The Federation of Tholighton is a massive, cultured nation, remarkable for its deadly medical pandemics, keen interest in outer space, and feral children. The hard-nosed, hard-working, democratic population of 1.627 billion Tholightonians live in a state of perpetual fear, as a complete breakdown of social order has led to the rise of order through biker gangs.

The minute, liberal, pro-business, outspoken government, or what there is of one, juggles the competing demands of Administration, Industry, and Social Policy. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 3.3%.

The powerhouse Tholightonian economy, worth 154 trillion guilders a year, is driven almost entirely by the private sector, which is fairly diversified and led by the Retail industry, with major contributions from Soda Sales, Information Technology, and Automobile Manufacturing. Average income is 94,680 guilders, but there is a significant disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 281,516 per year while the poor average 24,965, a ratio of 11.3 to 1.

Violently opinionated speakers can be heard preaching their hateful views on every street corner, justice is available only to those who can afford its price tag, Tholightonian police have to pay out of their own pockets for bulletproof vests, and minority children spend hours bussing to schools miles away from home. Crime, especially youth-related, is all-pervasive, perhaps because of the country's complete lack of prisons. Tholighton's national animal is the fox, which is also the nation's favorite main course.

Tholighton is ranked 8,720^th in the world and 25^th in Chicken overlords for Highest Disposable Incomes, with 91,555.86 Standard Monetary Units.