The Federation of Asphalte is a very large, safe nation, renowned for its barren, inhospitable landscape, public floggings, and restrictive gun laws. The hard-nosed population of 200 million Asphalters 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 medium-sized, moralistic government prioritizes Defense, although Law & Order, Education, and Administration are also considered important, while International Aid and Environment receive no funds. The average income tax rate is 39.8%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The Asphaltean economy, worth 10.7 trillion Asphalter pesos a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with significant contributions from Uranium Mining, Soda Sales, and Beef-Based Agriculture. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 53,255 Asphalter pesos, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.5 times as much as the poorest.

Commuters are denied boarding for attempting to bring packed lunches onto trains, foreign governments are threatened if they so much as mention the word "election", it's scientifically provable that Asphaltean guys don't know how to make a woman happy, and extraordinary tribunals try accused financial criminals. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Asphalte's national animal is the roadrunner, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

Asphalte is ranked 108,580^th in the world and 14^th in Endless Highway for Lowest Crime Rates, with 66.71 law-abiding acts per hour.