The Grand Empire of Zholtar is a mammoth, orderly nation, ruled by Emperor Marcus IV of House Zholtar with an iron fist, and notable for its frequent executions, compulsory military service, and irreverence towards religion. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical population of 8.389 billion Zholtarians are ruled with an iron fist by the corrupt, dictatorship government, which oppresses anyone who isn't on the board of a Fortune 500 company. Large corporations tend to be above the law, and use their financial clout to gain ever-increasing government benefits at the expense of the poor and unemployed.

The relatively small, corrupt, moralistic, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Administration, Education, and Defense. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Marconia. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 21.0%.

The powerhouse Zholtarian economy, worth 717 trillion Imperial Zholtarian Dollars a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Tourism industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Book Publishing, and Beef-Based Agriculture. Average income is 85,490 Imperial Zholtarian Dollars, but there is a significant disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 259,575 per year while the poor average 21,880, a ratio of 11.9 to 1.

Citizens wouldn't recognise Emperor Marcus IV of House Zholtar if they passed one another on the street, businesses often fire workers in favour of cheaper automatic systems, the government is often referred to as "the biggest drug dealer in the nation", and sheepish teenagers are making eye contact with their parents for the first time in a decade during state-enforced 'no-phones hour'. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Zholtar's national animal is the Bear, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its national religion is Imperial Cult.

Zholtar is ranked 71,029^th in the world and 5^th in Valderon for Most Scientifically Advanced, scoring 135.49 on the Kurzweil Singularity Index.