The United Socialist States of Gault is a gargantuan, cultured nation, remarkable for its frequent executions, public floggings, and compulsory gun ownership. The hard-nosed, cynical, humorless, devout population of 10.677 billion Gaultians are ruled without fear or favor by a psychotic dictator, who outlaws just about everything and refers to the populace as "my little playthings."

The medium-sized, corrupt, moralistic, socially-minded, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Law & Order, and Education. The average income tax rate is 59.4%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The powerhouse Gaultian economy, worth a remarkable 1,334 trillion florins a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. However, for those in the know, there is a large, well-organized, fairly diversified black market in Arms Manufacturing, Information Technology, Trout Farming, and Book Publishing. The private sector mostly consists of enterprising ten-year-olds selling lemonade on the sidewalk, but the government is looking at stamping this out. Average income is an impressive 124,979 florins, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.1 times as much as the poorest.

All beauty contests have been banned, mandatory neutering has made purebred dogs a thing of the past, the upper class have been throwing riots after hunting was recently banned, and one tree's worth of paperwork accompanies each imported log of timber. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Gault's national animal is the falcon, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies.

Gault is ranked 7,270^th in the world and 474^th in Osiris for Most Armed, with 11.59 weapons per person.