The Commonwealth of Valkenstein is a titanic, safe nation, renowned for its frequent executions, vat-grown people, and daily referendums. The hard-nosed, hard-working, humorless population of 21.113 billion Valkensteiners are either ruled by a sleek, efficient government or a conglomerate of multinational corporations; it's difficult to tell which.

The tiny, corrupt, pro-business government juggles the competing demands of Education, Defense, and Industry. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Zurik. Income tax is unheard of.

The frighteningly efficient Valkensteiner economy, worth an astonishing 10,006 trillion Syns a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Arms Manufacturing, Retail, and Book Publishing. Average income is an amazing 473,931 Syns, but there is a large disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 2,238,072 per year while the poor average 59,470, a ratio of 37.6 to 1.

Children are often observed making 'sand angels' in bunkers, blind dates tend to result in bruised shins, Leader has declared a weed sticking through a crack in the sidewalk to be the nation's newest green space, and bread-gangs raid restaurant waste bins to stockpile uneaten rolls. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown. Valkenstein's national animal is the Pheonix, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

Valkenstein is ranked 332,044^th in the world and 1^st in Hollenthon for Largest Welfare Programs, scoring -62.05 on the Safety Net Mesh Density Rating.