The Whisperer in Darkness of Bran Astor is a colossal, environmentally stunning nation, ruled by Dr Henry Armitage with a fair hand, and renowned for its keen interest in outer space, anti-smoking policies, and pith helmet sales. The compassionate, hard-working, democratic population of 5.586 billion Astorians enjoy a sensible mix of personal and economic freedoms, while the political process is open and the people's right to vote held sacrosanct.

The relatively small government prioritizes Education, although Environment, Healthcare, and Industry are also considered important, while Spirituality and Welfare receive no funds. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Arkham. The average income tax rate is 42.7%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Astorian economy, worth 782 trillion dentaliums a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Information Technology industry, with major contributions from Tourism, Book Publishing, and Retail. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is an impressive 140,106 dentaliums, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.6 times as much as the poorest.

Hypochondriacs demand treatment for genetic disorders they don't have, the nation's air force consists of strongly-worded letters folded into paper airplanes, coffee-addicted citizens look forward to baristas getting their name wrong at local coffee shops, and children are often punished for the sins of the fathers. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown. Bran Astor's national animal is the Cephalopod, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its national religion is Agnostic creationism.

Bran Astor is ranked 7,331^st in the world and 175^th in the West Pacific for Largest Publishing Industry, scoring 13,080.65 on the Bella Potter Productivity e-Index.