The Fiefdom of Shalnome is a massive, safe nation, notable for its museums and concert halls, infamous sell-swords, and irreverence towards religion. The compassionate, hard-working, democratic population of 1.676 billion Shalnomeans 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 large government juggles the competing demands of Administration, Education, and Law & Order. The average income tax rate is 61.0%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The very strong Shalnomean economy, worth 113 trillion pounds a year, is quite specialized and led by the Tourism industry, with major contributions from Book Publishing, Information Technology, and Trout Farming. Average income is 67,429 pounds, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.3 times as much as the poorest.

Lawyers turn down litigation cases and corporate work in order to focus on lucrative public defence work, crossword puzzles have been co-opted as a symbol of racial discrimination, banning party poppers has been a real party pooper, and officials pull all-nighters to check immigrants for potential links to terrorists. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Shalnome's national animal is the turtle, which frolics freely in the nation's sparkling oceans.

Shalnome is ranked 225,137^th in the world and 7,976^th in Osiris for Most Armed, with 0.23 weapons per person.