Switzerland

From Gothpoodle

• Population: 5.6 million
• Aspects: Very Stable, Fifth Wave

The Swiss have moved through the 21st century in characteristic fashion. Switzerland remains independent of the European Union, although cooperation with the rest of Europe is quite close on most issues. The country is still a financial and industrial center. Bioshells and radical genetic modifications are rare, but almost the entire population has benefited from moderate genetic upgrades.

Despite decades of pressure, Swiss banks hold money or records from any source in complete confidentiality. This has occasionally brought a great deal of unwelcome attention, as when a substantial portion of the Thai treasury turned up in Swiss hands after the Pacific War. Still, in a world where privacy is an increasingly expensive luxury, a banking service of such integrity is too useful to be abolished. The banks of Geneva and Zurich continue to operate as they have for centuries.