The Divine Island Kingdom of Aschente is a gargantuan, safe nation, ruled by King Atticus with an iron fist, and remarkable for its keen interest in outer space, smutty television, and stringent health and safety legislation. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical population of 12.397 billion Aschenteans are ruled by a mostly-benevolent dictator, who grants the populace the freedom to live their own lives but watches carefully for anyone to slip up.

The medium-sized, corrupt, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Education, and Industry. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Stormblade City. The average income tax rate is 60.7%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Aschentean economy, worth a remarkable 1,640 trillion Rubies a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is broadly diversified, is led by the Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Arms Manufacturing, Tourism, and Book Publishing. Average income is an impressive 132,366 Rubies, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.0 times as much as the poorest.

New pilots are regularly reminded that they are more expendable than their planes, busy commuters no longer hear the cries of "I want some more!" on the nation's streets, citizens can only enjoy the splendor of the natural world in designated 'Majesty Appreciation' zones, and the single fish caught by Aschentean fishers last year is cited as evidence of Aschente's thriving fisheries. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Aschente's national animal is the Dragon and its national religion is Atheism.

Aschente is ranked 200,165^th in the world and 1,096^th in 10000 Islands for Greatest Rich-Poor Divides, with 1.98 Rich To Poor Income Ratio.