The Commonwealth of Long Gravida is a gargantuan, socially progressive nation, ruled by Lord Protector Winston Alexander with an even hand, and remarkable for its multi-spousal wedding ceremonies, frequent executions, and punitive income tax rates. The hard-nosed, democratic population of 11.17 billion Gravidians are fiercely patriotic and enjoy great social equality; they tend to view other, more capitalist countries as somewhat immoral and corrupt.

The government — a sprawling, bureaucracy-choked morass — prioritizes Healthcare, with Education, Industry, and Defense also on the agenda, while Public Transport and Spirituality aren't funded at all. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Sunderland. The average income tax rate is 72.8%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The all-consuming Gravdian economy, worth 600 trillion Pounds a year, is highly specialized and mostly made up of the Book Publishing industry, with significant contributions from Information Technology and Automobile Manufacturing. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is 53,724 Pounds, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

It's entirely possible foreign diplomats misheard when Long Gravida offered the words "peace be upon you", town welcome signs list corporate sponsors, cars speed down national highways while drivers sleep at the wheel, and the government seizes the property of the recently deceased. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a very well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Long Gravida's national animal is the Eagle, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies, and its national religion is Secular State.

Long Gravida is ranked 138,383^rd in the world and 1^st in The Western Colonies for Largest Automobile Manufacturing Sector, scoring 1,122.76 on the Henry Ford Productivity Index.