UNITED AIR POLICE

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/08/army-spy-blimp/

The following is a bad example of a short work of science fiction:

I never thought I was worthy to be an Air Policeman. Not in this country, anyway. This is the big leagues. I was always careful to follow the letter of the law, that's the secret of my success.

I had to pound the ground for a while like anyone, but my enthusiasm for police work paid in spades. My dream as a kid was to be a cop. I was a natural and quickly found myself recommended for my local city Air Corps. I flew some of the early prototypes designed as one man-movers. Mostly they had great computer-assistance but you had to watch out for the occasional glitch. Some guys were killed.

Anyway, I was good enough to get noticed by the feds. Flying for the feds fulfilled my life's dream, but you can't take flying leaps into angry crowds forever. I got too old for that shit.

So now I'm Captain of the United battleship Obama. We patrol the California area, mostly. As a very large airship we are required by law to keep moving at all times. We cast a very large shadow over the land. Sometimes we move so slow we look like we're standing still but we're just barely moving.

We are capable of launching over one hundred man-movers and twenty tactical response vehicles. We can deliver our full force anywhere in our patrol space within eight hours. When federal assistance is needed, we are ready to respond to any threat. One small rocket team will quell any small crowd.

Before you can command a first-line police battleship like the Obama, you have to prove yourself with a rust bucket over Rio. It's easy to lose your focus in Brazil. Most of the beat pilots are jaded and all of them take payoffs. Most of the payoffs were just common sense, anyway. It's cheaper to pay a small fee than to fix a broken nose.

Of course most broken noses needed breaking, anyway. Sometimes you pay and still get broken.

People just have to follow the rules and everything will be cool. Don't congregate or suffer the consequences if you know what I mean. If you want to join a team, become an Air Policeman like me.