The Tri-Confederacy of New Cathen is a mammoth, efficient nation, ruled by Ashjarrin Cairn with an iron fist, and notable for its pith helmet sales, ritual sacrifices, and ban on automobiles. The compassionate, cynical population of 5.774 billion Cathenese are ruled with an iron fist by the dictatorship government, which ensures that no-one outside the party gets too rich. In their personal lives, however, citizens are relatively unoppressed; it remains to be seen whether this is because the government genuinely cares about its people, or if it hasn't gotten around to stamping out civil rights yet.

The large, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Education, and Administration. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Citadel Reyenor. The average income tax rate is 90.4%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Cathenese economy, worth 929 trillion Credits a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is broadly diversified, is led by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Tourism, and Beef-Based Agriculture. Average income is an impressive 160,975 Credits, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Murder suspects plead the 'there was a rat beneath his chef's hat' defense, it turns out that trees grow on Credits, finders keepers is the law of the land, and government leaders testify at international tribunals on why the sun went out. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. New Cathen's national animal is the Tiger, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its national religion is Cairn Stoicism.

New Cathen is ranked 41,534^th in the world and 18^th in The Galactics Union for Largest Publishing Industry, scoring 5,600.21 on the Bella Potter Productivity e-Index.