The Concordant Stratum of The Cypher Nine is a colossal, environmentally stunning nation, ruled by Council Chairman Cypher One with an even hand, and remarkable for its ubiquitous missile silos, complete lack of prisons, and restrictive gun laws. The compassionate, democratic, humorless population of 9.114 billion Cypherians enjoy extensive civil rights and enjoy a level of social equality free from the usual accompanying government corruption.

The large government is primarily concerned with Education, with Healthcare, Environment, and Industry also on the agenda, while Spirituality and Defense are ignored. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Cypher One - Administrative Block. The average income tax rate is 98.4%.

The frighteningly efficient Cypher Ninean economy, worth a remarkable 2,182 trillion Fulcrums a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is highly specialized, is mostly made up of the Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Tourism. Average income is an amazing 239,446 Fulcrums, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

The Cypher Nine's heavy congestion charges are the bane of motorists' lives, vast amounts of energy are expended moving water to hilltop lakes, children's daycare starts at the crack of dawn, and dozens of viewers go online to hear whether a comma has been added to Clause 5 in Subsection B of Law 58375. Crime is totally unknown. The Cypher Nine's national animal is the Voltaic Shark, which frolics freely in the nation's sparkling oceans.

The Cypher Nine is ranked 3,061^st in the world and 22^nd in Forest for Most Efficient Economies, scoring 100.4 on the Krugman-Greenspan Business Outlook Index.