The Nog Of War

Timothy looked out of the window of his Nog proof shelter at the Nog or Nano-Fog which shrouded the entire landscape beyond the shelter and, he knew, most of Britain.
Nano-fog wasn't like real fog; it was a dense mist of particle sized nano-bots released by the Axis of Enemy Nations that attacked any Allied soldier that tried to wade through it like a swarm of angry killer bees.
And the most horrific thing about Nog, thought Timothy, was that anyone not wearing a Nog proof suit and Nog-mask could inhale it into their lungs through their mouth or nostrils or it could even enter through your ears or your tear ducts.
He had seen what Nog could do to people, both on safety demonstration videos and first hand.
One of his friends in C- division had been lost in the Nog; Railey Ebbans.
She hadn't fastened her Nog mask and helmet securely to her suit and the Nog particles, converging tightly around her head had dragged them up and off.
He'd heard Railey scream for just a moment, inhaling a lungfull of Nog with that scream and then she'd gone silent.
Timothy heard the sound of the outer airlock of the shelter opening and, on a CCTV monitor, saw Commander Ericsson entering then, after the outer airlock had automatically relocked and resealed itself, jets of Nano-destroying gas spraying him from all angles; decontaminating him.
Now the inner airlock door opened and Commander Ericsson entered, unlocking and sliding off his mask and helmet.
The door closed itself behind him.
"Its getting worse out there, Lieutenant", he said.
"How so?", asked Timothy.
"The Nog particles", he replied, "I felt as if the repellent field generated by my suit and helmet was struggling to cope; that they might have united into a solid wall and crushed me if I hadn't got back to the shelter just in time".
"It must be alot clearer out there by now, surely? After all the time that the Nog-sweepers have spent spraying decontaminant into the air", asked Timothy.
"Well it still looks like a pea-souper to me", said Erricson, "From sector 8 to sector 23 is all buried in Nog".
They heard a buzzing crackle and the face of Colonel Luffbridge at Central Command appeared on one of the big communication screens.
"This is an urgent message going out to all our military personnel", said the colonel, "Recent evidence indicates that the Nog particles have started to evolve. Once only able to form themselves into primitive shapes like spheres and walls, we believe that Nog particles have now developed the ability to unite themselves into much more complex things. Please view all solid matter with caution and, if in doubt, spray it with decontaminant. Transmission ended".
The screen went black.
"Hmm?", said Timothy, "I wonder what he meant by 'more complex things' and how exactly does the Nog evolve?".
"Well, the Nog is a swarm of self-replicating robots with a collective intelligence. Everytime we destroy its clouds, the surviving particles learn and adapt and when they replicate, their offspring are even stronger and smarter than the previous generation", said Erricson, "Fighting the Nog isn't like fighting a single weapon; its like being in an arms race with an enemy nation that is always upping its game".
"But what is its game? What form do you think its taking?", asked Timothy.
"Well the Nogs main objective is to get past our defences", said Erricson, "To find a form that would allow it to enter our Nog shelters".
"But surely, no matter what form it took, it would still be destroyed by the decontaminant thats sprayed on everything that passes through the airlock", said Timothy.
"Not necessarily", said Erricson, placing a hand on Timothys shoulder, "Not if it was wearing a suit".
"Wearing a suit?", asked Timothy.
But then he heard a noise, like the hiss of gas escaping or a snake about to strike and, turning his head, he saw the solid face of Erricson evaporating into Nog.