The Allied States of Fermern is a small, cultured nation, remarkable for its compulsory military service. The hard-working, devout population of 26 million Fermernians are highly moralistic and fiercely conservative, in the sense that they tend to believe most things should be outlawed. People who have good jobs and work quietly at them are lauded; others are viewed with suspicion.

The medium-sized government juggles the competing demands of Spirituality, Law & Order, and Administration. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 29.8%.

The strong Fermernian economy, worth 1.58 trillion luas a year, is fairly diversified and led by the Information Technology industry, with major contributions from Trout Farming, Automobile Manufacturing, and Beef-Based Agriculture. Average income is 60,820 luas, with the richest citizens earning 6.7 times as much as the poorest.

Military spending recently hit a new high, a recent "genocide prevention" campaign includes murdering children based on their DNA, the alarmingly racist TV show 'Bigtopians Say the Darndest Things' is a hit, and college students make ends meet by selling their kidneys. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Fermern's national animal is the ferret, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Fermern is ranked 259,864^th in the world and 437^th in Starlight for Most Rebellious Youth, scoring -8 on the Stark-Dean Displacement Index.