The United Socialist States of The Acen Isles is a colossal, genial nation, remarkable for its triple-decker prams, ban on automobiles, and free-roaming dinosaurs. The compassionate population of 7.202 billion Acen Islesians are prohibited from doing almost everything except voting, which they do timidly and conservatively.

The government — a sprawling, bureaucracy-choked, socially-minded morass — juggles the competing demands of Education, Law & Order, and Environment. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Norfolk Hailsham. The average income tax rate is 93.8%.

The very strong Acen Islesian economy, worth 597 trillion dollars a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is extremely specialized, is mostly made up of the Tourism industry, with major contributions from Book Publishing. Average income is 82,994 dollars, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 4.8 times as much as the poorest.

The new airport at Mr. Giles' farm is panicking his sheep, cremation is compulsory for the deceased, people caught mistreating The Acen Isles's flag generally wind up in a great deal of pain, and astronauts take one small step for The Acen Isles and one giant step backward from confrontation. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. The Acen Isles's national animal is the turtle, which frolics freely in the nation's sparkling oceans.

The Acen Isles is ranked 156,262^nd in the world and 6,487^th in Lazarus for Largest Black Market, with 112 billion Standard Monetary Units.