The Mining Interests of The Tellarite Homeworld is a colossal, efficient nation, ruled by Ambassador Gral with an even hand, and notable for its barren, inhospitable landscape, prohibition of alcohol, and unlimited-speed roads. The hard-nosed, humorless population of 9.295 billion Tellarites are highly moralistic and fiercely conservative, in the sense that they tend to believe most things should be outlawed. People who have good jobs and work quietly at them are lauded; others are viewed with suspicion.

The medium-sized, moralistic government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Education, and Law & Order. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Telemachus. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 34.3%.

The very strong Tellarite economy, worth 665 trillion Federation Credits a year, is led by the Uranium Mining industry, with major contributions from Book Publishing, Beef-Based Agriculture, and Automobile Manufacturing. Black market activity is frequent. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 71,546 Federation Credits, but there is a significant disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 219,898 per year while the poor average 17,995, a ratio of 12.2 to 1.

Machine-peeled candied grapes come in individual packaging for the busy commuter, a recent "genocide prevention" campaign includes murdering children based on their DNA, island residents must resort to canoes and sailboats to get to work, and books are considered luxuries only available to the incredibly wealthy. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. The Tellarite Homeworld's national animal is the Canine, which can occasionally be seen sifting through garbage in the nation's cities.

The Tellarite Homeworld is ranked 154,507^th in the world and 113^th in United Earth Space Probe Agency for Lowest Crime Rates, with 60.65 law-abiding acts per hour.