The Valkyrian Republic of Qvait is a gargantuan, socially progressive nation, ruled by President Kate Murphy with a fair hand, and notable for its daily referendums, soft-spoken computers, and stringent health and safety legislation. The compassionate, democratic, cheerful population of 18.29 billion Valkyrians are free to do what they want with their own bodies, and vote for whomever they like in elections; if they go into business, however, they are regulated to within an inch of their lives.

The enormous, liberal, socially-minded, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Education, Environment, and Healthcare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Stockholm. The income tax rate is 100%.

The frighteningly efficient Valkyrian economy, worth a remarkable 5,891 trillion Valkyrian vekts 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 led by the Information Technology industry, with major contributions from Tourism and Book Publishing. Average income is an amazing 322,089 Valkyrian vekts, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Scientists earn more grant money for reproducing old experiments than trying anything new, the subway is dead quiet in early afternoons, stuttering trypanophobes are doomed never to marry, and President Kate Murphy's told that love often manifests itself through homicidal four-lettered litanies. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Qvait's national animal is the blue jay, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies, and its national religion is Valrissi.

Qvait is ranked 56^th in the world and 4^th in the South Pacific for Most Developed, scoring 100.2 on the Human Development Index.