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, unlimited-speed roads, and keen interest in outer space. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical population of 45.698 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, pro-business, well-organized government, or what there is of one, is effectively ruled by the Department of Defense, with Industry also on the agenda, 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 29,765 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 651,342 Sa-Matras, but there is a large disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 3,309,481 per year while the poor average 70,931, a ratio of 46.7 to 1.

Little girls are in tears as Lord 353 confiscates their pink princess ballgowns, kindergartners' favourite dance move is the stop-drop-and-roll, all the playground's a stage for Hesperonisian schoolchildren, and cheap textbooks have replaced coasters at college ragers. 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 329,476^th in the world and 16,282^nd in Lazarus for Most Advanced Public Education, scoring 267.45 on the Edu-tellignce® Test Score.