Spotlight on:

“I thought you had a plan”

The Culture Ulterior of Astatinon is a huge, economically powerful nation, ruled by Anticipation of a new Lover with a fair hand, and notable for its complete lack of prisons. Its hard-nosed, intelligent population of 884 million enjoy extensive civil rights and enjoy a level of social equality free from the usual accompanying government corruption.

It is difficult to tell where the omnipresent, socially-minded government stops and the rest of society begins, but it juggles the competing demands of Education, Social Welfare, and Healthcare. It meets every day to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Ethics Gradient. The average income tax rate is 100%. A powerhouse of a private sector is led by the Tourism industry, followed by Information Technology and Gambling.

Major cities shut down as their local sports team takes to the field every day, traffic jams are a common sight due to construction work from a massive overhaul of the nation's freeways, reports of attacks by bright purple sixty-foot high spiders have recently shot up, and scientists regularly clone human beings for research purposes. Crime is totally unknown. Astatinon's national animal is the Kiwi, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its currency is the Unfinished Pot Noodle.

Astatinon is ranked 17th in the region and 13,166th in the world for Largest Arms Manufacturing Sector.