The Empire of Ateala is a titanic, genial nation, ruled by Titus Carlisle with an even hand, and remarkable for its anti-smoking policies, sprawling nuclear power plants, and keen interest in outer space. The compassionate, cynical, cheerful, devout population of 22.65 billion Atealans are fiercely patriotic and enjoy great social and economic equality; they tend to view other countries as corrupted by the hollow pageantry of sham elections.

The relatively small, corrupt government juggles the competing demands of Education, Healthcare, and Industry. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Diza. The average income tax rate is 66.1%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Atealan economy, worth a remarkable 5,158 trillion Lire a year, is led by the Tourism industry, with major contributions from Information Technology and Book Publishing. State-owned companies are common. Average income is an amazing 227,743 Lire, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Raccoons are plump and satiated, it turns out that trees grow on Lire, urban planners beg for just one more lane before bedtime, and thieves claim they're simply working for the tax agency. Crime is totally unknown. Ateala's national animal is the Stag, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Ateala is ranked 1,365^th in the world and 70^th in The North Pacific for Nicest Citizens, with 80.93 average smiles per day.