Frangipania

An idyllic natural paradise of lush forests (where rabid hyenas gambol, frolic and maul the unwary) and high mountains, the island of Frangipania is a jewel in the Bibliographic Ocean. The beautiful capital city of Perrimar is a masterpiece of classical architecture among the Beacon Mountains, though now sadly in disrepair. The thriving port City of Seven Hills is the hub of Frangipania's struggling economy, and a key centre of the black market in beef-based agriculture.

Frangipania is ruled over by the Enlightened Despot, who seized power from the corrupt ruling classes in a popular left-wing coup, then set himself up as absolute dictator. He outlaws just about everything and refers to the populace as "my little playthings". His apparatus of power includes the feared secret police ("the Codex"), recruited from the ranks of the public library service, and the Coppelia Elite, a crack special forces unit formed from the Frangipanian National Ballet. All branches of the security services and armed forces are recruited from volunteers, but all young Frangipanians are compelled to do a year's national service as public library workers, street sweepers or school crossing guards. Conscientious objectors to national service are offered the alternative of performing for a season at the Hyenaville open-air theatre.

It is difficult to tell where the omnipresent, socially-minded government stops and the rest of society begins, but it is effectively ruled by the Department of Law & Order, though the environment, health and education are not neglected. The average income tax rate is 100%, and even higher for the wealthy. Private enterprise is illegal. Voting is compulsory, scientists regularly clone human beings for research purposes, and Harry Potter books are banned. As are garden gnomes, coughing, pyjamas, gravel and wasps. Crime -- especially youth-related -- is non-existent since the Despot had the entire population barcoded for tracking purposes, for their safety and protection. Loudspeakers on every street corner constantly broadcast the message that the Frangipanians are "happy people", and lucky to be Frangipanian.

Recent government initiatives in social welfare, and compliance with UN resolutions, have led to the UN's reclassification of Frangipania from "Psychotic Dictatorship" to "Father knows best" state. The Enlightened Despot is pleased by this recognition of his enlightenedness, though secretly worried that people will think he's going soft.

The Despot's various whims include establishing a space programme, making all medicines free to his subjects, and maintaining a Napoleonic-era 74-gun warship as his personal yacht. This vessel, the HDS (His Despotship's Ship) Tarrasque, has been entered in the round-Haywiristan yacht race of 2004-5. Unfortunately, despite a fiscal policy of taxing the entire population till they squeak, the cost of such projects has long-ago caused the economy of Frangipania to implode.

Competitive sky-diving, the former national sport, has lost popularity in Frangipania since parachutes were outlawed, but the nation is always ready to rally behind the national soccer team ("the Glorious Hyenas") in international games. The national stadium is located at the nation's third city, Hyenaville. The stadium also serves as the venue for concerts by such great Frangi-pop bands as the chart-topping 'King Arthur and the Impostors'.

National holidays include "Enlightened Despot's Birthday", "We Love the Enlightened Despot" Day, and "Anniversary of the Enlightened Despot joining BookCrossing", as well as "Victory over the Chicken Day", commemorating the Tarrasque's heroic sinking of an unarmed competitor in the Haywiristan yacht race.

The Frangipanian armed forces had a more serious role to play in the defence of BookCrossing against invaders in the recent war. The carriers HDS "Hunter S Thompson" and HDS "Rod Hull and Emu", with their accompanying carrier groups, helped regain control of the sealanes, and enforced no-fly zones on enemy nations. The Coppelia Elite achieved a major victory by releasing 500 rabid hyenas into the official residence of the ruler of Fanferella, causing that benighted nation to flee back to its own region.