube'') that make them difficult to use in lieu of the ever dwindling supply of official leftover components. It's not uncommon to see these things on eBay, advertised as broken and non-functioning, actually being bid on by retro enthusiasts who just want to scavenge the parts.

Moreover, the physical cogs don't last forever; a Scavenger World that goes on long enough usually has to invoke RagnarokProofing to explain why ''anything'' still works at all.[[note]]The SpaceWestern and other UsedFuture flavored sci-fi will often work around this by having the Scavenger World be [[CrapsackWorld a particularly backward region or planet]] that maintains a "pipeline" with a more advanced city or planet that ensures a ''limited'' flow of high tech supplies keeps coming in on a recurrent basis. Said pipeline will invariably be controlled by [[HonestJohnsDealership a shady individual who tends to play favorites]], making it out of reach for the average inhabitant.[[/note]]

* ''Series/BabylonFive'': Implied in "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars". Far in Earth's future, a "great burn-out" has pushed humanity back into the medieval age. The Rangers try to slowly reintroduce technology but have to rely on extraterrestrial help to come by supplies like gasoline.
** This episode was inspired by ''Literature/ACanticleForLeibowitz''.

* ''[[Film/LastSentinel2023 Last Sentinel]]'' takes place on an isolated sea fort, battered by regular storms in a FloodedFutureWorld. The crew supplement their supplies by lowering a net into the ocean and catching the fish that are driven into it by the storm, as well as taking their dinghy out to the [[GreenAesop vast fields of floating debris]] pushed ahead of the storm surge. Both are risky operations because you have to get back to the fort before the storm hits, and there's not enough fuel for the outboard engine, so the boat has to be rowed.

* ''[[Film/LastSentinel2023 Last Sentinel]]'' takes place on an isolated sea fort, battered by regular storms in a FloodedFutureWorld. The crew supplement their supplies by lowering a net into the ocean and catching the fish that are driven into it by the storm, as well as taking their dinghy out to the [[GreenAesop vast fields of floating debris]] pushed ahead of the storm surge. Both are risky operations because you have to get back to the fort before the storm hits.

* ''LightNovel/TheWeatheringContinent'' is set in a desolate world ravaged by disasters and other catastrophe leaving people to scavenge for precious resources like water.

** Some poorer parts of the developing world (e. g. some countries in Africa, or India) can afford little new technology or replacement parts to speak of, forcing them to weld metal using old car batteries or welders with transformers made out of ''cardboard'', which is actually impressive resourcefulness from the people in question.
*** That's how [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Kamkwamba William Kamkwamba]] built his windmill.

** China, in particular, is one of the world's most polluted countries because many people there buy broken-down computers and other tech-junk to burn off the plastic to get to the valuable silver and gold in the circuit boards. The resulting smoke is incredibly toxic, and these people work 9, 10, 11-hour days in this smoke.

* Similarly, anyone in the retro video game or computer scene knows the feeling all too well. While things like the UsefulNotes/{{Commodore 64}} or the UsefulNotes/{{Apple II}} have plenty of off-the-shelf components that are still produced to this day, anything that's gone out of production like the 6502 [[UsefulNotes/CentralProcessingUnit processor]][[note]]you can still get the more modern 65C02 if you know where to look, but the original NMOS 6502 and its custom and more unusual variants (like the Atari 6502C and the Commodore 6510) have been out of production for years[[/note]], keyboard keys, [=CRTs=][[note]]which have a limited lifespan, and are often weak or "burned in"[[/note]], etc. is finite and in constant dwindling supply. Meanwhile, while there ''are'' many third-party controllers for retro consoles still produced to this day, they are often poorly made and lacking necessary features (like a central pivot in the D-pad, or lacking the pressure-sensitive shoulder buttons of the ''UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube'') that make them difficult to use in lieu of the ever dwindling supply of official leftover components. It's not uncommon to see these things on eBay, advertised as broken and non-functioning, actually being bid on by retro enthusiasts who just want to scavenge the parts.

* During the 2022 invasion of UsefulNotes/{{Ukraine}} by UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}, Russians have been hit by shortages of electronic chips that they used to import, mainly from the US, affecting many things from tanks to missiles. They resorted to using chips from home appliances, particularly washing machines and dishwashers, hence the mass looting of such appliances in Ukraine.
** Russian logistics issues and supply shortages have forced their soldiers to scavenge the occupied areas for materials. A picture of a Russian soldier wearing a child's VideoGame/AmongUs themed backpack has particularly become infamous.

* ''Warlords of the 21st Century'', a.k.a. ''Battletruck''.

Moreover, the physical cogs don't last forever; a Scavenger World that goes on long enough usually has to invoke RagnarokProofing to explain why ''anything'' still works at all.[[note]]The SpaceWestern and other UsedFuture flavored sci-fi will often work around this by having the Scavenger World being [[CrapsackWorld a particularly backward region or planet]] that maintains a "pipeline" with a more advanced city or planet that ensures a ''limited'' flow of high tech supplies keeps coming in on a recurrent basis. Said pipeline will invariably be controlled by [[HonestJohnsDealership a shady individual who tends to play favorites]], making it out of reach for the average inhabitant.[[/note]]

Moreover, the physical cogs don't last forever; a Scavenger World that goes on long enough usually has to invoke RagnarokProofing to explain why ''anything'' still works at all.[[note]]The SpaceWestern and other UsedFuture flavored sci-fi will often work around this by having the Scavenger World being [[CrapsackWorld a particularly backward region or planet]] that maintains a "pipeline" with a more advanced city or planet that ensures a ''limited'' flow of new tech keeps coming in on a recurrent basis. Said pipeline will invariably be controlled by [[HonestJohnsDealership a shady individual who tends to play favorites]], making it out of reach for the average inhabitant.[[/note]]

Moreover, the physical cogs don't last forever; a Scavenger World that goes on long enough usually has to invoke RagnarokProofing to explain why ''anything'' still works at all.[[note]]The SpaceWestern and other UsedFuture flavored sci-fi will often work around this by having the Scavenger World being [[CrapsackWorld a particularly backward region or planet]] within reasonable distance to a more advanced civilization with which it maintains a "pipeline" that ensures a limited flow of new tech comes in on a recurrent basis. Said pipeline will invariably be controlled by [[HonestJohnsDealership a shady individual who tends to play favorites]], making it out of reach for the average inhabitant.[[/note]]

Moreover, the physical cogs don't last forever; a Scavenger World that goes on long enough usually has to invoke RagnarokProofing to explain why ''anything'' still works at all.

In terms of combat, expect most people to be kitted out in ImprovisedArmour and wielding {{Improvised Weapon}}s.

** The Helm Memory Core (AKA the Gray Death Memory Core) was a ''bit'' more than a "data disk"; officially it was designated "Star League Field Library Facility, Helm, DE890-2699" and was a massive computer facility and data archive built into an enlarged system of natural caves underneath a mountain range, with built-in {{Ragnarok Proofing}} to keep it safe. It was an intentional {{Fling a Light into the Future}} situation where the idealistic officer of an engineering battalion foresaw the humanity-spanning wars just over the horizon, and so he had his men construct a huge data archive to preserve the advanced knowledge of the Star League, which was basically humanity's Golden Age. That long-ago officer would have been happy to know that his plan ended up being massively successful, and lead to a technological renaissance across the Inner Sphere of human space, an in-universe event which moved the entire setting ''away" from its original Scavenger World scenario toward a more standard Military Science-Fiction setting.

* ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'' started out this way, with the destruction of almost all the infrastructure to build the interstellar starships (FTL warship shipyards were all lost), and most of the factories to produce advanced technology were destroyed or abandoned, causing mechs and tanks to be pilfered for spare parts. Things eventually got better with the discovery of a data disc containing schematics for the destroyed factories and the underlying science for some equipment. Battlefield Salvage is still a critical component of most games.

* ''Series/{{Andor}}'': The industry on Ferrix is mostly connected to salvage yards, and repurposing old unwanted parts and finding uses of derelict ships is a standard cultural practice. Cassian remembers his father telling him about seeing past the rust to the potential of things.