The Holy Empire of The 2nd Covenant empire is a very large, orderly nation, renowned for its frequent executions, ritual sacrifices, and smutty television. The hard-nosed, cynical, devout population of 419 million Covie 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, corrupt, moralistic, well-organized morass — juggles the competing demands of Defense, Law & Order, and Spirituality. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of High Charity. The average income tax rate is 79.1%.

The sizeable but underdeveloped Covenant economy, worth 15.0 trillion gegzes 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, quite specialized black market in Woodchip Exports, Information Technology, Cheese Exports, and Beef-Based Agriculture. 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 35,894 gegzes, with the richest citizens earning 5.1 times as much as the poorest.

The controversial show 'Who Wants to be an Immigrant?' has become wildly popular, fathers are free to sell their daughters to whomever they choose, all fantasy fiction has officially been deemed non-canon, and shivering secretaries type letters under torrential downpours in open-roof offices. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. The 2nd Covenant empire's national animal is the Helioskrills, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

The 2nd Covenant empire is ranked 63,746^th in the world and 89^th in Starlight for Fattest Citizens, with 12.8 Obesity Rate.