The Scientific Powerhouse of Dark Matter is a gargantuan, efficient nation, ruled by General Superintendent Aleister Crowley with an iron fist, and renowned for its compulsory military service, punitive income tax rates, and stringent health and safety legislation. The hard-nosed, cynical, humorless population of 16.725 billion Espers 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, corrupt, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Education, Defense, and Law & Order. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Academy City. The income tax rate is 100%.

The frighteningly efficient scientific economy, worth a remarkable 6,653 trillion Euros 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, broadly diversified black market in Information Technology, Arms Manufacturing, Book Publishing, and Tourism. 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 an amazing 397,819 Euros, with the richest citizens earning 6.8 times as much as the poorest.

The government regularly publishes lengthy reports on its own excessive recordkeeping, international collectors know that a grease-stain on a work of art probably means it's passed through Dark Matter, children wondering what happens to pets after they die are shown where the compost heap is, and battlefield gains are quickly lost when enemies don't respect a time-out. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Dark Matter's national animal is the Phoenix, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies, and its national religion is Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Dark Matter is ranked 76,809^th in the world and 321^st in Europe for Largest Timber Woodchipping Industry, scoring 3,251.6 on the Tasmanian Pulp Environmental Export Index.