The District of Athele is a gargantuan, environmentally stunning nation, ruled by privy council chairman with an iron fist, and notable for its compulsory military service, punitive income tax rates, and stringent health and safety legislation. The hard-nosed, cynical, devout population of 11.318 billion Atheleans 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 enormous, moralistic, socially-minded, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Spirituality, Law & Order, and Defense. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of District City. The average income tax rate is 71.8%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The large but stagnant Athelean economy, worth 188 trillion juno aurums a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is quite specialized, is mostly made up of the Trout Farming industry, with significant contributions from Automobile Manufacturing and Basket Weaving. Average income is 16,680 juno aurums, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Athele has designated District City as its capital city, the government is more interested in identifying problems than fixing them, the government has declined to declare any particular religion as its 'official' one, and Privy council chairman has just been declared ruler of Athele in an international press conference. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a very well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Athele's national animal is the quick pink fox, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Athele is ranked 242,167^th in the world and 8^th in Caracas for Most Scientifically Advanced, scoring -17.32 on the Kurzweil Singularity Index.