The Most Serene Republic of Michaelvia is a huge, orderly nation, renowned for its public floggings, sprawling nuclear power plants, and ritual sacrifices. The hard-nosed, cynical, devout population of 695 million Michaelvians 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 medium-sized, corrupt, moralistic, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Administration, and Education. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Michaelvia City. The average income tax rate is 55.7%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The very strong Michaelvian economy, worth 58.3 trillion Nicks a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. However, for those in the know, there is a slick, highly efficient, fairly diversified black market in Arms Manufacturing, Woodchip Exports, Uranium Mining, and Furniture Restoration. The private sector mostly consists of enterprising ten-year-olds selling lemonade on the sidewalk, but the government is looking at stamping this out. Average income is 83,827 Nicks, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Huge explosions in the sky are a daily occurrence in the cities, mathematics majors learn about new ways to model their crushing debt, requests to "pass the salt" are supported by tank divisions, and family bonding sessions are considered immoral and are banned. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Michaelvia's national animal is the badger mole, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

Michaelvia is ranked 94,104^th in the world and 334^th in the West Pacific for Largest Black Market, with 2.84 trillion Standard Monetary Units.