The Dominion of Crystal Palais is a gargantuan, efficient nation, ruled by Michael Lucerne with an even hand, and remarkable for its daily referendums, irreverence towards religion, and hatred of cheese. The hard-nosed, humorless population of 42.536 billion Crystal Palaisians enjoy extensive civil rights and enjoy a level of social equality free from the usual accompanying government corruption.

The relatively small, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Education, Healthcare, and Defense. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Mare Crisium. The average income tax rate is 24.8%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Crystal Palaisian economy, worth an astonishing 14,682 trillion solaris a year, is quite specialized and mostly made up of the Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Book Publishing, Beef-Based Agriculture, and Arms Manufacturing. State-owned companies are common. Average income is an amazing 345,174 solaris, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Kindergartners' favourite dance move is the stop-drop-and-roll, thieves find battery shops juicier targets than banks, court cases mostly involve lawyers shouting questions at witnesses giving silent shrugs, and exports are stamped with "made by the invisible hand you commies". Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown. Crystal Palais's national animal is the mantlion, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

Crystal Palais is ranked 20,151^st in the world and 1^st in The Heartland for Most Income Equality, scoring 79.05 on the Marx-Engels Emancipation Scale.