The Democratic Republic of Astolfochea is a very large, orderly nation, remarkable for its barren, inhospitable landscape, vat-grown people, and irreverence towards religion. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical population of 118 million Astolfocheans are ruled by a mostly-benevolent dictator, who grants the populace the freedom to live their own lives but watches carefully for anyone to slip up.

The relatively small, corrupt, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Law & Order, and Education. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 14.2%.

The strong Astolfochean economy, worth 7.95 trillion Credit chips a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Retail industry, with major contributions from Uranium Mining, Basket Weaving, and Woodchip Exports. Average income is 67,340 Credit chips, but there is a significant disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 204,466 per year while the poor average 17,235, a ratio of 11.9 to 1.

The Violet Mile now refers to the long line-ups that former death row inmates wait in as they transfer to maximum security prisons, agriculture is heavily subsidized by the government, cyber-crime and tin-foil hat sales are both increasing at record rates, and all citizens must pass a 'multicultural sensitivity test' to be deemed fit for society. Crime is a problem. Astolfochea's national animal is the Femboy, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

Astolfochea is ranked 75,546^th in the world and 6^th in Z H I R E G A N C for Most Scientifically Advanced, scoring 102.8 on the Kurzweil Singularity Index.