The Kingdom of Mardessa is a massive, safe nation, ruled by Queen Elizabeth III with a fair hand, and notable for its daily referendums, national health service, and stringent health and safety legislation. The compassionate, democratic population of 1.924 billion Mardessans 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 enormous, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Education, Healthcare, and Administration. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Varlyn. The average income tax rate is 72.2%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The powerhouse Mardessan economy, worth 140 trillion Florins 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 led by the Tourism industry, with significant contributions from Basket Weaving, Information Technology, and Trout Farming. Average income is 73,025 Florins, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Life-saving resuscitation is denied based on decades-old teenage diaries that declare "I want to die before I get old", human tissue is grown in vats as a delicacy as well as for transplants, a government program is underway to revitalize Mardessa's beaches, and anti-government political posters adorn every building like wallpaper. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Mardessa's national animal is the Swan, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Mardessa is ranked 217,292^nd in the world and 8,500^th in The North Pacific for Largest Publishing Industry, scoring -7.21 on the Bella Potter Productivity e-Index.