With the dissolution of NATO back in 2113, the Russian Federation began simultaneous assaults upon Bulgaria and Ukraine.
General Zharkarov’s army advanced upon Plovdiv, Bulgaria…but the city was missing. Days later, aircraft found it, 40 miles distant. They advanced again only to arrive and…the city was missing again.
Four disappearances later, security teams brought Kazimir to Zharkarov.
“It’s nanotechnology,” explained Kazimir. He held up a vial. “All of Plovdiv, including people, is recorded right here. It can be reconstituted within a day. NATO gave the tech to us and said we didn’t need their protection anymore.”
“Impossible!” growled Zharkarov.
Kazimir grinned, “A demonstration is in order.” He keyed codes into his cell phone. The vial burst open. Soon they stood atop a building overlooking a growing city.
“A tactical error!” crowed Zharkarov. “Now my Army can capture your city.”
Kazimir smiled. “What Army? The materials to reconstitute the city were your army!”
_____________________________________
Written for What Pegman Saw: https://whatpegmansaw.com/2017/10/21/bulgaria/
Author’s Notes:
NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of nations formed to oppose the Warsaw Pact nations of the old USSR. Though the USSR broke up, NATO remains until now. Bulgaria is a member of NATO.
EagleAye
Momus News 
Kind of like that Star Trek episode where the hostile aliens used a device to deconstruct people into little white octohedrons that could be stacked and stored. I think that the idea of NATO being around another century is wildly optimistic, but then I am a student of history. History will make a cynic out of anyone. 😉 Nicely done.
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History is supposed to make us smarter. 😉
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Pretty much, although I don’t think nanotechnology existed at the time so that wasn’t offered as an explanation. Still, Star Trek was always ahead of its time. And yeah, I agree that NATO may not exist that long. Once again, I didn’t know a lot about Bulgaria. I noticed it is a member of NATO which is interesting because it was formerly a Warsaw Pact nation. That point dominated my thinking and worked its way into the story. I study history too, and I know what you mean. 😉 Thanks much, JH!
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A delightful tale with a truly happy ending! On the other hand, poor army! Oh well. Plovdiv will be a city with a lot of personality.
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Haha! You could say it’s “built on people.” Glad you enjoyed this. Thanks so much! 🙂
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So all the people in the Army are now part of the city…I mean as sidewalks, and buildings, and such…
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Yep. Soldiers, tanks, bullets, radios, all broken down into component atoms. Then reconstructed into I-beams, wood, and concrete. I’d call that a 100% casualty rate. Yipes!
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That nanotechnology wins every time. Satisfying and wonderfully written!
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Hehe. Oh yeah. It has that much potential. Thanks so much! 🙂
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You’ve written a fun story, EagleAye, and turned the tables nicely on the invading Russian Federation. You’ve compressed plenty of detail into the story, without making it stilted. Well written!
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Thanks for the glowing words! I feel like I did journeyman work today. Much appreciated. 🙂
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Hmmn… 2113. Shows they weren’t RUSSIAN into things… (groan). 😀
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Uh, uh *groan* 🙂 Okay, puns like that make me Hungary.
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Aaaaaargh! That was Spainful… 🙂
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Don’t you just Haiti it? 😉
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Love the title! Although it raises the question: if the technology requires material to reconstitute the city, what happens to the material of the city when it “unconstitutes”? Big puddles?
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Excellent question, Joy! The city gets broken down into carbon, iron, silica, hydrogen, oxygen, and some trace minerals and metals. Most of this is dust that blows away. More becomes mud on the ground. The really important stuff like nickel, copper, gold and so forth gets formed into huge bars and they’re loaded onto trucks when the city gets moved. I didn’t have room to explain all this so I’m glad you asked. Thanks Joy!
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Okay then, as long as you have all the details worked out — carry on! 😉
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well done- I laughed twice within this piece…
so fun ….
and side note – nano stuff scares me….
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Hehe. Glad to hear that. Smart people are scared of nano stuff because it’s really powerful. When nanotechnology gets powerful enough to make/destroy whole cities, it’ll make nuclear weapons look like children’s toys.
Thanks much!
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Eeks – even more scary
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Gives a whole new meaning for “of the people, by the people, for the people.” Isn’t Nano technology amazing 😀
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Haha! Definitely “…of the people.” Nanotech is amazing. When it really finds its stride it will radically change society. Making things will be so easy it will make money…irrelevant. Thanks Lyn!
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Dear Eric,
Soylent Green is people!!!! There. I got that out of my system. Now if we could only shrink ISIS and other terrorist groups. As always, your story is imaginative and clever.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Haha! It’s hard to miss the comparison. And you’re right, if we could only turn ISIS fighters into schools and medicines, they would finally be useful to the world! 😉 Thanks kindly! 🙂
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That’s some extreme recycling project they have going on there! Nice spin into sci-fi from that prompt, EagleAye.
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Haha! “Extreme recycling,” I love the term. Glad you enjoyed this. Thanks very much! 🙂
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My pleasure 🙂
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Bwahahaha! Nicely imagined.
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Hehe. Thank you kindly! 🙂
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Nano technology and smartphones. The future is bright! Until the technology falls into the wrong hands, the wrong hands, the wrong hands, the… human hands.
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Haha! No kidding. Anything that’s incredibly powerful at “creation” will be equally powerful at “destruction.” Thus, in “human hands” it could go either way. We’ll need even tighter restrictions than on nukes to manage nanotech.
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