The Dictatorship of Pherocia is a massive, efficient nation, ruled by Baldwin VI the cruel with an iron fist, and renowned for its keen interest in outer space, smutty television, and disturbing lack of elderly people. The hard-nosed, cynical, humorless population of 2.991 billion Pherocians 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, moralistic, well-organized government prioritizes Defense, although Law & Order, Education, and Administration are also considered important, while International Aid and Spirituality are ignored. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Newer Trantor. The average income tax rate is 79.5%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The powerhouse Pherocian economy, worth 461 trillion lires 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 an enormous, deeply entrenched, quite specialized black market in Arms Manufacturing and Uranium Mining. 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 impressive 154,167 lires, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.4 times as much as the poorest.

Molehills are the only mountains deemed safe enough for the public, hidden bedroom-cams are installed to catch mothers doing their kids' homework, public shaming has become the favoured form of punishment, and talkative students are escorted from schools in second-hand prison buses. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Pherocia's national animal is the cheetah, which is also the nation's favorite main course, and its national religion is Cult of the Leader.

Pherocia is ranked 290,837^th in the world and 130^th in Fifth Empire for Nicest Citizens, with 0.19 average smiles per day.