The Community of St Stephen n Critters is a gargantuan, genial nation, ruled by The Head with a fair hand, and notable for its state-planned economy, keen interest in outer space, and restrictive gun laws. The compassionate, democratic, cheerful population of 30.756 billion St Stephen n Crittersians are free to do what they want with their own bodies, and vote for whomever they like in elections; if they go into business, however, they are regulated to within an inch of their lives.

The government — a sprawling, bureaucracy-choked, liberal, socially-minded, outspoken morass — juggles the competing demands of Education, Environment, and Welfare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Saint Circumstance. The income tax rate is 100%.

The enormous but sluggish St Stephen n Crittersian economy, worth a remarkable 4,087 trillion Jerry Berries a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector is solely comprised of the Book Publishing industry. Average income is an impressive 132,898 Jerry Berries, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Heartfelt sentiments are mercilessly marketed by a million-Jerry Berry treacle machine, the St Stephen n Crittersian Intelligence Agency relies on internet search engines to know what is happening overseas, solving crossword puzzles requires fluency in at least five languages, and there has been a rapid increase of noise complaints over the sound of buzzing bees. Crime is totally unknown. St Stephen n Critters's national animal is the Dancing Bear, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its national religion is Secular humanism.

St Stephen n Critters is ranked 171,650^th in the world and 46^th in Hippy Haven for Largest Mining Sector, scoring -107.7 on the Blue Sky Asbestos Index.