The Watchfires of Athos twelve is a gargantuan, cultured nation, remarkable for its rum-swilling pirates, enslaved workforce, and rampant corporate plagiarism. The hard-nosed, cynical, humorless, devout population of 22.503 billion Athos twelveans 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 large, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Defense, and Industry. The average income tax rate is 66.3%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The powerhouse Athos twelvean economy, worth a remarkable 1,881 trillion $$s a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. However, for those in the know, there is a large, well-organized black market in Arms Manufacturing, Furniture Restoration, Woodchip Exports, and Cheese Exports. The private sector mostly consists of enterprising ten-year-olds selling lemonade on the sidewalk, but the government is looking at stamping this out. Average income is 83,597 $$s, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.5 times as much as the poorest.

Billions of $$s are being poured into a space program, acute politicians deride opposition members for being obtuse, shivering secretaries type letters under torrential downpours in open-roof offices, and when shaking hands with foreign leaders Leader wears an armoured gauntlet. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a very well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Athos twelve's national animal is the Dolly Varden, which can occasionally be seen sifting through garbage in the nation's cities.

Athos twelve is ranked 71,195^th in the world and 1^st in Filastin for Lowest Crime Rates, with 69.89 law-abiding acts per hour.