The Confederation of Askira is a gargantuan, environmentally stunning nation, ruled by Chancellor Ishaan Chaye with an even hand, and renowned for its museums and concert halls, frequent executions, and strictly enforced bedtime. The compassionate population of 25.688 billion Askirans are fiercely patriotic and enjoy great social equality; they tend to view other, more capitalist countries as somewhat immoral and corrupt.

The government — a sprawling, bureaucracy-choked, socially-minded morass — juggles the competing demands of Education, Law & Order, and Environment. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Kasni. The average income tax rate is 96.7%.

The powerhouse Askiran economy, worth a remarkable 3,298 trillion Federal Guilders a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is extremely specialized, is mostly made up of the Book Publishing industry, with significant contributions from Information Technology. Average income is an impressive 128,392 Federal Guilders, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Hit TV show 'The eXecution Factor' is a critical success, a suspicious number of male students have joined the Ladies' Wrestling League, traumatized ex-ambassadors seek treatment for their "desk dissociation", and heartfelt sentiments are mercilessly marketed by a million-Federal Guilder treacle machine. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Askira's national animal is the Ring-tailed Lemur, which is also the nation's favorite main course, and its national religion is Church of the Unified Atomic Vision.

Askira is ranked 23,287^th in the world and 350^th in Europe for Most Scientifically Advanced, scoring 257.07 on the Kurzweil Singularity Index.