The Federation of Altiche is a fledgling, environmentally stunning nation, remarkable for its irreverence towards religion, punitive income tax rates, and stringent health and safety legislation. The compassionate, democratic population of 5 million Altichans 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, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Welfare, Education, and Administration. The average income tax rate is 69.5%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The basket case Altichean economy, worth 52.4 billion Kons 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 mostly made up of the Trout Farming industry, with significant contributions from Information Technology, Door-to-door Insurance Sales, and Cheese Exports. Average income is 10,483 Kons, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Anti-government web sites are springing up, military funding has been stripped back, same-sex marriages are increasingly common, and a large-scale revitalization of the education system is underway. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Altiche's national animal is the Octopus, which frolics freely in the nation's sparkling oceans.

Altiche is ranked 331,330^th in the world and 231^st in Eladria for Largest Black Market, with zero Standard Monetary Units.