The Lake of Melnew is a titanic, efficient nation, ruled by Vexio with an iron fist, and remarkable for its triple-decker prams, frequent executions, and ban on automobiles. The hard-nosed, cynical, humorless, devout population of 21.456 billion Sharks are kept under strict control by the oppressive government, which measures its success by the nation's GDP and refers to individual citizens as "human resources."

The medium-sized, corrupt, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Spirituality, Environment, and Defense. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Lake lapitana. The average income tax rate is 26.9%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Aquatic economy, worth a remarkable 2,311 trillion Shells a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. However, for those in the know, there is an enormous, deeply entrenched, quite specialized black market in Gambling, Uranium Mining, Basket Weaving, and Pizza Delivery. The private sector mostly consists of enterprising ten-year-olds selling lemonade on the sidewalk, but the government is looking at stamping this out. Average income is an impressive 107,725 Shells, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.9 times as much as the poorest.

The School of Hard Knocks is receiving record application numbers., we all come from the sea, the black market offers sweet deals, and colonies are told they'll get their sovereignty back when they finish supper. Crime, especially youth-related, is all-pervasive, perhaps because of the country's complete lack of prisons. Melnew's national animal is the Trout, which frolics freely in the nation's sparkling oceans, and its national religion is Floofism.

Melnew is ranked 331,437^th in the world and 20^th in The Commonwealth Of Furry Peoples for Most Compassionate Citizens, scoring 8.44 on the Kitten Softness Rating.