The Protectorate of Xanthe is a mammoth, socially progressive nation, ruled by Legate Katherine Daniels with a fair hand, and renowned for its state-planned economy, absence of drug laws, and devotion to social welfare. The democratic, devout population of 7.963 billion Xantheans are free to do what they want with their own bodies, and vote for whomever they like in elections; if they go into business, however, they are regulated to within an inch of their lives.

The medium-sized, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Welfare, Spirituality, and Education. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Xanthe Terra. The average income tax rate is 33.3%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The large but underdeveloped Xanthean economy, worth 342 trillion denaris a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is broadly diversified, is led by the Tourism industry, with significant contributions from Book Publishing, Information Technology, and Pizza Delivery. Average income is 43,004 denaris, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Legate Katherine Daniels has just been declared ruler of Xanthe in an international press conference, Xanthe has designated Xanthe Terra as its capital city, a five-year-old and a convicted terrorist can sit alongside one another in jury service, and Xanthe's children are widely acknowledged as the most foul-mouthed in the region. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown. Xanthe's national animal is the scorpion, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its national religion is Tellurism.

Xanthe is ranked 260,974^th in the world and 4^th in The Forest for Largest Gambling Industry, scoring -5.78 on the Kelly Criterion Productivity Index.