Talk:Nightblood/@comment-47.20.143.234-20170325204447/@comment-27794543-20170326022424

Originally Grounders were just modern day Americans (well, 35 years in the future since the apocalypse happened in 2052). So these were people who knew about technology. Becca came back to Earth in 2054, so it's likely that the original generation of "Grounders" knew that the "Flame" was a neurological implant and an AI. However, over generations, a lot of knowledge was lost, so instead of science, ALIE 2 became religion.

As for the warrior culture, heda, ascension, etc. none of this is ever explained. I guess the assumption is that because of survival needs, knowledge of science and tech became irrelevant, warrior culture and physical fitness prevailed.