The Union of Sovereign Cantons of The Arctics is a gargantuan, safe nation, ruled by Daily Leadership Lotto winner with a fair hand, and remarkable for its smutty television, irreverence towards religion, and spontaneously combusting cars. The hard-nosed, hard-working, democratic population of 14.955 billion northlanders hold their civil and political rights very dear, although the wealthy and those in business tend to be viewed with suspicion.

The relatively small, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Education, and Welfare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Longyearbyen. The average income tax rate is 12.6%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The very strong northlandic economy, worth a remarkable 1,269 trillion Kronsterlings a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Information Technology industry, with major contributions from Arms Manufacturing, Book Publishing, and Pizza Delivery. Average income is 84,862 Kronsterlings, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.8 times as much as the poorest.

The 'three Rs' have become the 'four Rs' with the addition of Rightful Thought, exam halls are littered with used needles and empty pill bottles, surrealist houses shaped like mushrooms and volcanoes dominate the wealthiest neighborhoods, and high school career advisors advise belligerent loners to consider vigilantism. Crime is relatively low. The Arctics's national animal is the seagull, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to toxic air pollution.

The Arctics is ranked 190,547^th in the world and 30^th in Arctic for Lowest Crime Rates, with 57.53 law-abiding acts per hour.