The Protectorate of Altrius Station is a large, environmentally stunning nation, remarkable for its enslaved workforce, restrictive gun laws, and devotion to social welfare. The hard-nosed, cynical population of 75 million Alistians 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 enormous, corrupt, moralistic, socially-minded, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Defense, and Welfare. The average income tax rate is 73.1%.

The sizeable but stagnant Altrius Stationian economy, worth 1.68 trillion Energy Credits 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 a slick, highly efficient, quite specialized black market in Trout Farming, Arms Manufacturing, and Door-to-door Insurance Sales. 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 22,387 Energy Credits, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 3.7 times as much as the poorest.

Students everywhere have been despairing after the recent ban on video games, the examiners who examine examiners are being examined by examiners, Altrius Stationian soldiers are assured their new ray-guns will finally power up after the next round of ominous chanting, and ships no longer sail as no one wants to encounter Altrius Stationian pirates. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a very well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Altrius Station's national animal is the Cow Bat, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies.

Altrius Station is ranked 165,156^th in the world and 18^th in Entropy for Largest Black Market, with 88.5 billion Standard Monetary Units.