With the Night Mail and As Easy as A.B.C.: Two Yarns About the Aerial Board of Control

Rudyard Kipling's thrilling science fiction novella follows the exploits of an intercontinental mail dirigible battling foul weather. Meanwhile, a planet-wide Aerial Board of Control enforces a rigid system of command and control in the skies and in world affairs, too. In Kipling's 1912 follow-up story, 'As Easy As A.B.C.,' set 65 years after With the Night Mail, the Aerial Board has complete control over the social and economic affairs of every nation. When a mob of disgruntled 'Serviles' in the District of Northern Illinois demands the return of democracy, the A.B.C. sends a team of troubleshooters and a fleet of 200 zeppelins to 'take such steps as might be necessary for the resumption of traffic and all that that implies.'