The Republic of Short Sharp Shock is a gargantuan, safe nation, notable for its punitive income tax rates and stringent health and safety legislation. The hard-nosed, cynical population of 17.297 billion Short Sharp Shockians are ruled with an iron fist by the dictatorship government, which ensures that no-one outside the party gets too rich. In their personal lives, however, citizens are relatively unoppressed; it remains to be seen whether this is because the government genuinely cares about its people, or if it hasn't gotten around to stamping out civil rights yet.

The government — a sprawling, bureaucracy-choked, socially-minded, well-organized morass — juggles the competing demands of Education, Law & Order, and Environment. The average income tax rate is 83.3%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The large but sluggish Short Sharp Shockian economy, worth 296 trillion francolinos a year, is driven almost entirely by government activity. The industrial sector, which is extremely specialized, is mostly made up of the Cheese Exports industry, with significant contributions from Arms Manufacturing. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is 17,129 francolinos, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Crime is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Short Sharp Shock's national animal is the guerrilla fighter, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Short Sharp Shock is ranked 103,982^nd in the world and 792^nd in Artificial Solar System for Most Advanced Public Education, scoring 1,922.11 on the Edu-tellignce® Test Score.