The Atlantic Republic of The Asten Islands is a massive, cultured nation, ruled by President Taron Wright with a fair hand, and notable for its soft-spoken computers, ubiquitous missile silos, and devotion to social welfare. The compassionate, democratic population of 2.126 billion Astians 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 large government juggles the competing demands of Healthcare, Education, and Welfare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Port David. The average income tax rate is 66.1%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The powerhouse Astian economy, worth 189 trillion Asten Pounds a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector is led by the Information Technology industry, with major contributions from Tourism, Book Publishing, and Automobile Manufacturing. Average income is 89,320 Asten Pounds, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

The government is avowedly secular, neon signs promoting safe driving often distract drivers, the combined alert sound of a nation simultaneously receiving a text message is a common cause of hearing damage, and prime real estate is devoted to wind farms and solar energy generators. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. The Asten Islands's national animal is the Blue Whale, which frolics freely in the nation's sparkling oceans, and its national religion is Roman Catholic Christian.

The Asten Islands is ranked 30,284^th in the world and 434^th in Europe for Most Advanced Public Education, scoring 5,373.9 on the Edu-tellignce® Test Score.