The Armed Republic of Cetheria is a large, safe nation, remarkable for its barren, inhospitable landscape, irreverence towards religion, and punitive income tax rates. The hard-nosed, democratic population of 130 million Cetherians 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 large government juggles the competing demands of Healthcare, Education, and Defense. The average income tax rate is 59.3%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The Cetherian economy, worth 6.83 trillion Shiny Platinum Medals a year, is led by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Door-to-door Insurance Sales, and Basket Weaving. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is 52,540 Shiny Platinum Medals, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Drunk drivers are sent to rehabilitation paid for by the government, the military will start wars with other nations on a lark, video evidence of cruel animal experiments tends to be of poor quality, and the cycle of extinction and rebirth is never ending. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Cetheria's national animal is the Rat, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

Cetheria is ranked 91,089^th in the world and 515^th in The Leftist Assembly for Smartest Citizens, with 37.89 quips per hour.