The Empire of Virulian is a huge, efficient nation, ruled by Emperor Callahan Sidereum with an even hand, and renowned for its barren, inhospitable landscape, frequent executions, and triple-decker prams. The hard-nosed, devout population of 925 million Virulians have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and take part in free and open elections, although not too often.

The medium-sized, corrupt government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Administration, and Education. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Saint Camie Schlawg City. The average income tax rate is 68.7%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Virulian economy, worth 119 trillion VLDS a year, is fairly diversified and led by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with significant contributions from Information Technology, Book Publishing, and Automobile Manufacturing. State-owned companies are common. Average income is an impressive 128,663 VLDS, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.0 times as much as the poorest.

The government has an entire department dedicated to staring at microscopes and writing down letters, the 'sing-a-long with Emperor Callahan Sidereum' album is a popular souvenir, business owners return from long vacations to find their factories have been turned into homeless shelters, and the country routinely whitewashes uncomfortable parts of its history. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Virulian's national animal is the Schlawg, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

Virulian is ranked 220,787^th in the world and 201^st in Thaecia for Safest, scoring 26.66 on the Bubble-Rapp Safety Rating.