The Republic of Aqualis is a colossal, genial nation, ruled by President Shen with a fair hand, and renowned for its museums and concert halls, punitive income tax rates, and devotion to social welfare. The compassionate, democratic population of 3.667 billion Aqualisians love a good election, and the government gives them plenty of them. Universities tend to be full of students debating the merits of various civil and political rights, while businesses are tightly regulated and the wealthy viewed with suspicion.

The large, socially-minded, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Education, Administration, and Healthcare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Aquen. The average income tax rate is 86.7%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Aqualisian economy, worth 463 trillion Verlian Pounds a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector is dominated by the Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Tourism, Book Publishing, and Retail. Average income is an impressive 126,490 Verlian Pounds, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Schools have extensive counseling programs for troubled students, citizens are frequently searched for illegal weapons, patch v22.1705 - all developers are now paid for work, and home renovation projects take decades to complete. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Aqualis's national animal is the River Dolphin, which frolics freely in the nation's sparkling oceans.

Aqualis is ranked 10,301^st in the world and 3^rd in The Verlian Commonwealth for Most Eco-Friendly Governments, scoring 5,401.27 on the Dolphin Recycling Awareness Index.