The Railroad States of Baltanla is a massive, orderly nation, ruled by Quoc Phi Nguyen with an iron fist, and notable for its daily referendums, ubiquitous missile silos, and ritual sacrifices. The hard-nosed, cynical, humorless, devout population of 3.794 billion Baltanians are ruled without fear or favor by a psychotic dictator, who outlaws just about everything and refers to the populace as "my little playthings."

The large, corrupt, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Law & Order, and Administration. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Baltanla City and Hanoia. The average income tax rate is 90.9%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Baltanlan economy, worth 588 trillion Auroes 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, fairly diversified black market in Information Technology, Arms Manufacturing, Furniture Restoration, and Woodchip Exports. 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 an impressive 155,142 Auroes, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.2 times as much as the poorest.

Weighted heels are added to military boots to ensure diminutive celebrities meet minimum requirements, creating cardboard imitations of missiles is a new top-secret military project, turning the other cheek is accompanied by a polite letter of complaint, and retirement homes are often fitted with luxurious suites. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a very well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Baltanla's national animal is the Balls, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its national religion is Buddhism.

Baltanla is ranked 13,401^st in the world and 8^th in Concord for Most Subsidized Industry, scoring 8,619.25 on the Gilded Widget Scale.