The Empire of Histarctica is a massive, orderly nation, ruled by Emperor Conrad II with an iron fist, and remarkable for its otherworldly petting zoo, keen interest in outer space, and zero percent divorce rate. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical, devout population of 2.012 billion Histarcticans 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."

The medium-sized, corrupt, moralistic, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Education, and Law & Order. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Entioch. The average income tax rate is 35.3%.

The powerhouse Histarctican economy, worth 202 trillion Imperial Kroner a year, is fairly diversified and led by the Tourism industry, with major contributions from Arms Manufacturing, Information Technology, and Book Publishing. Black market activity is frequent. State-owned companies are common. Average income is an impressive 100,738 Imperial Kroner, with the richest citizens earning 5.1 times as much as the poorest.

Thrift shops are closing their doors, medical experts advise that those claiming to be medical experts are probably fraudsters, one-man canoes fitted with the latest tracking technology leave no room for one man, and drawing men's naughty bits isn't considered to be art. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Histarctica's national animal is the wolf, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its national religion is Church of Light.

Histarctica is ranked 253,674^th in the world and 14^th in Imperial Sanctuary for Largest Automobile Manufacturing Sector, scoring -7.62 on the Henry Ford Productivity Index.