The Red Hour of Beta III is a gargantuan, orderly nation, ruled by Landru with an iron fist, and remarkable for its ritual sacrifices, pith helmet sales, and frequent executions. The hard-nosed, cynical, humorless, devout population of 11.493 billion Betans are ruled without fear or favor by a psychotic dictator, who outlaws just about everything and refers to the populace as "my little playthings."

The enormous, corrupt, moralistic, socially-minded, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Defense, and Spirituality. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of The Hall of Audiences. The average income tax rate is 77.4%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The strong Betan economy, worth 824 trillion Staves 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 an enormous, deeply entrenched, highly specialized black market in Trout Farming, Arms Manufacturing, and Beef-Based Agriculture. 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 71,751 Staves, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Jaywalking is punishable by public flogging, a life spent suffering in silence is considered noble, sailors spend their shore leave helping old ladies cross the street, and the only way to escape lengthy prison terms is in a body bag. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Beta III's national animal is the Archon, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation, and its national religion is The Body.

Beta III is ranked 68,515^th in the world and 35^th in United Earth Space Probe Agency for Most Advanced Public Education, scoring 3,626.38 on the Edu-tellignce® Test Score.