The Bannorn of Karcosa is a colossal, cultured nation, ruled by Bann Hastur vos Ledo with an even hand, and remarkable for its museums and concert halls, compulsory military service, and ubiquitous missile silos. The compassionate, democratic, devout population of 9.439 billion Karcosans 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 medium-sized government juggles the competing demands of Education, Spirituality, and Welfare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Lake Hali. The average income tax rate is 30.5%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The large but inefficient Karcosan economy, worth 463 trillion kamas a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Book Publishing industry, with major contributions from Trout Farming, Automobile Manufacturing, and Tourism. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 49,071 kamas, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.2 times as much as the poorest.

You can bet your bottom dollar that gambling will cost you an arm and a leg, prison visits increase substantially during election years, the most penniless demographics have by far the highest number of researchers per capita, and family bonding sessions are considered immoral and are banned. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown. Karcosa's national animal is the moth, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its national religion is Vezkelios.

Karcosa is ranked 254,786^th in the world and 1^st in The Union Of Science for Most Extreme, scoring 9.93 on the Paul-Nader Subjective Decentrality Index.