system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[Judge Dredd] Are the Mega-Cities independent of each other?

So I am asking about how the Mega-Cities deal with each other. I understand that there are like a dozen mega-cities scattered all over the planet.

Are they independent? Do they conduct trade with each other?

What about the areas outside the mega-cities in the wastelands? Are there 'nations', 'countries' or 'empires' that exist in their own global order?
gpt
To all extents and purposes, each Mega-City is an independent sovereign nation, and acts as such in terms of trade, war, treaties, etc. They're generally pretty insular, but all the interactions we've seen them have has played out in the style of nations interacting with each other. There's no higher authority.

As for the wastelands, no, there's not really any major powers there. It's just scattered towns and cities. Occasional attempts have been made to form powers able to rival the Mega-Cities, but all have failed. There's simply not enough resources to sustain anything major and besides, the Mega Cities don't want the competition.