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This short story is about an engineer who sabotages the engines on a floating city where the rich and well-to-do live apart from normal humanity causing it to crash on Earth killing everyone on board...

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That would be Shah Guido G. (1951), I believe.

It is, indeed by Asimov, and is one of the stories where the entire plot is nothing but the setup for an atrocious pun. (Specifically, it's what's referred to as a 'Shaggy Dog' story. Don't believe me? Look at the title again.. Shah - Gui - doG.)

Short synopsis: The floating city has been hovering on the edge of it's maximum load limit for a while. The 'hero' of the story arranges for all of the Guardians (the 'Waves'), in their ships, to land at once, overloading the generators that kept the city afloat, and causing it to come crashing to the ground.

This is all for the pun that, once again, Atlantis (for so the floating city was named)

sank beneath the waves.

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  • Your answer is good but my memory of that story is not. Dec 8, 2014 at 0:21
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    Sweet angry cats! That's horrible! I am glad this story (apparently) sank out of sight... Asimov, were he alive, were ought to have been ashamed. Huff huff! Etc.
    – Lexible
    Dec 8, 2014 at 1:45
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    This description reminds me of another short story, by Arthur C. Clarke: the 'Star Mangled Spanner' - wordplay turned into a rather far-fetched tale :)
    – user36953
    Dec 8, 2014 at 8:36
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    Huh. For some reason, I was thinking that was the story that ended with the line parodying "Give My Regards to Broadway", but that's apparently "Death of a Foy".
    – FuzzyBoots
    Dec 8, 2014 at 19:11
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    At 32 seconds this is officially the fastest-ever answer on SFF.SE (with the exception of self-answers). Congrats!
    – Rand al'Thor
    Aug 14, 2015 at 23:21

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