The Commonwealth of Model 97 is a huge, environmentally stunning nation, ruled by Matthew Browning with a fair hand, and remarkable for its museums and concert halls, national health service, and complete lack of prisons. The compassionate, democratic population of 963 million Modelians enjoy a sensible mix of personal and economic freedoms, while the political process is open and the people's right to vote held sacrosanct.

The medium-sized, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Administration, Education, and Healthcare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of New Trenchia. The average income tax rate is 40.2%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The strong Model 97ian economy, worth 64.5 trillion shells a year, is fairly diversified and led by the Book Publishing industry, with major contributions from Tourism, Pizza Delivery, and Basket Weaving. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 67,013 shells, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Bargain hunters descend on disaster zones for a quick spot of grocery shopping, protestors are soaking piles of shells in blood to make a point about government incomes, art is not complete without a touch of alizarin blood and titanium sweat, and bins outnumber trees in city parks. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Model 97's national animal is the pheasant, which is also the nation's favorite main course.

Model 97 is ranked 4,256^th in the world and 50^th in the West Pacific for Most Primitive, scoring 122.9 on the Scary Big Number Scale.