The Dark Void empire of Hellkan is a gargantuan, efficient nation, ruled by Emperor Balthazar with an iron fist, and renowned for its barren, inhospitable landscape, ban on automobiles, and state-planned economy. The hard-nosed, cynical, humorless population of 10.938 billion Subjects 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 relatively small, corrupt, moralistic, socially-minded, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Law & Order, and Education. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Nova Cassia. The average income tax rate is 49.3%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Hellkanian economy, worth a remarkable 2,556 trillion Platinums 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, fairly diversified black market in Arms Manufacturing, Information Technology, Beef-Based Agriculture, and Uranium Mining. 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 an amazing 233,762 Platinums, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Six-year-old children playing dress-up are viewed with suspicion, Max Barry finally has time for writing books after NationStates was recently outlawed, visitors to Hellkan are microchipped and must be escorted by a Hellkanian soldier - even to the bathroom, and citizens are constantly disappointed to find their nuisance neighbours are still alive. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Hellkan's national animal is the Dark Vestige, which is also the nation's favorite main course, and its national religion is Cult of Darkness.

Hellkan is ranked 4,186^th in the world and 35^th in Psychotic Dictatorships for Most Authoritarian, with 8,432.2 milliStalins.