The Empire of Bardarus is a gargantuan, genial nation, ruled by High Overlord Miriam Thracius with an even hand, and renowned for its complete lack of prisons, free-roaming dinosaurs, and punitive income tax rates. The compassionate, devout population of 13.411 billion Bardars are fiercely patriotic and enjoy great social equality; they tend to view other, more capitalist countries as somewhat immoral and corrupt.

The government — a sprawling, bureaucracy-choked, socially-minded morass — juggles the competing demands of Education, Healthcare, and Environment. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Detros. The average income tax rate is 90.9%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The very strong Bardar economy, worth 940 trillion Throne Gelts a year, is driven almost entirely by government activity. The industrial sector, which is highly specialized, is mostly made up of the Book Publishing industry, with significant contributions from Tourism. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is 70,119 Throne Gelts, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

All fantasy fiction has officially been deemed non-canon, drug deals return to the streets as legions of undercover officers stalk the dark web, money can't buy love but mercy is entirely negotiable, and parents seeking custody have to write a five-thousand word analysis of their child's imaginary friend. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a very well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Bardarus's national animal is the Two-headed Eagle, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies, and its national religion is Eastern Orthodox Christianity.

Bardarus is ranked 73,432^nd in the world and 4,100^th in Balder for Most Scientifically Advanced, scoring 105.03 on the Kurzweil Singularity Index.