The New Beginnings Old Endings of Gavriel is a mammoth, orderly nation, remarkable for its keen interest in outer space, smutty television, and prohibition of alcohol. The hard-nosed, cynical population of 8.38 billion Gavrielians are kept under strict control by the oppressive government, which measures its success by the nation's GDP and refers to individual citizens as "human resources."

The large, corrupt, moralistic, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Administration, and Education. The average income tax rate is 70.7%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Gavrielian economy, worth 862 trillion marks a year, is quite specialized and dominated by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with significant contributions from Beef-Based Agriculture, Information Technology, and Woodchip Exports. Black market activity is rampant. State-owned companies are common. Average income is an impressive 102,976 marks, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.0 times as much as the poorest.

In the mighty jungle the lion once again sleeps tonight, university admissions staff are blindfolded to prevent accidental bias, prospective foster parents like to shop around, and the government is said to have a martyrdom complex. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a very well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Gavriel's national animal is the dreamflier, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Gavriel is ranked 274,980^th in the world and 7^th in Portugal de Esquerda for Most Cultured, scoring 58 on the Snufflebottom-Wiggendum Pentatonic Scale.