The Kingdom of Intaglio is a titanic, cultured nation, ruled by Queen Julilla with an even hand, and renowned for its anti-smoking policies, keen interest in outer space, and hatred of cheese. The compassionate, democratic, devout population of 21.185 billion Intaglis have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and take part in free and open elections, although not too often.

The government — a sprawling, bureaucracy-choked morass — juggles the competing demands of Education, Defense, and Healthcare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Augustine. The average income tax rate is 93.6%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The all-consuming Intagli economy, worth a remarkable 1,983 trillion iroes a year, is driven almost entirely by government activity. The industrial sector is solely comprised of the Information Technology industry. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is 93,611 iroes, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

There's an aura of pseudoscience around academia, vegetables are crisper thanks to CRISPR, sales of disinfectant wipes have skyrocketed, and arguments about toilet seats being left up or down get surprisingly heated. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Intaglio's national animal is the phoenix, which is also the nation's favorite main course.

Intaglio is ranked 22,916^th in the world and 2^nd in The Universal Federation for Most Scientifically Advanced, scoring 288.49 on the Kurzweil Singularity Index.