The Constellation of The Hinterplace is a titanic, efficient nation, ruled by Josi with a fair hand, and remarkable for its ubiquitous missile silos, devotion to social welfare, and stringent health and safety legislation. The compassionate, democratic, devout population of 12.81 billion Cetids hold their civil and political rights very dear, although the wealthy and those in business tend to be viewed with suspicion.

The large, liberal, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Education, Administration, and Industry. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Tau Ceti. The average income tax rate is 76.1%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Ceti economy, worth a remarkable 1,654 trillion Astrophages a year, is fairly diversified and led by the Tourism industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Book Publishing, and Retail. Average income is an impressive 129,158 Astrophages, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Animal control is going door-to-door releasing all pets back into the wild, the standard police uniform now comes with several colours of belt, animal liberationists receive government funding to break into animal research labs, and polite commuters on the Tau Ceti Metro always let hurried workers off the train first. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. The Hinterplace's national animal is the Rocky, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its national religion is Humanism.

The Hinterplace is ranked 17,745^th in the world and 47^th in United Kingdom for Most Cultured, scoring 91 on the Snufflebottom-Wiggendum Pentatonic Scale.