The Congressional Republic of Oslea is a gargantuan, cultured nation, ruled by James Duarte with an even hand, and remarkable for its pith helmet sales, national health service, and infamous sell-swords. The hard-nosed, humorless population of 29.122 billion Osleans are highly moralistic and fiercely conservative, in the sense that they tend to believe most things should be outlawed. People who have good jobs and work quietly at them are lauded; others are viewed with suspicion.

The tiny, corrupt government juggles the competing demands of Industry, Education, and Law & Order. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Amber Crown. The average income tax rate is 4.7%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Oslean economy, worth a remarkable 7,077 trillion credits a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Arms Manufacturing, Tourism, and Retail. Black market activity is frequent. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is an amazing 243,018 credits, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.6 times as much as the poorest.

Scenic mountain valleys are flooded with water as damming projects get underway, school uniforms are compulsory, the latest electric jet fighter has almost enough battery charge to reach cruising altitude -- provided you don't use the radar, and James Duarte is quite hard to get a hold of. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown. Oslea's national animal is the Oslean Forest Cat, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its national religion is Christianity.

Oslea is ranked 289,779^th in the world and 7^th in Coalition of Sovereign Nations for Nicest Citizens, with 0.21 average smiles per day.