The Republic of Aqualis is a colossal, cultured nation, ruled by President Shen with a fair hand, and renowned for its museums and concert halls, digital currency, and devotion to social welfare. The compassionate, democratic population of 3.79 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 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 88.7%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Aqualisian economy, worth 495 trillion Verlian Pounds 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 Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Tourism, Retail, and Book Publishing. Average income is an impressive 130,670 Verlian Pounds, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Park rangers struggle to deal with a rash of stolen pic-a-nic baskets, self-sufficiency is built on seizing foreign assets, outdated physical currency is considered a biohazard, and the dance skills of President Shen are said to be almost as subversive as their politics. 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 322,505^th in the world and 6^th in The Verlian Commonwealth for Highest Unexpected Death Rate, scoring 20.18 on the Bus Surprisal Index.