The Wings of the Dawn of Extremis Maris is a massive, cultured nation, notable for its rampant corporate plagiarism, avowedly heterosexual populace, and punitive income tax rates. The compassionate, democratic, devout population of 4.208 billion Maritimeses 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 government — a sprawling, bureaucracy-choked, socially-minded, outspoken morass — juggles the competing demands of Education, Healthcare, and Welfare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Stella Maris. The average income tax rate is 94.6%.

The very strong Extremis Marisian economy, worth 398 trillion denarii 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 mostly made up of the Tourism industry, with significant contributions from Book Publishing and Information Technology. Average income is 94,615 denarii, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Intellectual snobbery has the cognoscenti sneering at anyone who doesn't have an opinion on the semiological drift of Umberto Eco's works, aeroplanes have been converted into housing units after all air travel was outlawed, schools have extensive counseling programs for troubled students, and a formerly quiet little town is now booming as both a cult centre and a tourist attraction. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Extremis Maris's national animal is the hawk, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies.

Extremis Maris is ranked 9,476^th in the world and 205^th in the Pacific for Lowest Crime Rates, with 102.07 law-abiding acts per hour.