The Associate Custodian State of Esterlon is a gargantuan, efficient nation, ruled by Deputy-General Erhard Hayes with an even hand, and remarkable for its barren, inhospitable landscape, aversion to nipples, and complete absence of social welfare. The hard-nosed, humorless population of 19.936 billion Esterlonians are fiercely patriotic and enjoy great social equality; they tend to view other, more capitalist countries as somewhat immoral and corrupt.

The relatively small, corrupt, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Industry, Defense, and Education. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Ambersyell. The average income tax rate is 46.2%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Esterlonian economy, worth a remarkable 6,945 trillion NationStates Dollars a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. However, for those in the know, there is an enormous, deeply entrenched, broadly diversified black market in Information Technology, Uranium Mining, Retail, and Woodchip Exports. The private sector mostly consists of enterprising ten-year-olds selling lemonade on the sidewalk, but the government is looking at stamping this out. Average income is an amazing 348,408 NationStates Dollars, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Fashion magazine covers finally display realistic body images following photo-manipulation becoming illegal, teenagers are told they're not thinking about sex enough, physics lessons mostly involve talking about emotional management techniques, and arbitration is mightier than the sword. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown. Esterlon's national animal is the Pigeon, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to toxic air pollution.

Esterlon is ranked 4,040^th in the world and 3^rd in New Hyperion for Most Scientifically Advanced, scoring 618.16 on the Kurzweil Singularity Index.