The Holy Territories of Lareste is a massive, cultured nation, ruled by The Holy Council with an iron fist, and remarkable for its zero percent divorce rate, otherworldly petting zoo, and devotion to social welfare. The hard-nosed, cynical, devout population of 2.484 billion Laresteans 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, moralistic, socially-minded, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Law & Order, and Industry. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Nicoslia. The average income tax rate is 84.8%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Larestean economy, worth 366 trillion Lareste Soliduses a year, is broadly diversified and dominated by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with significant contributions from Uranium Mining, Information Technology, and Furniture Restoration. State-owned companies are common. Average income is an impressive 147,564 Lareste Soliduses, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.7 times as much as the poorest.

The education system is being cleansed of all corporate influence, the government is engaging in an agricultural trade war with Maxtopia, retired racing Larestean Eagles are served truffles for breakfast, and cults that offer eternal life after death to those who follow a self-sacrificing saviour are frowned upon. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a very well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Lareste's national animal is the Larestean Eagle, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to toxic air pollution, and its national religion is Eastern Orthodoxy.

Lareste is ranked 200,379^th in the world and 291^st in The League for Highest Foreign Aid Spending, scoring -3.16 on the Clooney Contribution Index.