The Bardic Lorekeepers of Aethelia is a gargantuan, efficient nation, ruled by JEM with a fair hand, and remarkable for its soft-spoken computers, irreverence towards religion, and punitive income tax rates. The compassionate, democratic, cheerful population of 18.863 billion Aethelians are free to do what they want with their own bodies, and vote for whomever they like in elections; if they go into business, however, they are regulated to within an inch of their lives.

The enormous, liberal, socially-minded, outspoken government prioritizes Education, although Environment, Healthcare, and Welfare are also considered important, while Spirituality and Law & Order receive no funds. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Luna. The income tax rate is 100%.

The frighteningly efficient Aethelian economy, worth a remarkable 5,739 trillion newtons a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is highly specialized, is led by the Information Technology industry, with major contributions from Book Publishing and Tourism. Average income is an amazing 304,285 newtons, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Crowded passenger trains are near-silent save for the soft tap of fingers on touchscreens, the government has started a campaign to crack down on road rage and encourage alternate means of commuting, Aethelia is notorious for its citizens' infidelity, and artists from across the nation compete to renovate the restrooms of old government buildings. Crime is totally unknown. Aethelia's national animal is the aurora, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its national religion is Science.

Aethelia is ranked 157,424^th in the world and 99^th in The Local Cluster for Largest Manufacturing Sector, scoring zero on the Gooback-Jerbs Productivity Index.