The State of Lyghthouse is a gargantuan, safe nation, ruled by the Governor with a fair hand, and remarkable for its burgeoning deer population. The democratic population of 31.275 billion Lyghthouseans enjoy a sensible mix of personal and economic freedoms, while the political process is open and the people's right to vote held sacrosanct.

The medium-sized government juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Education, and Defense. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Capital Heights. The average income tax rate is 32.0%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The Lyghthousean economy, worth a remarkable 1,249 trillion betales a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Book Publishing industry, with major contributions from Uranium Mining, Woodchip Exports, and Basket Weaving. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 39,966 betales, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.2 times as much as the poorest.

Military spending is on the increase, citizens are bombarded with advertising from their compulsory minature radios, Lyghthouse has designated Capital Heights as its capital city, and The Governor has just been declared ruler of Lyghthouse in an international press conference. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Lyghthouse's national animal is the deer.

Lyghthouse is ranked 171,185^th in the world and 513^th in Ancient Lands for Most Armed, with 0.3 weapons per person.