The State of Paratas is a titanic, safe nation, ruled by the Governor with an iron fist, and remarkable for its prohibition of alcohol, punitive income tax rates, and stringent health and safety legislation. The hard-nosed, cynical population of 21.72 billion Paratasians are ruled without fear or favor by a psychotic dictator, who outlaws just about everything and refers to the populace as "my little playthings."

The enormous, corrupt, moralistic, socially-minded, well-organized government prioritizes Law & Order, with Welfare, Defense, and Healthcare also on the agenda. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Capital Heights. The average income tax rate is 74.4%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The large but stagnant Paratasian economy, worth 142 trillion betales a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is quite specialized, is led by the Trout Farming industry, with major contributions from Basket Weaving, Beef-Based Agriculture, and Gambling. Average income is 6,543 betales, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Bicyclists are banned from major roads, organ donation is compulsory, Paratas has designated Capital Heights as its capital city, and The Governor has just been declared ruler of Paratas in an international press conference. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Paratas's national animal is the deer, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Paratas is ranked 300,611^th in the world and 1^st in Baluchistan for Smartest Citizens, with 1.95 quips per hour.