The City-State of Rho Ophiuchi is a colossal, efficient nation, ruled by Corporations with an even hand, and remarkable for its otherworldly petting zoo, infamous sell-swords, and absence of drug laws. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cheerful, devout population of 8.003 billion Rho Ophiuchians enjoy some of the most opulent lifestyles in the region, unless they are unemployed or working-class, in which case they are variously starving to death or crippled by easily preventable diseases.

The tiny, corrupt, liberal, pro-business government is primarily concerned with Industry, although Defense, Education, and Healthcare are also considered important, while Environment and Law & Order receive no funds. Income tax is unheard of.

The frighteningly efficient Rho Ophiuchian economy, worth a remarkable 3,997 trillion Kilograms of Iron a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Retail industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Arms Manufacturing, and Gambling. Average income is an amazing 499,549 Kilograms of Iron, but there is a vast disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 3,593,531 per year while the poor average 22,367, a ratio of 160 to 1.

The state believes that nature-oriented summer camps will somehow solve youth crime, the automotive industry soaks up huge government handouts, the national security service are a bunch of crooks, and refugees from other nations are flocking to Rho Ophiuchi's border. Crime, especially youth-related, is so common that it is unusual to encounter someone following the law, probably because of the absence of a police force. Rho Ophiuchi's national animal is the Rotifer, which is also the nation's favorite main course, and its national religion is Christianity.

Rho Ophiuchi is ranked 2,270^th in the world and 56^th in the Pacific for Most Cultured, scoring 246 on the Snufflebottom-Wiggendum Pentatonic Scale.