The North PacificBoard

The Holy Empire Dictatorship of Bala Mantre is a massive, efficient nation, ruled by King Telmas Chasun The Great with an iron fist, and remarkable for its free-roaming dinosaurs, infamous sell-swords, and fear of technology. The hard-nosed, cynical, humorless, devout population of 1.897 billion Bala Mantreans 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 large, corrupt, moralistic, socially-minded, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Law & Order, and Administration. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Hak Li. The average income tax rate is 95.1%.

The frighteningly efficient Bala Mantrean economy, worth 349 trillion Yuins a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. However, for those in the know, there is a slick, highly efficient, broadly diversified black market in Arms Manufacturing, Trout Farming, Beef-Based Agriculture, and Tourism. The private sector mostly consists of enterprising ten-year-olds selling lemonade on the sidewalk, but the government is looking at stamping this out. Average income is an impressive 184,003 Yuins, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.8 times as much as the poorest.

10-year-olds who struggle with integrating by parts are considered slow learners, straitjackets are a common religious garb, the diplomatic corps tends to open negotiations by insulting all the foreigners in the room, and a The North Pacific Tourist Association survey has rated Bala Mantre #1 for number twos. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a very well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Bala Mantre's national animal is the dove, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies, and its national religion is Yamastian.