The Retired Delegate of Alsted is a gargantuan, safe nation, ruled by a federal presidency with a fair hand, and renowned for its public floggings, keen interest in outer space, and restrictive gun laws. The hard-nosed, democratic population of 31.113 billion Alstedians 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 government — a sprawling, bureaucracy-choked morass — juggles the competing demands of Healthcare, Education, and Environment. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of San Junipero. The average income tax rate is 82.8%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The strong Alstedian economy, worth a remarkable 1,825 trillion Alstedian Dollars a year, is extremely specialized and solely comprised of the Book Publishing industry. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is 58,680 Alstedian Dollars, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

New safety regulations require all cars manufactured in Alsted to be bombproof, employers may fire workers without giving any reason, planespotters are emigrating in droves, and corporate lobbying has been outlawed. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Alsted's national animal is the Juniperon Otter, which frolics freely in the nation's sparkling oceans.

Alsted is ranked 234,580^th in the world and 825^th in Europe for Highest Crime Rates, with 2.12 crimes per hour.