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TALES FROMTHE FUTURE
The Disarmament Race
An international conference was held for the security councils of the milit-
ary blocs of the different countries and continents. There, plans were
worked out for the emergency recycling of military equipment and ammuni-
tion. Scientists from different countries exchanged their experience in recyc-
ling technologies. Psychologists spoke constantly in the media, trying to
avert a panic among the populace, which owned various types of firearms.
Panic arose after news of the Russian phenomenon was leaked to the media.
The facts were somewhat distorted.
Several Western news sources spoke about how Russia was recycling the
ammunition on its territory on an emergency basis and was preparing at x-
hour to blow up the military reserves of other countries, destroying in the
process the majority of the population. People started throwing the firearms
and ammunition they had into the rivers and burying them in wastelands be-
cause official recycling depots could not accept them from those who
wanted to turn them in.
Fines were set for unauthorized recycling. Middleman firms took large
payment for accepting each cartridge, but this did not stop those who
wanted to from getting rid of what presented a threat to the lives of entire
families. The people of cities located close to military bases demanded that
the authorities immediately eliminate military sites. But the defense in-
dustry, which had been refocused to recycle what it had previously pro-
duced, was working at the limit of its capacity as it was. The press of many
Western countries began to spread more and more rumors about how Russia
was threatening the world with disaster. The world could not get rid of its
accumulated weapons, and many enterprises recycling military arms and
ammunition were working at the limit of their capacity. They could not des-
troy the weapons produced over decades in just a few months.
The Russian government was accused of allegedly knowing for a long
