The Swirling Stars of Merethin is a mammoth, environmentally stunning nation, ruled by Iris with a fair hand, and remarkable for its smutty television, free-roaming dinosaurs, and irreverence towards religion. The compassionate, democratic, cheerful population of 5.917 billion Merethinians 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 enormous, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Education, Industry, and Administration. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Merethin City. The average income tax rate is 99.4%.

The frighteningly efficient Merethinian economy, worth a remarkable 1,253 trillion golden coins 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 Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Book Publishing and Tourism. Average income is an amazing 211,805 golden coins, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Prisons in Merethin are the summer homes of murderers, the military maintains a fierce arsenal of 'Cure Missiles', the endangered saltwater humpback axolotl is only seen in captivity programs, and Iris's iHouse is so intelligent that it manages its own social media accounts. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Merethin's national animal is the axolotl, which frolics freely in the nation's sparkling oceans, and its national religion is Star Sister.

Merethin is ranked 761^st in the world and 4^th in Starlight for Nicest Citizens, with 99.32 average smiles per day.