The Galactic Republic of Hannibal Lector Society is a gargantuan, efficient nation, ruled by Emperor Basil Justinian Argyros with an even hand, and renowned for its state-planned economy, anti-smoking policies, and compulsory military service. The hard-nosed, cynical, humorless population of 14.787 billion Byzantines 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.

The relatively small, corrupt government prioritizes Law & Order, with Industry, Defense, and Healthcare also on the agenda, while Welfare and Social Policy aren't funded at all. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Constantinople. The average income tax rate is 21.4%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Byzantine economy, worth a remarkable 2,324 trillion Kroners a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. However, for those in the know, there is a large, well-organized, broadly diversified black market in Information Technology, Arms Manufacturing, Retail, and Woodchip Exports. The private sector mostly consists of enterprising ten-year-olds selling lemonade on the sidewalk, but the government is looking at stamping this out. Average income is an impressive 157,168 Kroners, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.2 times as much as the poorest.

Goldfish bowls are three metres in diameter, meetings are often scheduled for "about four-ish" following complete conversion to sundials, tourists are duped into trimming hedges for the horsy-set, and anti-vaxxers claim that injected children are prone to psychotic breaks when they see the 'Queen of Diamonds' playing card. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force. Hannibal Lector Society's national animal is the Nine tailed fox, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation, and its national religion is Austinian Orthodox.

Hannibal Lector Society is ranked 254,187^th in the world and 5,781^st in The North Pacific for Most Cultured, scoring 61 on the Snufflebottom-Wiggendum Pentatonic Scale.