The Shape of Things to Come is a colossal, efficient nation, ruled by HG Wells with an iron fist, and remarkable for its compulsory military service, restrictive gun laws, and complete absence of social welfare. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical, devout population of 8.778 billion Wellians are ruled with an iron fist by the corrupt, dictatorship government, which oppresses anyone who isn't on the board of a Fortune 500 company. Large corporations tend to be above the law, and use their financial clout to gain ever-increasing government benefits at the expense of the poor and unemployed.

The medium-sized, moralistic, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Spirituality, and Law & Order. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Bromley. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 23.4%.

The very strong Things to Comean economy, worth 513 trillion Minoan tala a year, is fairly diversified and dominated by the Trout Farming industry, with significant contributions from Arms Manufacturing, Basket Weaving, and Cheese Exports. Average income is 58,539 Minoan tala, but there is a significant disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 165,244 per year while the poor average 16,600, a ratio of 10.0 to 1.

Funerals are often rudely interrupted by juggling clowns shouting for volunteers from the audience, a large-scale revitalization of the education system is underway, Things to Come has designated Bromley as its capital city, and HG Wells has just been declared ruler of Things to Come in an international press conference. Crime, especially youth-related, is almost non-existent, thanks to a well-funded police force. Things to Come's national animal is the little owl, which can occasionally be seen dodging aircraft in the nation's cities.

Things to Come is ranked 58,651^st in the world and 1^st in Funen for Most Primitive, scoring 47.96 on the Scary Big Number Scale.