The Most Serene Republic of Palason is a large, orderly nation, renowned for its state-planned economy, punitive income tax rates, and devotion to social welfare. The compassionate, cynical population of 146 million Palasonians 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 government — a sprawling, bureaucracy-choked, moralistic, socially-minded, well-organized morass — juggles the competing demands of Welfare, Education, and Law & Order. The average income tax rate is 77.2%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The sizeable but stagnant Palasonian economy, worth 1.36 trillion quins 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 dominated by the Tourism industry, with significant contributions from Uranium Mining, Pizza Delivery, and Soda Sales. Average income is 9,336 quins, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a very well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Palason's national animal is the Puffin, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies.

Palason is ranked 324,568^th in the world and 544^th in Starlight for Largest Black Market, with 1.00 billion Standard Monetary Units.