The Cornelian Dominion of Maritzal is a titanic, cultured nation, ruled by Cornelius I with an iron fist, and notable for its sprawling nuclear power plants, otherworldly petting zoo, and prohibition of alcohol. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical, humorless population of 21.714 billion Maritzalians are kept under strict control by the oppressive government, which measures its success by the nation's GDP and refers to individual citizens as "human resources."

The tiny, corrupt, moralistic, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Administration, Defense, and Industry. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Meridian. The average income tax rate is 66.1%.

The frighteningly efficient Maritzalian economy, worth an astonishing 12,174 trillion Pistas a year, is mostly comprised of black market activity, especially in Information Technology, Retail, Arms Manufacturing, and Book Publishing. Average income is a breathtaking 560,688 Pistas, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 3.7 times as much as the poorest.

Sleep-deprived officials are known to collapse after late night revision for their examinations, having only one wallet stolen in a day is considered a cause for celebration, teenagers are severely punished for being out too late, and new religious sects are squashed immediately by the government. Crime, especially youth-related, is all-pervasive, with the police force struggling against a lack of funding and a high mortality rate. Maritzal's national animal is the Cat, which is also the nation's favorite main course, and its national religion is The Order Of Our Lord Cornelius.

Maritzal is ranked 68,941^st in the world and 482^nd in Europe for Most Developed, scoring 71.25 on the Human Development Index.