The Federation of Shicksal is a huge, efficient nation, ruled by Siegfried Kaslana with an even hand, and notable for its museums and concert halls, anti-smoking policies, and state-planned economy. The hard-nosed population of 882 million Valkyries are fiercely patriotic and enjoy great social equality; they tend to view other, more capitalist countries as somewhat immoral and corrupt.

The large government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Education, and Industry. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Hyperion. The average income tax rate is 66.4%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The all-consuming Valkryja economy, worth 83.7 trillion Crystals a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is quite specialized, is led by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Book Publishing, and Tourism. Average income is 94,913 Crystals, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Truncheon-mounted cameras record the beating of criminals in dynamic HD detail, farmers in arid regions are puzzled with government directions to plant rice this year, newlywed misogynists complain about their wives keeping their maiden names, and every citizen is allowed exactly fifteen minutes of fame. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Shicksal's national animal is the Honkai, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Shicksal is ranked 219,387^th in the world and 1,156^th in Europe for Nicest Citizens, with 0.84 average smiles per day.