The Empire of Trastal is a colossal, efficient nation, ruled by Frederik Kare with an iron fist, and remarkable for its museums and concert halls, pith helmet sales, and unlimited-speed roads. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical, humorless population of 4.202 billion Trastilians are ruled by a mostly-benevolent dictator, who grants the populace the freedom to live their own lives but watches carefully for anyone to slip up.

The medium-sized, corrupt, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Administration, and Law & Order. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Valkteria. The average income tax rate is 32.7%.

The frighteningly efficient Trastilian economy, worth 414 trillion Shylliðs a year, is fairly diversified and led by the Retail industry, with major contributions from Arms Manufacturing, Beef-Based Agriculture, and Door-to-door Insurance Sales. Black market activity is frequent. Average income is 98,640 Shylliðs, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 3.9 times as much as the poorest.

Birds and children's kites are regularly brought down by anti-aircraft fire, accidentally dropping a nickel is a social taboo, children who drop their ice cream are fined for littering, and psychological disorders are a taboo subject. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Trastal's national animal is the Otter, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to heavy metals seepage into national waterways.

Trastal is ranked 275,971^st in the world and 11,498^th in Lazarus for Smartest Citizens, with 17.86 quips per hour.