The Republic of Eastern Marlan is a very large, environmentally stunning nation, remarkable for its museums and concert halls, absence of drug laws, and devotion to social welfare. The compassionate, democratic population of 467 million Eastern Marlanians 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 large, liberal, socially-minded, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Administration, Education, and Welfare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Talon. The average income tax rate is 63.5%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The sizeable but inefficient Eastern Marlanian economy, worth 24.6 trillion marts 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 Tourism industry, with major contributions from Book Publishing, Retail, and Information Technology. Average income is 52,772 marts, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Glittering new sports stadiums adorn every city and town, celebrities sit helplessly as they are labeled "pompous womples" by Leader, Eastern Marlanians submit requests for a date in writing with an enclosed RSVP card, and elderly tribespeople die in bed surrounded by loved ones and linguists. Crime is totally unknown. Eastern Marlan's national animal is the White-tailed Tropicbird, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies.

Eastern Marlan is ranked 121,703^rd in the world and 1,005^th in the West Pacific for Most Developed, scoring 58.33 on the Human Development Index.