The Galactic Empire of Fated is a colossal, efficient nation, ruled by Destiny with a fair hand, and remarkable for its barren, inhospitable landscape, multi-spousal wedding ceremonies, and disturbing lack of elderly people. The hard-nosed, hard-working, democratic, humorless population of 4.883 billion Fatedians are effectively ruled by a group of massive corporations, who run for political office and provide their well-off citizens with world-class goods and services. Their poorer citizens, however, are mostly starving to death while being urged to go out and get real jobs. The populace has reasonably extensive civil rights, although these are mostly aimed at allowing them to buy whatever they like.

The tiny, corrupt, pro-business, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Industry, Defense, and Administration. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Fated City. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 3.5%.

The frighteningly efficient Fatedian economy, worth a remarkable 1,109 trillion prophecies a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with major contributions from Retail, Information Technology, and Gambling. Average income is an amazing 227,249 prophecies, but there is a vast disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 2,069,661 per year while the poor average 2,810, a ratio of 736 to 1.

Mathematics majors learn about new ways to model their crushing debt, police reduce their paperwork by refusing to arrest anyone, descriptions of properties as "a stone's throw from the city centre" require a trebuchet to be true, and homeless people are periodically found dead upon altars to assorted deities. Crime is all-pervasive, with the police force struggling against a lack of funding and a high mortality rate. Fated's national animal is the heart meridian, which is also the nation's favorite main course, and its national religion is Dark Heaven.

Fated is ranked 808^th in the world and 28^th in The North Pacific for Rudest Citizens, with 479.41 insults per minute.