The Republic of P438 is a very large, safe nation, notable for its frequent executions, punitive income tax rates, and stringent health and safety legislation. The compassionate population of 293 million P438ians are prohibited from doing almost everything except voting, which they do timidly and conservatively.

The enormous government juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Defense, and Administration. The average income tax rate is 60.7%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The P438ian economy, worth 12.3 trillion złoties a year, is quite specialized and led by the Trout Farming industry, with significant contributions from Information Technology, Door-to-door Insurance Sales, and Beef-Based Agriculture. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is 42,027 złoties, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.5 times as much as the poorest.

Engineers ask liberal arts majors "Do you want fries with that?", new pilots are regularly reminded that they are more expendable than their planes, the state is footing the bill for billionaires' lawyers, and code enforcement officers circle wealthy P438ians like vultures. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. P438's national animal is the python, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

P438 is ranked 83,138^th in the world and 397^th in Concord for Largest Welfare Programs, scoring 1,590 on the Safety Net Mesh Density Rating.