The Social Engineer of Palienta is a mammoth, safe nation, notable for its ban on automobiles, compulsory military service, and prohibition of alcohol. The hard-nosed, democratic population of 7.402 billion Assassins love a good election, and the government gives them plenty of them. Universities tend to be full of students debating the merits of various civil and political rights, while businesses are tightly regulated and the wealthy viewed with suspicion.

The medium-sized government juggles the competing demands of Welfare, Defense, and Administration. The average income tax rate is 33.3%.

The large but inefficient Palientan economy, worth 299 trillion Assassins a year, is led by the Uranium Mining industry, with major contributions from Beef-Based Agriculture, Basket Weaving, and Information Technology. Black market activity is frequent. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 40,513 Assassins, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 3.4 times as much as the poorest.

Cars are banned, customs officers pretend not to hear shouts of "HELP LET ME OUT!" emerging from diplomatic bags, law schools are hurrying to teach the "prank defense" to their students, and court verdicts are predictable to within a hundredth of a percentage point. Crime is almost non-existent. Palienta's national animal is the Assassin, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Palienta is ranked 206,509^th in the world and 1^st in Danzig Pacific for Largest Manufacturing Sector, scoring 5,626.77 on the Gooback-Jerbs Productivity Index.