The Heavens Scorn of Order of Ash is a colossal, efficient nation, remarkable for its rum-swilling pirates, compulsory military service, and ubiquitous missile silos. The hard-nosed, cynical, devout population of 6.461 billion Order of Ashians are highly moralistic and fiercely conservative, in the sense that they tend to believe most things should be outlawed. People who have good jobs and work quietly at them are lauded; others are viewed with suspicion.

The medium-sized, corrupt, moralistic government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Law & Order, and Education. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 38.6%.

The powerhouse Order of Ashian economy, worth 615 trillion rubles a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. However, for those in the know, there is a large, well-organized, broadly diversified black market in Arms Manufacturing, Woodchip Exports, Uranium Mining, and Information Technology. The private sector mostly consists of enterprising ten-year-olds selling lemonade on the sidewalk, but the government is looking at stamping this out. Average income is 95,251 rubles, but there is a large disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 383,104 per year while the poor average 15,848, a ratio of 24.2 to 1.

Asking 'a penny for your thoughts?' draws law enforcement response, polygraphs are relegated to the dungeon exhibit in castle museums, citizens are forced to donate blood once every three months, and top-shelf magazines feature risqué centrefold spreads of ladies' wrists. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Order of Ash's national animal is the fox, which can occasionally be seen sifting through garbage in the nation's cities.

Order of Ash is ranked 248,366^th in the world and 9^th in The United Leftist Republics for Most Cheerful Citizens, with 45.7 Percentage Of Water Glasses Perceived Half-Full.