The Modified Democratic States of Cogitation is a gargantuan, efficient nation, ruled by James Chronicle with a fair hand, and notable for its smutty television, state-planned economy, and stringent health and safety legislation. The compassionate, democratic, cheerful population of 39.682 billion Cogitationites 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 medium-sized government juggles the competing demands of Education, Environment, and Social Policy. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Cogitation City. The average income tax rate is 55.9%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Cognitive economy, worth a remarkable 6,972 trillion pennies a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector is led by the Book Publishing industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Tourism, and Trout Farming. Average income is an impressive 175,711 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 9,114^th in the world and 2^nd in The Realm of Ambrosia for Most Advanced Public Education, scoring 11,334.18 on the Edu-tellignce® Test Score.