The Empire of Shirn is a massive, environmentally stunning nation, ruled by Emperor with an even hand, and remarkable for its museums and concert halls, frequent executions, and devotion to social welfare. The compassionate, devout population of 3.349 billion Shirnians are fiercely patriotic and enjoy great social equality; they tend to view other, more capitalist countries as somewhat immoral and corrupt.

The large, corrupt, socially-minded government prioritizes Defense, with Healthcare, Law & Order, and Administration also on the agenda. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Skitralin. The average income tax rate is 67.1%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The Shirnian economy, worth 251 trillion Nurets 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 black market in Tourism, Information Technology, Arms Manufacturing, and Cheese Exports. 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 74,997 Nurets, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Hospitals fear government fines more than terrorist ransoms, shouting contests are an important part of government job interviews, studio executives abandon tragic stories of star-crossed lovers because "it's been done", and the people's love for Emperor is little more than self-preservation. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Shirn's national animal is the Lobster, which frolics freely in the nation's sparkling oceans, and its national religion is Agnosticism.

Shirn is ranked 50,904^th in the world and 1,588^th in The North Pacific for Most Scientifically Advanced, scoring 145.87 on the Kurzweil Singularity Index.