The Ur-Quan Masters of Hesperonis is a gargantuan, cultured nation, ruled by Lord 353 with an iron fist, and renowned for its deadly medical pandemics, anti-smoking policies, and smutty television. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical, cheerful population of 49.275 billion Ur-Quans are rabid consumers, partly through choice and partly because the government tells them to and dissenters tend to vanish from their homes at night.

The minute, corrupt government, or what there is of one, is primarily concerned with Defense, although Industry and Education are also considered important, while Social Policy and Welfare are ignored. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Delta Crateris V. Income tax is unheard of.

The frighteningly efficient Hesperonisian economy, worth an astonishing 33,124 trillion Sa-Matras a year, is driven almost entirely by the private sector, which is broadly diversified and led by the Information Technology industry, with major contributions from Retail, Soda Sales, and Arms Manufacturing. Average income is a breathtaking 672,227 Sa-Matras, but there is a large disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 2,804,908 per year while the poor average 105,163, a ratio of 26.7 to 1.

Strip mining of rare earth metals is up while back problems are down, business meetings across the country are interrupted by the sound of squeaking whoopee-cushions, mourners at funerals are ticketed for trespassing, and the standard police uniform now comes with several colours of belt. Crime, especially youth-related, is so common that it is unusual to encounter someone following the law, probably because of the absence of a police force. Hesperonis's national animal is the Dnyarri, which is also the nation's favorite main course, and its national religion is Path of Now and Forever.

Hesperonis is ranked 177^th in the world and 9^th in Lazarus for Highest Average Incomes, with 672,227.62 Standard Monetary Units.