The City-State of New Lower Manhattan is a gargantuan, efficient nation, ruled by The Director with an iron fist, and notable for its rum-swilling pirates, infamous sell-swords, and parental licensing program. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical, humorless population of 20.617 billion Manhattanites are ruled with an iron fist by the corrupt, dictatorship government, which oppresses anyone who isn't on the board of a Fortune 500 company. Large corporations tend to be above the law, and use their financial clout to gain ever-increasing government benefits at the expense of the poor and unemployed.

The minute, corrupt, pro-business, well-organized government, or what there is of one, is effectively ruled by the Department of Defense, although Industry is also considered important, while Environment and Welfare receive no funds. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of New Lower Manhattan. Income tax is unheard of.

The frighteningly efficient Manhattanite economy, worth an astonishing 10,947 trillion NLM credits a year, is driven almost entirely by the private sector, which is broadly diversified and led by the Gambling industry, with major contributions from Uranium Mining, Information Technology, and Retail. Average income is a breathtaking 530,970 NLM credits, but there is a vast disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 4,973,047 per year while the poor average 4,780, a ratio of 1,040 to 1.

In coastal waters there are fifteen salvage divers per dead man's chest (yo ho ho), jaywalking will put an end to a family tree, using "inspect element" is grounds for espionage charges, and small towns have started burning historical buildings in hopes of attracting tourists. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown. New Lower Manhattan's national animal is the death monster, which is also the nation's favorite main course, and its national religion is none.

New Lower Manhattan is ranked 72,412^th in the world and 4,055^th in Balder for Lowest Crime Rates, with 69.71 law-abiding acts per hour.