The Holy Empire of Opal General is a huge, genial nation, renowned for its soft-spoken computers, public floggings, and suspicion of poets. The compassionate, cynical, devout population of 705 million Opalians 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 large, corrupt, moralistic, socially-minded, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Law & Order, and Spirituality. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Opal Citadel. The average income tax rate is 62.5%.

The strong Opalian economy, worth 62.7 trillion opal dusts 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 slick, highly efficient black market in Arms Manufacturing, Trout Farming, Beef-Based Agriculture, and Tourism. 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 88,866 opal dusts, with the richest citizens earning 5.0 times as much as the poorest.

Kilts and cassocks are viewed with suspicion, one tree's worth of paperwork accompanies each imported log of timber, books are often used as kindling, and cities in Opal General declare independence based on interpretation of the historic meaning of cave paintings. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Opal General's national animal is the opal dragon, which is also the nation's favorite main course.

Opal General is ranked 207,404^th in the world and 102^nd in Shyshaeia for Most Scientifically Advanced, scoring 36.48 on the Kurzweil Singularity Index.