The Empire of Zelklen is a gargantuan, efficient nation, ruled by Leader with an even hand, and renowned for its strictly enforced bedtime, anti-smoking policies, and prohibition of alcohol. The hard-nosed, hard-working, humorless population of 31.615 billion Zelklenians are either ruled by a sleek, efficient government or a conglomerate of multinational corporations; it's difficult to tell which.

The minute, corrupt government, or what there is of one, is primarily concerned with Defense, although Law & Order and Education are also considered important, while Welfare and Social Policy aren't funded at all. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Zenith. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 1.8%.

The powerhouse Zelklenian economy, worth a remarkable 5,401 trillion credits a year, is driven almost entirely by the private sector, which is broadly diversified and dominated by the Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Arms Manufacturing, Uranium Mining, and Woodchip Exports. Average income is an impressive 170,864 credits, but there is a significant disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 625,776 per year while the poor average 33,058, a ratio of 18.9 to 1.

The end of autumn is celebrated with a bonfire of designer bags, drugs containing the compound "oleum de serpens" are being sold to cancer patients, the military maintains a fierce arsenal of 'Cure Missiles', and short shrift is being given to applications for political asylum from illegal immigrants. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown. Zelklen's national animal is the shark, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to heavy metals seepage into national waterways.

Zelklen is ranked 285,207^th in the world and 10,917^th in Lazarus for Highest Food Quality, scoring 5.1 on the Meeshlin-Starr Index.