The Watchfires of Shen-1 is a titanic, safe nation, notable for its ban on automobiles, keen interest in outer space, and irreverence towards religion. The quiet, industrious population of 18.975 billion Shen-1ians have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and take part in free and open elections, although not too often.

The large government juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Education, and Administration. The average income tax rate is 49.5%.

The strong Shen-1ian economy, worth a remarkable 1,038 trillion $$s a year, is led by the Door-to-door Insurance Sales industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Arms Manufacturing, and Furniture Restoration. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 54,722 $$s, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 3.3 times as much as the poorest.

Citizens are deployed to barren deserts to protect small territorial claims, rich people sell their mansions to pay for endless rows of mobile homes, political candidates who don't release their birth certificates are presumed to have been born in Maxtopia, and dogs are encouraged to confront the psychodynamic roots of their desire to be "good boys". Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Shen-1's national animal is the Death's-head hawkmoth, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies.

Shen-1 is ranked 104,360^th in the world and 1^st in Shenzhen for Most Developed, scoring 60.82 on the Human Development Index.