The Corporate Federation of Maritzal is a gargantuan, efficient nation, ruled by President Cornelius Crewes with an iron fist, and renowned for its public floggings, prohibition of alcohol, and devotion to social welfare. The hard-nosed, cynical population of 16.337 billion Maritzalians are ruled without fear or favor by a psychotic dictator, who outlaws just about everything and refers to the populace as "my little playthings."

The relatively small, corrupt, moralistic, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Administration, Law & Order, and Industry. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Meridian. The average income tax rate is 96.0%.

The frighteningly efficient Maritzalian economy, worth a remarkable 9,308 trillion Pistas a year, is quite specialized and mostly comprised of black market activity, especially in Information Technology, Retail, Arms Manufacturing, and Book Publishing. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is a breathtaking 569,764 Pistas, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 4.5 times as much as the poorest.

Noble feuds don't end until one side gets their point across, citizens praise the weeds that overwhelm their narrow vegetable realm, trains and passengers alike are often late, and political spontaneity takes a lot of planning. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Maritzal's national animal is the Cat, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Maritzal is ranked 17,661^st in the world and 232^nd in Europe for Lowest Crime Rates, with 91.69 law-abiding acts per hour.