The Federation of Republics of the Solar Union is a very large, socially progressive nation, notable for its irreverence towards religion, absence of drug laws, and suspicion of poets. The hard-nosed, hard-working, democratic population of 154 million Solarians enjoy a sensible mix of personal and economic freedoms, while the political process is open and the people's right to vote held sacrosanct.

The minute government, or what there is of one, juggles the competing demands of Education, Defense, and Welfare. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 5.9%.

The strong Solarian economy, worth 10.7 trillion Sols a year, is driven almost entirely by the private sector, which is broadly diversified and led by the Gambling industry, with major contributions from Retail, Furniture Restoration, and Basket Weaving. Average income is 69,558 Sols, with the richest citizens earning 5.7 times as much as the poorest.

The nation's generous tax credits have brought all the film studios to the yard, the government awards prizes to television shows featuring stereotype-breaking minority roles, collisions between bicycles and carnival floats are on the rise, and marketing departments of corporate giants compete to sponsor little league teams. Crime is moderate, with the police force struggling against a lack of funding and a high mortality rate. Republics of the Solar Union's national animal is the chicken, which can occasionally be seen sifting through garbage in the nation's cities.

Republics of the Solar Union is ranked 59,716^th in the world and 1^st in A Milky Way for Largest Automobile Manufacturing Sector, scoring 3,834.65 on the Henry Ford Productivity Index.