The Peculiar Nation of Otherland is a massive, efficient nation, ruled by Shrelby Welby with a fair hand, and notable for its keen interest in outer space, ban on automobiles, and devotion to social welfare. The compassionate, democratic population of 1.596 billion Otherlings love a good election, and the government gives them plenty of them. Universities tend to be full of students debating the merits of various civil and political rights, while businesses are tightly regulated and the wealthy viewed with suspicion.

The enormous, socially-minded, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Education, Administration, and Environment. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Jaté Ger̃ek. The average income tax rate is 82.2%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The strong Otherling economy, worth 136 trillion Sand Dollars a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is highly specialized, is mostly made up of the Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Trout Farming and Book Publishing. Average income is 85,515 Sand Dollars, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Internet searches for the inventor of the three-wheeled steam-powered Otherling weed picker are way up, retirement homes are often fitted with luxurious suites, guide dogs for the blind have been seen using government websites, and shady doctors seem to have impeccable records. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Otherland's national animal is the Cassowary, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Otherland is ranked 275,318^th in the world and 231^st in The Region That Has No Big Banks for Highest Disposable Incomes, with 15,221.77 Standard Monetary Units.