The Community of Zage is a tiny, environmentally stunning nation, notable for its compulsory vegetarianism, ubiquitous missile silos, and punitive income tax rates. The compassionate, democratic population of 18 million Zages are free to do what they want with their own bodies, and vote for whomever they like in elections; if they go into business, however, they are regulated to within an inch of their lives.

The enormous, liberal, socially-minded, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Welfare, Administration, and Education. The average income tax rate is 66.8%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The basket case Zage economy, worth 241 billion Petels 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 slick, highly efficient, quite specialized black market in Pizza Delivery, Book Publishing, 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 13,406 Petels, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Most foreigners can't name the leader of Zage, the consent form for routine blood pressure measurement has been nominated for the 'Novel Of The Year' award, pro-wrestling bouts open with a legal disclaimer insisting that any violence is guaranteed 100% faked, and the diplomatic corps stinks. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Zage's national animal is the Tanned Tri-headed Cow, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Zage is ranked 112,510^th in the world and 8^th in Chordis for Lowest Crime Rates, with 66.22 law-abiding acts per hour.