The Federal Republic of Respidon is a colossal, genial nation, ruled by Alice Forsyth with a fair hand, and remarkable for its museums and concert halls, irreverence towards religion, and stringent health and safety legislation. The compassionate, democratic population of 2.577 billion Respidonians love a good election, and the government gives them plenty of them. Universities tend to be full of students debating the merits of various civil and political rights, while businesses are tightly regulated and the wealthy viewed with suspicion.

The large, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Education, Administration, and Healthcare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Respidonia. The average income tax rate is 75.9%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The powerhouse Respidonian economy, worth 288 trillion Respidates a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is fairly diversified, is led by the Tourism industry, with major contributions from Information Technology and Furniture Restoration. Average income is an impressive 111,972 Respidates, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Giggling elementary school newspaper reporters want to know why Alice Forsyth is a silly poophead, earthquake sirens are a leading cause of hearing loss, a video of Alice Forsyth wearing shock-blue face paint and smashing an electric guitar in front of a frenzied crowd is on endless repeat on the nightly news, and rogue nations are placing suspiciously large bulk orders for student laptops. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Respidon's national animal is the dolphin, which frolics freely in the nation's sparkling oceans.

Respidon is ranked 292,627^th in the world and 3,857^th in the South Pacific for Highest Unexpected Death Rate, scoring 21.06 on the Bus Surprisal Index.