The Republic of Aresten is a massive, efficient nation, remarkable for its state-planned economy, daily referendums, and irreverence towards religion. The compassionate, democratic, cheerful population of 3.023 billion Arestenians 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 enormous, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Education, Administration, and Healthcare. The average income tax rate is 93.6%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Arestenian economy, worth 418 trillion Lire a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is highly specialized, is led by the Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Tourism, Book Publishing, and Beef-Based Agriculture. Average income is an impressive 138,378 Lire, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Men are finding 'she spots' more easily but they can't use them, dog owners proudly declare that their pups can predict when the mailman will arrive, write-in candidate 'Leader Sucks' is perennially popular, and the government has begun selling heroin and ecstasy to help fund its projects. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Aresten's national animal is the snow leopard, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Aresten is ranked 6,304^th in the world and 313^th in Osiris for Highest Food Quality, scoring 191.58 on the Meeshlin-Starr Index.