The Galactic Socialist Empire of The Dark Aether is a mammoth, environmentally stunning nation, ruled by Kortimex Exalor SD-N with an iron fist, and renowned for its teetotalling pirates, complete lack of prisons, and punitive income tax rates. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical, humorless population of 8.353 billion Aetherans are kept under strict control by the oppressive government, which measures its success by the nation's GDP and refers to individual citizens as "human resources."

It is difficult to tell where the omnipresent, corrupt, moralistic, well-organized government stops and the rest of society begins, but it juggles the competing demands of Industry, Administration, and Environment. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Der Eisendrache. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 93.5%.

The frighteningly efficient Aetheran economy, worth a remarkable 1,165 trillion Aetheran Marks a year, is driven almost entirely by government activity. The industrial sector, which is highly specialized, is led by the Automobile Manufacturing industry, with major contributions from Retail and Information Technology. Average income is an impressive 139,522 Aetheran Marks, with the richest citizens earning 9.8 times as much as the poorest.

Chickens frolic freely on swings and roundabouts in Der Eisendrache's playgrounds, destitute athletes are forced to train in the street, nano-Cosmic Foxes are the current fad sweeping the nation, and politicians tack on a service charge for assisting with casework. Crime is all-pervasive, perhaps because of the country's complete lack of prisons. The Dark Aether's national animal is the Cosmic Fox, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its national religion is Umbrism.

The Dark Aether is ranked 291,591^st in the world and 190^th in United Kingdom for Most Advanced Law Enforcement, scoring 276.99 on the Orwell Orderliness Index.