The Imperial Kingdom of Gethe is a colossal, cultured nation, ruled by King Constantine III with an even hand, and remarkable for its keen interest in outer space, avowedly heterosexual populace, and irreverence towards religion. The hard-nosed population of 4.958 billion Getheans are prohibited from doing almost everything except voting, which they do timidly and conservatively.

The large government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Education, and Industry. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Constantinople. The average income tax rate is 61.7%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The thriving Gethean economy, worth 338 trillion Hyperpyras a year, is fairly diversified and led by the Information Technology industry, with major contributions from Arms Manufacturing, Retail, and Door-to-door Insurance Sales. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 68,283 Hyperpyras, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Corporations donate huge sums of money to favored politicians, only criminals carry guns, failed genetic experiments wreak havoc as they roam the countryside, and boys who even ask about cheerleading are placed on the Sex Offenders Register. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Gethe's national animal is the Eagle, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to toxic air pollution, and its national religion is Orthadox Christianity.

Gethe is ranked 280,130^th in the world and 1,059^th in Concord for Highest Unexpected Death Rate, scoring 25.17 on the Bus Surprisal Index.