Fallout was supposed to be satire. In general, be suspicious of somebody selling you insurance against the apocalypse. The very transaction implies they aren't

Fallout was supposed to be satire. In general, be suspicious of somebody selling you insurance against the apocalypse. The very transaction implies they aren't as concerned as you. It also speaks about the disconnect the future vault-dwellers feel about the world, as if they expect their place in the world will remain static. Looking at the Roman empire's fall, it was less cataclysmic than an orderly retreat by the Core from the Periphery [0], leaving local elites in charge of protection and development when the legions left. This means a current slice of high-elite is leaving physically and economically critical infrastructure abandoned to another elite to take up. A smarter elite would be building redoubts along these strategic lines rather than disconnecting entirely. [0]: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/23756480_Cyclical_Development_of_Empires_-_an_Application_of_Krugman%27s_Theory https://www.researchgate.net/publication/23756480_Cyclical_D...