The Technocracy States of Azzarel is a gargantuan, cultured nation, ruled by The Shepherd with an iron fist, and renowned for its strictly enforced bedtime, keen interest in outer space, and zero percent divorce rate. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical, humorless population of 14.264 billion Azzas 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 relatively small, corrupt, pro-business, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Education, and Defense. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Airstrip One. The average income tax rate is 31.5%.

The frighteningly efficient Azza economy, worth a remarkable 4,627 trillion credits a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Arms Manufacturing and Retail. Black market activity is rampant. Average income is an amazing 324,445 credits, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 4.5 times as much as the poorest.

College athletes are arrested for selling lemonade, autumn landscape paintings feature men stripping leaves from bare branches with a vacuum, military information leaks are **REDACTED** by **REDACTED** in **REDACTED**, and teenage male videogamers often suffer repetitive strain wrist injuries. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Azzarel's national animal is the Meerkat, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

Azzarel is ranked 1,396^th in the world and 67^th in The North Pacific for Most Scientifically Advanced, scoring 905.1 on the Kurzweil Singularity Index.