The Proud Nation of Topolyce is a titanic, cultured nation, ruled by Ryder Daniels with an even hand, and notable for its museums and concert halls, anti-smoking policies, and punitive income tax rates. The compassionate population of 23.323 billion Topolites have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and take part in free and open elections, although not too often.

The government — a sprawling, bureaucracy-choked morass — juggles the competing demands of Education, Healthcare, and Environment. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Topol. The average income tax rate is 80.4%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The powerhouse Topolycean economy, worth a remarkable 1,631 trillion Pics a year, is extremely specialized and mostly made up of the Book Publishing industry, with significant contributions from Information Technology. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is 69,959 Pics, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Attempts to inform people about their unclaimed property are often mistaken for telephone scams, dancing with your first cousin is a misdemeanor, government officials have to mortgage their homes to make ends meet, and police struggle to solve crimes due to the lack of fingerprint records. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Topolyce's national animal is the Dragon, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies.

Topolyce is ranked 14,447^th in the world and 194^th in The North Pacific for Largest Populations, with 23.3 billion capita.