The Colony of Tas Bardes is a massive, socially progressive nation, remarkable for its free-roaming dinosaurs, ban on automobiles, and absence of drug laws. The compassionate population of 1.606 billion Tas Bardesians enjoy extensive civil freedoms, particularly in social issues, while business tends to be more regulated.

The enormous government juggles the competing demands of Education, Environment, and Administration. The average income tax rate is 90.6%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The all-consuming Tas Bardesian economy, worth 157 trillion Leafcoins a year, is highly specialized and led by the Book Publishing industry, with significant contributions from Basket Weaving, Tourism, and Information Technology. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is 98,272 Leafcoins, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.0 times as much as the poorest.

Dentists routinely perform open heart surgery, drills and shovels have been banned as the government cracks down on any means of fracking, universities spend millions cultivating ivy on their buildings, and the nation forgives those who are big enough to admit they made a mistake. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a very well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Tas Bardes's national animal is the Whispering Willow Deer, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Tas Bardes is ranked 56,154^th in the world and 176^th in Concord for Most Scientifically Advanced, scoring 166.8 on the Kurzweil Singularity Index.