The Stratocratic Republic of Erter is a colossal, environmentally stunning nation, ruled by General Pterotheos with an iron fist, and notable for its ban on automobiles, enslaved workforce, and complete lack of prisons. The hard-nosed, cynical, humorless population of 7.873 billion Erterians 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, corrupt, moralistic, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Administration, and Healthcare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of 'Onitis. The average income tax rate is 90.6%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Erterian economy, worth a remarkable 1,117 trillion Phinikas a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. However, for those in the know, there is an enormous, deeply entrenched, quite specialized black market in Information Technology, Retail, Trout Farming, and Arms Manufacturing. The private sector mostly consists of enterprising ten-year-olds selling lemonade on the sidewalk, but the government is looking at stamping this out. Average income is an impressive 141,939 Phinikas, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

The nation's secret service is so secret that nobody knows if it has one, standing on a chair to reach a top shelf is seen as evidence of narcissistic personality disorder, molehills are the only mountains deemed safe enough for the public, and visiting dignitaries often end up cuddling in the hot tub with General Pterotheos. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Erter's national animal is the Golden Phoenix, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies, and its national religion is Secular.

Erter is ranked 42,605^th in the world and 4^th in Byzantion for Lowest Crime Rates, with 76.64 law-abiding acts per hour.