The United Socialist States of Ultaverstin is a huge, socially progressive nation, renowned for its keen interest in outer space, complete lack of prisons, and irreverence towards religion. The compassionate, democratic population of 564 million Ultaverstinians are fiercely patriotic and enjoy great social equality; they tend to view other, more capitalist countries as somewhat immoral and corrupt.

The large, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Education, Law & Order, and Industry. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Ardeopolis. The average income tax rate is 70.0%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The powerhouse Ultaverstinian economy, worth 44.9 trillion ultas a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is quite specialized, is led by the Tourism industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Book Publishing, and Arms Manufacturing. Average income is 79,693 ultas, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

One tree's worth of paperwork accompanies each imported log of timber, people stand their fridges back-to-front to benefit from the free heating, drunk drivers are sent to rehabilitation paid for by the government, and welfare funding has recently gone through the roof. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Ultaverstin's national animal is the black heron, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies.

Ultaverstin is ranked 144,208^th in the world and 698^th in Europe for Largest Gambling Industry, scoring 547.07 on the Kelly Criterion Productivity Index.