The Empire of Installation Vanguard is a huge, environmentally stunning nation, renowned for its state-planned economy, keen interest in outer space, and punitive income tax rates. The hard-nosed, cynical population of 297 million Vanguardians 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, socially-minded, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Law & Order, and Education. The average income tax rate is 71.8%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The sizeable but sluggish Installation Vanguardian economy, worth 8.13 trillion Kitheoplean Credits 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 led by the Beef-Based Agriculture industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Arms Manufacturing, and Trout Farming. Average income is 27,389 Kitheoplean Credits, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Installation Vanguardian husbands are dead good at fathering kids, the government has officially clarified that "wee on your hands to save time" does not count as proper hygiene, citizens seem fixated on 105m x 45m rectangles, and the Kitheoplean Credit is worth its weight in gold. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a very well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Installation Vanguard's national animal is the Vanguardian Mothman, which is also the nation's favorite main course.

Installation Vanguard is ranked 159,659^th in the world and 2^nd in The Black Dahlia for Largest Gambling Industry, scoring 278.5 on the Kelly Criterion Productivity Index.