The Republic of Custodian 42 is a gargantuan, environmentally stunning nation, renowned for its state-planned economy, punitive income tax rates, and devotion to social welfare. The hard-nosed population of 25.59 billion Custodian 42ians are fiercely patriotic and enjoy great social equality; they tend to view other, more capitalist countries as somewhat immoral and corrupt.

The enormous, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Welfare, Education, and Healthcare. The average income tax rate is 62.7%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The large but sluggish Custodian 42ian economy, worth 542 trillion Partisans 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, quite specialized black market in Automobile Manufacturing, Basket Weaving, Cheese Exports, and Furniture Restoration. 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 21,215 Partisans, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Custodian 42's national animal is the Partisan, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Custodian 42 is ranked 136,691^st in the world and 1^st in Union of Social Democratic States for Largest Cheese Export Sector, scoring 1,536.93 on the Mozzarella Productivity Index.