The Community of Nova Garden is a tiny, safe nation, renowned for its ban on automobiles, punitive income tax rates, and devotion to social welfare. The democratic population of 14 million Shshs are free to do what they want with their own bodies, and vote for whomever they like in elections; if they go into business, however, they are regulated to within an inch of their lives.

The large, socially-minded, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Welfare, Education, and Healthcare. The average income tax rate is 60.4%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The basket case Nova Gardenian economy, worth 230 billion Sushs a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector is led by the Tourism industry, with major contributions from Book Publishing, Uranium Mining, and Basket Weaving. Average income is 16,414 Sushs, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

It can be a real jungle in a modern courtroom, groups of government workers are declared protected tribes if they venture too deep into the Capitol, the family summer vacation has become a thing of the past following the introduction of the year-round school year, and gossip magazines have pictures of Leader sunbathing on the beach with political rivals. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Nova Garden's national animal is the Shshs, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Nova Garden is ranked 28,082^nd in the world and 5^th in Starbound for Most Secular, with 33.58 Atheism Rate.