The Concordant Stratum of The Cypher Nine is a massive, genial nation, ruled by Council Chairman Cypher One with a fair hand, and renowned for its prohibition of alcohol, smutty television, and unlimited-speed roads. The compassionate, democratic, humorless population of 3.261 billion Cypherians 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 medium-sized, socially-minded government is primarily concerned with Education, although Healthcare, Environment, and Industry are also considered important, 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 95.5%.

The frighteningly efficient Cypher Ninean economy, worth 646 trillion Polyglots 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 impressive 198,249 Polyglots, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

The voyages of obsolete star-trekking satellites on deliberate escape orbits are only just beginning, 10-year-olds who struggle with integrating by parts are considered slow learners, court verdicts are predictable to within a hundredth of a percentage point, and newly synthesized elements' half-lives are a million times shorter than the time it takes to say their names. Crime is totally unknown. The Cypher Nine's national animal is the Raven, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies.

The Cypher Nine is ranked 1,488^th in the world and 22^nd in Forest for Most Advanced Public Education, scoring 20,805.63 on the Edu-tellignce® Test Score.