The Commonwealth of Praias Calmas is a huge, environmentally stunning nation, ruled by President Ernesto Sousa with an even hand, and remarkable for its public floggings, pith helmet sales, and sprawling nuclear power plants. The compassionate, devout population of 826 million Praiesians are prohibited from doing almost everything except voting, which they do timidly and conservatively.

The medium-sized government juggles the competing demands of Administration, Education, and Industry. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Santa Maria. The average income tax rate is 69.1%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Praiesian economy, worth 93.7 trillion Réis a year, is fairly diversified and led by the Tourism industry, with significant contributions from Information Technology, Book Publishing, and Retail. State-owned companies are common. Average income is an impressive 113,437 Réis, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.1 times as much as the poorest.

The seats at the back of the parliament are reserved for indigenous ministers, billions are being spent on a new island airport, wilderness-dwelling hermits are surprised to find railway stations on their front doorsteps, and visitors to Self-Sufficiency National Park who ask for trail maps are handed a pen and a blank sheet of paper. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Praias Calmas's national animal is the White hawk, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies.

Praias Calmas is ranked 26,239^th in the world and 32^nd in Union of Christian Nations for Smartest Citizens, with 52.55 quips per hour.