The State of Aetious is a gargantuan, socially progressive nation, renowned for its compulsory military service. The hard-nosed, hard-working, democratic population of 37.682 billion Aetiousians 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 medium-sized government juggles the competing demands of Education, Welfare, and Law & Order. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Capital Heights. The average income tax rate is 29.0%.

The strong Aetiousian economy, worth a remarkable 1,617 trillion betales a year, is quite specialized and led by the Door-to-door Insurance Sales industry, with major contributions from Arms Manufacturing, Uranium Mining, and Pizza Delivery. Average income is 42,928 betales, with the richest citizens earning 5.1 times as much as the poorest.

The tenet of free speech is held dear, genetic researchers have been expelled, a large-scale revitalization of the education system is underway, and Aetious has designated Capital Heights as its capital city. Crime, especially youth-related, is almost non-existent, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Aetious's national animal is the deer.

Aetious is ranked 200,451^st in the world and 1^st in Fezzan for Highest Unexpected Death Rate, scoring 31 on the Bus Surprisal Index.