The Retired Delegate of Alsted is a gargantuan, cultured nation, ruled by a federal presidency with a fair hand, and remarkable for its frequent executions, punitive income tax rates, and devotion to social welfare. The hard-nosed, democratic population of 25.484 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 Education, Defense, and Healthcare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of San Junipero. The average income tax rate is 75.4%.

The strong Alstedian economy, worth a remarkable 1,314 trillion Alstedian Dollars a year, is extremely specialized and solely comprised of the Book Publishing industry. Average income is 51,599 Alstedian Dollars, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 4.2 times as much as the poorest.

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 Snowy Owl, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies.

Alsted is ranked 41,234^th in the world and 506^th in Europe for Most Scientifically Advanced, scoring 116.09 on the Kurzweil Singularity Index.