The State of Cannell is a gargantuan, efficient nation, ruled by the Governor with an even hand, and remarkable for its barren, inhospitable landscape, compulsory military service, and spontaneously combusting cars. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical population of 45.727 billion Cannellians enjoy some of the most opulent lifestyles in the region, unless they are unemployed or working-class, in which case they are variously starving to death or crippled by easily preventable diseases.

The tiny, liberal, pro-business government juggles the competing demands of Education, Law & Order, and Industry. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Westminster. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 7.2%.

The thriving Cannellian economy, worth a remarkable 2,351 trillion betales a year, is led by the Book Publishing industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Furniture Restoration, and Arms Manufacturing. Average income is 51,430 betales, but there is a vast disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 349,664 per year while the poor average 2,763, a ratio of 126 to 1.

The Governor's luxurious new home has been designated as a protected cultural heritage site, major corporations receive tax breaks for no apparent reason, courtrooms can be a little sketchy, and the number of students attending university has reached a record high. Crime is a serious problem. Cannell's national animal is the deer, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

Cannell is ranked 102,915^th in the world and 1^st in Cannell for Most Scientifically Advanced, scoring 94.6 on the Kurzweil Singularity Index.