The Republic of Norner is a large, orderly nation, remarkable for its keen interest in outer space, state-planned economy, and pith helmet sales. The hard-nosed, cynical population of 115 million Norners 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, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Administration, and Law & Order. The average income tax rate is 40.0%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The Nornen economy, worth 7.63 trillion lire 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 a slick, highly efficient, fairly diversified black market in Tourism, Arms Manufacturing, Information Technology, and Retail. 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 66,356 lire, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.2 times as much as the poorest.

Copies of the constitution are used as toilet paper, scientists recently cloned the long-extinct feather-bellied dove, the alarmingly racist TV show 'Bigtopians Say the Darndest Things' is a hit, and recent converts to Frisbeetarianism are just doing it for the love of the game. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Norner's national animal is the dove, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies.

Norner is ranked 100,964^th in the world and 71^st in Fifth Empire for Largest Pizza Delivery Sector, scoring 1,977.43 on the Pepperoni Propulsion Productivity Index.