Chimeria, located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, is approximately 550,000 square miles in total land area. Excluding its barrier islands, it extends from 48° N to 25° N and from 42° W to 28° W. This temperate latitude zone coupled with its location in respect to ocean currents and wind patterns creates the desirable feature of a  pleasant climate. In general, it can be considered humid sub-tropical, although the southernmost part of the island is closer to tropical and the northern highlands are temperate, with the high mountain peaks staying snow-capped year-round. Thus the island country supports life almost everywhere. However, much of the land is protected and cannot be used. Additionally, many hurricanes threaten the island each year, though most all of them are pushed away by the ocean currents, and the barrier islands often block those that are not pushed away.

            Chimeria has a total population of approximately 21 million, making its average population density 38.2 people per square mile. However, the population is growing quickly. Chimeria is gaining immigrants every year, and this is pushing the population growth rate up to 2.9%, higher than ever before! The most densely populated area is the capital, Aepoch, because it is the hub of businesses and the base of the national government.

            The government is much like American democracy, but it is different in many aspects. For instance, there are two “state houses” that control most of the governmental practices for the state. The main government, located on Leos, makes national laws and money. However, Chimerians do not use American dollars as their national currency. This is because Chimeria, having a smaller national income than America, would find inflation and price rates of the dollar atrocious. So instead, it uses its own currency, the Myin, for which the symbol is ﮏ . The Myin is equal to about 3 American dollars, and is divided into tenths and one-hundredths, so that the smallest piece is worth about 3 cents.

            The official language of Chimeria is a beautiful language called Thosper, which is the language spoken by the natives. It is a phonetic language, with a symbol for each of the 9 basic vowels (ä, ah, eh, ee, oh, oo, ih, uh, u) and these are combined to make all 23 vowel sounds (the English “I” is ah-ee) so that none of the words need a pronunciation guide! However, the fact that this language is official is not in keeping with the fact that English is the most commonly spoken language. This is mainly due to European influence, but also because languages are taught from a very early age, so that almost everyone who lives on Chimeria can speak at least two languages.

            The most predominant religion is Christian, though the denominations thereof are mainly Protestant, since many of those opposed to the Catholic Church before Luther’s Protestant movement came to Chimeria. The second-largest religious group involves those who did not convert to Christianity but kept their own religion, generally called Kai. Kai is the belief in spirits and energy flows, though many Kai believe in one God. Kai itself means “energy” and the main focus of the religion is making positive energy, rather like Karma. The Kai believe that in order to heal the body, one must only heal the mind, and they take it as an unforgivable sin to kill in vain. There are several holidays in the Kaian calendar, October 11^th being one of the largest, called Aediem. On this day, people celebrate life and love and their blessings by making large, colorful garlands of native flowers and stringing them over their doors. Then the people travel around to each others’ houses, visiting and well-wishing. This tradition has continued, been Christianized like most holidays, and has been declared a national holiday. In addition to these religions, Jews also live on the island, though they have no ancient Chimerian lineage. There are small groups of other world religions like Hindu and Buddhism, but these people, like Jews, were not originally inhabitants of Chimeria.

          Chimeria grows most of its own food and produces much of what it needs. Chimerians are able to achieve this by several means. First of all, they do not waste land, owing in great part to different land use policies that keep much of the land natural or in use. They do not waste acres and acres of land on beef production, but use efficient forms of food production. Growing 50 lbs. of soybeans, for instance, uses much less land than the production of 50 lbs. of meat. It is also more cost-efficient, uses less energy, and forces a more healthful diet involving better protein and less fat and cholesterol. Another way Chimerians keep from wasting land is by enforcing strict land use policies limiting the land that can be developed, requiring buffer zones at the edges of developed properties, and imposing impact fees that proportionately penalize developers for their negative impact on the land.