The Commonwealth of Astra Prime is a colossal, genial nation, ruled by Lance Hornsby with an iron fist, and renowned for its national health service, pith helmet sales, and stringent health and safety legislation. The compassionate, cynical, cheerful population of 6.315 billion Astrans are proud of their wide-ranging civil freedoms, and those who aren't tend to be dragged off the streets by men in dark suits and hustled into cars with tinted windows.

The relatively small, corrupt government juggles the competing demands of Industry, Administration, and Education. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Alexandria. The average income tax rate is 25.7%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Astra Primean economy, worth a remarkable 1,709 trillion gold coins a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Retail industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Book Publishing, and Soda Sales. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is an amazing 270,681 gold coins, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Astra Prime is increasingly belligerent on the international stage, midnight pizza breaks are common among the work-from-home population, geosynchronous satellites are now manned by unpaid interns, and many believe that the only good sea dragon is a dead sea dragon. Crime is totally unknown. Astra Prime's national animal is the sea dragon, which is also the nation's favorite main course, and its national religion is Talos.

Astra Prime is ranked 290,005^th in the world and 3,707^th in the West Pacific for Most Beautiful Environments, with 1.87 pounds of wildlife per square mile.