The Cornelian Dominion of Maritzal is a titanic, efficient nation, ruled by Cornelius I with an iron fist, and notable for its teetotalling pirates, deadly medical pandemics, and devotion to social welfare. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical, humorless population of 21.597 billion Maritzalians are kept under strict control by the oppressive government, which measures its success by the nation's GDP and refers to individual citizens as "human resources."

The tiny, corrupt, moralistic, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Administration, Defense, and Industry. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Meridian. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 60.2%.

The frighteningly efficient Maritzalian economy, worth an astonishing 11,801 trillion Pistas a year, is mostly comprised of black market activity, especially in Information Technology, Retail, Arms Manufacturing, and Book Publishing. Average income is a breathtaking 546,444 Pistas, with the richest citizens earning 6.2 times as much as the poorest.

The Hanging Gardens account for half of Meridian's water use, metal detectors at school gates make sure that teenagers are carrying at least one sidearm, nobody wants to know how the sausage is made, and unpopular politicians are often caught between a rock and a hard place. Crime, especially youth-related, is all-pervasive, with the police force struggling against a lack of funding and a high mortality rate. Maritzal's national animal is the Cat, which is also the nation's favorite main course, and its national religion is The Order Of Our Lord Cornelius.

Maritzal is ranked 332,215^th in the world and 920^th in Europe for Nicest Citizens, with 0.06 average smiles per day.