The Empire of House Tarkin is a huge, environmentally stunning nation, notable for its rum-swilling pirates, public floggings, and avant-garde cinema. The hard-nosed, cynical population of 718 million House Tarkinians 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, socially-minded, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Administration, and Law & Order. The average income tax rate is 55.3%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The House Tarkinian economy, worth 37.8 trillion Credits a year, is fairly diversified and led by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Book Publishing, and Furniture Restoration. Black market activity is notable. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 52,689 Credits, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.1 times as much as the poorest.

Rumours have it that a secret police is responsible for the recent spate of missing persons, politicians stage photo ops featuring barely functional fighter jets, all gamers have been drafted into the military despite their lack of upper body strength, and the delay between passed legislation and real world implementation is often a decade or longer. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. House Tarkin's national animal is the Falcon, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies.

House Tarkin is ranked 79,176^th in the world and 120^th in Fifth Empire for Most Scientifically Advanced, scoring 121.43 on the Kurzweil Singularity Index.