The Empire of Brettenwald is a colossal, cultured nation, ruled by Emperor Thomas IV Cärrino with an iron fist, and renowned for its museums and concert halls, compulsory military service, and keen interest in outer space. The compassionate, cynical, cheerful, devout population of 8.836 billion Brettain are ruled with an iron fist by the dictatorship government, which ensures that no-one outside the party gets too rich. In their personal lives, however, citizens are relatively unoppressed; it remains to be seen whether this is because the government genuinely cares about its people, or if it hasn't gotten around to stamping out civil rights yet.

The large, corrupt government juggles the competing demands of Education, Administration, and Law & Order. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Aurinel. The average income tax rate is 74.0%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Brettain economy, worth 987 trillion crowns a year, is quite specialized and led by the Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Book Publishing, Tourism, and Arms Manufacturing. State-owned companies are common. Average income is an impressive 111,802 crowns, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Residents of new housing subdivisions complain about the total absence of supermarkets and restaurants, the rainbow assortment of chemicals in the water has turned the frogs gay, the weather report is the prisoners' favourite programme, and the government seizes private property for the 'good of the people'. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Brettenwald's national animal is the raven, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies, and its national religion is The Church of the Seven Gods.

Brettenwald is ranked 123,647^th in the world and 14^th in The Strategic and Economic Alliance for Highest Wealthy Incomes, with 135,500 Standard Monetary Units.