so it was that the flesh demons ruled the wasteland and took humans as sacrifice ; so it was that the most popular idea in the world was the idea that that which stands out puts the tribe at risk , thus making it the duty of the tribe to stifle that which is not the norm ; so it was that other city-states in the wasteland hid behind walls and guns and rarely venture out ; so it was that the people of haven , despite their science and their democracy , never thought to expand beyond their hidden land , and always kept their heads down , and always knew their limits .