The Most Serene Republic of Palason is a large, environmentally stunning nation, renowned for its state-planned economy, compulsory military service, and restrictive gun laws. The compassionate, cynical population of 191 million Palasonians are ruled without fear or favor by a psychotic dictator, who outlaws just about everything and refers to the populace as "my little playthings."

The government — a sprawling, bureaucracy-choked, moralistic, socially-minded, well-organized morass — juggles the competing demands of Welfare, Education, and Law & Order. The average income tax rate is 77.2%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The sizeable but stagnant Palasonian economy, worth 1.78 trillion quins a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is quite specialized, is dominated by the Tourism industry, with significant contributions from Uranium Mining, Pizza Delivery, and Soda Sales. Average income is 9,336 quins, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a very well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Palason's national animal is the Puffin, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies.

Palason is ranked 190,154^th in the world and 356^th in Starlight for Largest Insurance Industry, scoring 107.56 on the Risk Expulsion Effectiveness Rating.