The Republic of Starlight Aether is a massive, environmentally stunning nation, notable for its public floggings, compulsory military service, and state-planned economy. The compassionate, cynical, devout population of 2.215 billion Starlight Aetherians are ruled without fear or favor by a psychotic dictator, who outlaws just about everything and refers to the populace as "my little playthings."

The medium-sized, corrupt, moralistic, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Law & Order, and Industry. The average income tax rate is 43.6%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The powerhouse Starlight Aetherian economy, worth 231 trillion lotuses 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 a slick, highly efficient black market in Arms Manufacturing, Information Technology, Tourism, and Beef-Based Agriculture. 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 impressive 104,327 lotuses, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.7 times as much as the poorest.

The volume of paperwork used to complete a single environmental assessment defeats the purpose, poaching has been on the rise after animals from the nation's zoos were released into the wild, people on the brink of death are put through unwanted and stressful procedures, and the Communist Party claims that selling things for profit isn't necessarily capitalism. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Starlight Aether's national animal is the moonlark, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies.

Starlight Aether is ranked 92,186^th in the world and 767^th in eta for Most Developed, scoring 63.49 on the Human Development Index.