The Realm Past the Horizon of Merethin is a mammoth, safe nation, ruled by Iris with a fair hand, and remarkable for its digital currency, irreverence towards religion, and stringent health and safety legislation. The compassionate, democratic, cheerful population of 5.884 billion Merethinians love a good election, and the government gives them plenty of them. Universities tend to be full of students debating the merits of various civil and political rights, while businesses are tightly regulated and the wealthy viewed with suspicion.

The enormous, socially-minded, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Education, Industry, and Administration. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Merethin City. The average income tax rate is 99.3%.

The frighteningly efficient Merethinian economy, worth a remarkable 1,238 trillion golden coins a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is highly specialized, is mostly made up of the Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Book Publishing and Tourism. Average income is an amazing 210,439 golden coins, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

People boast about their low income on their dating profiles, criminals identify as innocent, citizens praise the weeds that overwhelm their narrow vegetable realm, and robotic spouses prove to be just as imperfect as flesh and blood ones. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Merethin's national animal is the axolotl, which frolics freely in the nation's sparkling oceans, and its national religion is Star Sister.

Merethin is ranked 124,779^th in the world and 63^rd in Starlight for Largest Populations, with 5.88 billion capita.