The United Shelties of Tristerra is a mammoth, safe nation, ruled by the people with a fair hand, and remarkable for its soft-spoken computers, avant-garde cinema, and irreverence towards religion. The compassionate, democratic, cheerful population of 7.498 billion Tristans are free to do what they want with their own bodies, and vote for whomever they like in elections; if they go into business, however, they are regulated to within an inch of their lives.

The large, liberal, socially-minded, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Welfare, Education, and Healthcare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of New Shetland. The average income tax rate is 87.7%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Tristan economy, worth a remarkable 1,079 trillion treats 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 led by the Tourism industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Book Publishing, and Beef-Based Agriculture. Average income is an impressive 143,929 treats, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

It turns out that you actually can put a price on intangible cultural heritage, retirement homes are often fitted with luxurious suites, it is mandatory to learn evolution in schools, and on-duty Air Tristerra flight attendants are usually seen napping in first class. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown. Tristerra's national animal is the shetland sheepdog, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its national religion is unconditional love.

Tristerra is ranked 188,213^th in the world and 3^rd in Dexter for Largest Cheese Export Sector, scoring 1,150.57 on the Mozzarella Productivity Index.