The Celestial Guardians of Emodea is a mammoth, cultured nation, ruled by Emperor Mikhail II with an even hand, and notable for its frequent executions, keen interest in outer space, and complete absence of social welfare. The hard-nosed, hard-working, humorless population of 7.123 billion Emodeans enjoy some of the most opulent lifestyles in the region, unless they are unemployed or working-class, in which case they are variously starving to death or crippled by easily preventable diseases.

The minute, corrupt, liberal, pro-business government, or what there is of one, is effectively ruled by the Department of Industry, although Defense is also considered important, while Law & Order and Social Policy receive no funds. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Lunagard. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 1.5%.

The frighteningly efficient Emodean economy, worth a remarkable 1,315 trillion qiples a year, is driven almost entirely by the private sector, which is broadly diversified and led by the Gambling industry, with major contributions from Soda Sales, Retail, and Information Technology. Average income is an impressive 184,695 qiples, but there is a significant disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 682,658 per year while the poor average 35,223, a ratio of 19.4 to 1.

Road rage is rarer but more terminal now that many people drive fully-operational battle tanks to work, accidentally dropping a nickel is a social taboo, Emperor Mikhail II's online image is the very model of a modern major leader, and almost half of the child population live rough on the streets. Crime, especially youth-related, is all-pervasive, perhaps because of the country's complete lack of prisons. Emodea's national animal is the buffalo, which is also the nation's favorite main course, and its national religion is the Church of Arda.

Emodea is ranked 781^st in the world and 1^st in Estalcia for Highest Unexpected Death Rate, scoring 381.8 on the Bus Surprisal Index.