The Province of Ardthirium is a massive, genial nation, renowned for its national health service, state-planned economy, and keen interest in outer space. The devout population of 2.274 billion Ardthiriumians are prohibited from doing almost everything except voting, which they do timidly and conservatively.

The large, moralistic, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Education, and Administration. The average income tax rate is 69.5%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The thriving Ardthiriumian economy, worth 205 trillion Provincial Talers a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is quite specialized, is led by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with significant contributions from Tourism, Information Technology, and Beef-Based Agriculture. Average income is 90,346 Provincial Talers, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.2 times as much as the poorest.

Park rangers perform full-body searches on suspected fungus smugglers, the armed forces are locked in an expensive and bloody war abroad to stamp out possible terrorists, flash floods that dams could have controlled regularly ravage small towns in mountain valleys, and parents live in fear of governmental 'child protection' squads. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Ardthirium's national animal is the Local Labrador, which is also the nation's favorite main course.

Ardthirium is ranked 70,682^nd in the world and 15^th in Urcea for Most Scientifically Advanced, scoring 135.87 on the Kurzweil Singularity Index.