The Armed Republic of CR57 is a colossal, cultured nation, remarkable for its zero percent divorce rate, infamous sell-swords, and strictly enforced bedtime. The hard-nosed, humorless, devout population of 5.695 billion CR57ians are highly moralistic and fiercely conservative, in the sense that they tend to believe most things should be outlawed. People who have good jobs and work quietly at them are lauded; others are viewed with suspicion.

The large, corrupt government juggles the competing demands of Administration, Industry, and Education. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 84.5%.

The frighteningly efficient CR57ian economy, worth 769 trillion cards a year, is led by the Retail industry, with significant contributions from Beef-Based Agriculture, Information Technology, and Book Publishing. Black market activity is rampant. State-owned companies are common. Average income is an impressive 135,037 cards, with the richest citizens earning 8.3 times as much as the poorest.

All major public areas are watched by police surveillance cameras, newly synthesized elements' half-lives are a million times shorter than the time it takes to say their names, the minority inevitably have their addenda vetoed, and prime picnicking sites are being paved over in the name of progress. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a very well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. CR57's national animal is the legendary, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

CR57 is ranked 284,231^st in the world and 1,119^th in Two for Most Armed, with 0.14 weapons per person.