The Tan Node of Node Tan is a colossal, orderly nation, remarkable for its parental licensing program, compulsory military service, and enslaved workforce. The compassionate, cynical, humorless, devout population of 4.584 billion Node Tanians are ruled with an iron fist by the dictatorship government, which ensures that no-one outside the party gets too rich. In their personal lives, however, citizens are relatively unoppressed; it remains to be seen whether this is because the government genuinely cares about its people, or if it hasn't gotten around to stamping out civil rights yet.

The medium-sized, corrupt, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Defense, and Industry. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 49.1%.

The all-consuming Node Tanian economy, worth 478 trillion Nodecoins a year, is led by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Beef-Based Agriculture, and Cheese Exports. State-owned companies are common. Average income is an impressive 104,293 Nodecoins, with the richest citizens earning 5.9 times as much as the poorest.

Punitive tariffs protect local industry, the sun now sets on the Node Tanian Empire, soldiers who shoot themselves in the foot are regarded as heroes, and most farmers are indentured to agrochemical conglomerates. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Node Tan's national animal is the Circuit, which is also the nation's favorite main course.

Node Tan is ranked 248,293^rd in the world and 97^th in The Node for Largest Publishing Industry, scoring -4.27 on the Bella Potter Productivity e-Index.