The Incorporated States of Siphon is a huge, cultured nation, notable for its barren, inhospitable landscape, daily referendums, and compulsory military service. The hard-nosed, hard-working, democratic population of 520 million Sipholiates 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 Defense, Law & Order, and Administration. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Capital District 0. The average income tax rate is 34.6%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Siphonian economy, worth 57.1 trillion wagecreds a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Arms Manufacturing, Retail, and Book Publishing. Average income is an impressive 109,768 wagecreds, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.7 times as much as the poorest.

Open-casket funerals are avoided at all cost, multiple births are a cause of celebration for tax collectors, soldiers are equipped with multi-million wagecred battlesuits, and the number of students attending university has reached a record high. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Siphon's national animal is the bulls-eyed cockatoo, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

Siphon is ranked 72,074^th in the world and 215^th in Horizon for Largest Welfare Programs, scoring 1,732.66 on the Safety Net Mesh Density Rating.