The New Shimmer of Palaemon is a gargantuan, genial nation, notable for its unlimited-speed roads, punitive income tax rates, and devotion to social welfare. The compassionate population of 33.114 billion Palaemonians have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and take part in free and open elections, although not too often.

The large government juggles the competing demands of Education, Industry, and Welfare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Pompeii. The average income tax rate is 85.7%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Palaemonian economy, worth a remarkable 4,493 trillion palaes a year, is led by the Tourism industry, with significant contributions from Information Technology, Book Publishing, and Furniture Restoration. State-owned companies are common. Average income is an impressive 135,695 palaes, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

The national colors help to make everyone look slimmer, intellectual snobbery has the cognoscenti sneering at anyone who doesn't have an opinion on the semiological drift of Umberto Eco's works, park rangers perform full-body searches on suspected fungus smugglers, and sausages are seldom seen in the supermarket. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Palaemon's national animal is the angora cat, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its national religion is philosophical debate.

Palaemon is ranked 20,999^th in the world and 2^nd in Freshness for Nicest Citizens, with 22.3 average smiles per day.