The Winged Republic of Zarathoft is a gargantuan, safe nation, ruled by Emperor Tarlvich with an even hand, and remarkable for its museums and concert halls, keen interest in outer space, and absence of drug laws. The hard-nosed, humorless population of 43.27 billion Zarithians are fiercely patriotic and enjoy great social equality; they tend to view other, more capitalist countries as somewhat immoral and corrupt.

The tiny government juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Education, and Defense. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Zarathos. The average income tax rate is 1.6%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Zarithian economy, worth a remarkable 9,476 trillion Krets a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Tourism industry, with major contributions from Arms Manufacturing, Information Technology, and Book Publishing. State-owned companies are common. Average income is an amazing 219,003 Krets, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.5 times as much as the poorest.

Internet ads promising "hot singles in your area" are even less accurate than they used to be, gardeners must genetically test weeds for unique traits before digging them up, the government blames all suspicious phenomena on flying saucers, and there's a literal nanny state for the legions of children taken by social services. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Zarathoft's national animal is the Tortoise, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its national religion is Mishghan.

Zarathoft is ranked 326,989^th in the world and 7^th in The Milky Way Galaxy for Nicest Citizens, with 0.26 average smiles per day.