The Holy Empire of Z e r o is a colossal, safe nation, remarkable for its frequent executions, lack of airports, and punitive income tax rates. The hard-nosed, cynical, humorless population of 3.272 billion Z e r oans 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 government — a sprawling, bureaucracy-choked, corrupt, moralistic, well-organized morass — juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Administration, and Education. The average income tax rate is 81.3%.

The powerhouse Z e r oan economy, worth 271 trillion Golds a year, is driven almost entirely by government activity. The industrial sector, which is highly specialized, is led by the Retail industry, with major contributions from Furniture Restoration, Woodchip Exports, and Gambling. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is 82,884 Golds, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 4.0 times as much as the poorest.

Being Leader has been voted one of the top ten most dangerous jobs, a long-distance hike gets students geared up for a long day at school, governors and mayors are back to begging for allowances from the nanny state, and tourists from around the world come to visit the country's famous rainforests. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Z e r o's national animal is the Dragon, which is also the nation's favorite main course.

Z e r o is ranked 301,778^th in the world and 8^th in Number for Smartest Citizens, with 1.66 quips per hour.