Spotlight on:

“When All Else Fails, Shut Off The Light”

The Kingdom of Darken Past is a massive, environmentally stunning nation, notable for its hatred of cheese. Its compassionate population of 1.43 billion have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and take part in free and open elections, although not too often.

It is difficult to tell where the omnipresent government stops and the rest of society begins, but it juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Education, and the Environment. The average income tax rate is 84%, and even higher for the wealthy. The private sector is almost wholly made up of enterprising fourteen-year-old boys selling lemonade on the sidewalk, although the government is looking at stamping this out.

Space shuttles regularly launch rubbish into space, the government is seen to favor Catholics, bizarre-looking creatures called 'pantherdogs' dominate wildlife preserves, and the fire protection service is wholly government-funded. Crime is well under control, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Darken Past's national animal is the panther, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its currency is the shadow.

Darken Past is ranked 1775th in the region and 38,870th in the world for Most Godforsaken.