The Empire of GoldSilver918 is a mammoth, efficient nation, ruled by Emperor Irid II von Silber with an iron fist, and remarkable for its parental licensing program, anti-smoking policies, and public floggings. The hard-nosed, cynical, humorless population of 9.029 billion Artichians are kept under strict control by the oppressive government, which measures its success by the nation's GDP and refers to individual citizens as "human resources."

The medium-sized, corrupt, moralistic, 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 Goldenia. The average income tax rate is 95.6%.

The frighteningly efficient Artichian economy, worth a remarkable 4,740 trillion Artichian Marks a year, is broadly diversified and mostly comprised of black market activity, especially in Information Technology, Arms Manufacturing, Retail, and Uranium Mining. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is a breathtaking 525,043 Artichian Marks, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.7 times as much as the poorest.

Diplomatic missions are often mistaken as declarations of war, Artichian husbands are dead good at fathering kids, foreign nationals who stumble near GoldSilver918 are harbingers of war, and a stitch in time could see you serving nine. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. GoldSilver918's national animal is the Reichsadler, which is also the nation's favorite main course, and its national religion is Methodism.

GoldSilver918 is ranked 229,227^th in the world and 431^st in The UMNS for Largest Gambling Industry, scoring -3.54 on the Kelly Criterion Productivity Index.