This is what makes sci-fi so fun. Imagine aliens terraforming our atmosphere to create a nuclear winter that kills most native life! Or a bacteria evolves that destroys all metal (like wind turbines or solar panels), that would set energy technology WAY back. There are some fantasy type novels out there with a similar hidden backstory - some type of technological destruction followed by humanity evolving to have magic, sometimes with the help of alien life forms or exposure to something that changes the DNA