The Mud Baths of Shiralea VI is a huge, socially progressive nation, remarkable for its ban on automobiles and absence of drug laws. The compassionate, democratic, devout population of 700 million Free Spirits are free to do what they want with their own bodies, and vote for whomever they like in elections; if they go into business, however, they are regulated to within an inch of their lives.

The large, liberal, outspoken government prioritizes Education, with Welfare, Healthcare, and Defense also on the agenda. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Parallax Colony. The average income tax rate is 42.5%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The sizeable but inefficient Free Spirit economy, worth 24.4 trillion Worlds a year, is led by the Cheese Exports industry, with major contributions from Beef-Based Agriculture, Tourism, and Furniture Restoration. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 34,838 Worlds, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.0 times as much as the poorest.

Catherine Gratwick's campaign support is considered seminal, the government is spending millions on lawyers' fees trying to get Leader off a murder charge, Red Cross demand for body bags is rising while sutures go unused, and abattoirs are struggling with the directive to 'wait until the animal dies of a ripe old age'. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Shiralea VI's national animal is the Creature Within, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Shiralea VI is ranked 228,910^th in the world and 113^th in United Earth Space Probe Agency for Most Scientifically Advanced, scoring 18.21 on the Kurzweil Singularity Index.