The Modified Democratic States of Cogitation is a gargantuan, genial nation, ruled by James Chronicle with a fair hand, and notable for its sprawling nuclear power plants, anti-smoking policies, and punitive income tax rates. The compassionate, democratic, cheerful population of 46.473 billion Cogitationites hold their civil and political rights very dear, although the wealthy and those in business tend to be viewed with suspicion.

The medium-sized government juggles the competing demands of Education, Environment, and Healthcare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Cogitation City. The average income tax rate is 69.2%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Cognitive economy, worth a remarkable 8,105 trillion pennies a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is quite specialized, is led by the Book Publishing industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Tourism, and Trout Farming. Average income is an impressive 174,413 pennies, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Welfare funding has recently gone through the roof, James Chronicle's speeches are beloved by insomniacs, shaken martini sales have soared in nations surrounding Cogitation, and it is illegal to make racist remarks in public. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown. Cogitation's national animal is the wise owl, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies.

Cogitation is ranked 10,843^rd in the world and 1^st in The Realm of Ambrosia for Lowest Crime Rates, with 99.54 law-abiding acts per hour.