The Federation of Ephem is a massive, cultured nation, ruled by Camus with an even hand, and remarkable for its museums and concert halls, smutty television, and punitive income tax rates. The compassionate, hard-working, democratic population of 2.336 billion Ephemians have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and take part in free and open elections, although not too often.

The large government prioritizes Education, with Administration, Healthcare, and Law & Order also on the agenda, while Spirituality and Defense are ignored. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Leviathan. The average income tax rate is 79.4%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Ephemian economy, worth 271 trillion Ptahs a year, is quite specialized and led by the Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Trout Farming, Tourism, and Book Publishing. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is an impressive 116,012 Ptahs, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.9 times as much as the poorest.

Badminton was recently banned due to 'unacceptable violence' inherent to the game, corporations cut costs by taking away safety-features on their products, praying before a battle is a court-martial offence, and journalists often nap through tedious police press briefings. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Ephem's national animal is the Penguin, which frolics freely in the nation's sparkling oceans, and its national religion is None.

Ephem is ranked 11,765^th in the world and 357^th in The East Pacific for Most Eco-Friendly Governments, scoring 5,365.1 on the Dolphin Recycling Awareness Index.