The Meadow by Ray Bradbury. Short summary

5 seconds

As a result of the work, major cities such as New York, Port Said, Glasgow and London ceased to exist. The night watchman was already watching what was left of these cities.

1 minute

In the middle of the day the work of destroying some of the major cities began. Thus before nightfall such megacities as London, New York, Glasgow and Port Said ceased to exist.

The watchman on night duty found only what was left of these cities. All that was left of them were ruins. Not even the walls had been spared. And only the wind furrowed the former streets of the major metropolises.

Reaching the high fence, the old man opens it. Opening the gate, the man observes other large cities. Among them are Moscow, Alexandria, and New York. The old man also pays attention to such cities as Dublin, Johannesburg, Rio de Janeiro, Provincetown, Clearwater, Stockholm.

Some of the procedures for wiping cities off the face of the earth the man had seen firsthand. He caught the cars rolling up to the fences with a big roar. He also saw workers lighting up from jewelry lighters. He saw businessmen in suits overseeing the process.