The Delicate Sound of Thunder of The Gates of Delirium is a gargantuan, safe nation, ruled by Westwind with an iron fist, and remarkable for its barren, inhospitable landscape, zero percent divorce rate, and suspicion of poets. The cynical, devout population of 35.702 billion Delirians 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 large, corrupt, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Defense, and Industry. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of The Path of Glory. The average income tax rate is 67.2%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The all-consuming The Gates of Delirian economy, worth a remarkable 3,951 trillion Fugits a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Information Technology industry, with major contributions from Uranium Mining, Retail, and Arms Manufacturing. State-owned companies are common. Average income is an impressive 110,691 Fugits, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.2 times as much as the poorest.

The song 'They Got an Awful Lot of Coffee in The Gates of Delirium' is a smash hit, women who walk into the ladies' changing room are accused of being Peeping Toms, five-year-olds who refuse to line up on command get gold stars, and when people ask what the difference is between politicians and lawyers they are referred to document c15(iv) section 14.1 subsection 3.2 of the Jan 2015 political category definition guidance codes. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. The Gates of Delirium's national animal is the Coiled Snake, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation, and its national religion is Church of Westwind.

The Gates of Delirium is ranked 3,276^th in the world and 20^th in the West Pacific for Largest Populations, with 35.7 billion capita.