The Empire of Bathera is a titanic, cultured nation, ruled by Grand Baron Elam Ol'ced IX with an even hand, and remarkable for its daily referendums, avowedly heterosexual populace, and parental licensing program. The hard-nosed, humorless, devout population of 19.822 billion Batherans are fiercely patriotic and enjoy great social equality; they tend to view other, more capitalist countries as somewhat immoral and corrupt.

The medium-sized, corrupt government juggles the competing demands of Administration, Law & Order, and Education. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Bathera City. The average income tax rate is 78.1%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Batheran economy, worth a remarkable 4,720 trillion Baht a year, is quite specialized and mostly made up of the Arms Manufacturing industry, with significant contributions from Tourism, Book Publishing, and Information Technology. State-owned companies are common. Average income is an amazing 238,159 Baht, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.1 times as much as the poorest.

Parents giddily refuse to pay their toddlers' medical bills, truck drivers turn their engines off and coast whenever they're going downhill, student exchange programs are in trouble as everyone wants to leave but no-one wants to come, and construction workers evacuate work sites after finding sharp rocks on the ground. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Bathera's national animal is the Bat, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies, and its national religion is Techno-Puritanism.

Bathera is ranked 4,514^th in the world and 115^th in Europe for Highest Food Quality, scoring 208.17 on the Meeshlin-Starr Index.