The Aristocratic Republic of Verdon is a colossal, safe nation, notable for its keen interest in outer space, ban on automobiles, and avant-garde cinema. The compassionate, cynical population of 9.389 billion Verdonians are proud of their wide-ranging civil freedoms, and those who aren't tend to be dragged off the streets by men in dark suits and hustled into cars with tinted windows.

The enormous, liberal government juggles the competing demands of Education, Environment, and Welfare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Camarga. The average income tax rate is 76.1%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The very strong Verdonian economy, worth 649 trillion Escus a year, is highly specialized and mostly made up of the Tourism industry, with significant contributions from Book Publishing. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is 69,123 Escus, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.6 times as much as the poorest.

Foreign musicians that Leader dislikes are turned away at the border, the tawdry celebrity gossip section has moved to the front page of most newspapers, where there's smoke there's the Verdonian Forestry Department, and religious education is a new government priority. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Verdon's national animal is the Horse, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Verdon is ranked 22,368^th in the world and 61^st in The Western Isles for Highest Economic Output, with 649 trillion Standard Monetary Units.