The Corporatocracy of Pontacium is a gargantuan, orderly nation, ruled by Gestalt Pattern Overseer with an iron fist, and remarkable for its deadly medical pandemics, keen interest in outer space, and suspicion of poets. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical, humorless population of 11.181 billion drones 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 minute, corrupt, moralistic, well-organized government, or what there is of one, is primarily concerned with Defense, with Industry and Education also on the agenda, while Welfare and Social Policy aren't funded at all. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Laikadrome. Income tax is unheard of.

The frighteningly efficient Pontazsk economy, worth a remarkable 2,332 trillion shiny things a year, is driven almost entirely by the private sector, which is broadly diversified and led by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Gambling, and Retail. Average income is an amazing 208,643 shiny things, but there is a large disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 1,033,945 per year while the poor average 23,874, a ratio of 43.3 to 1.

Rumor has it that Gestalt Pattern Overseer has won three lotteries in a row, the country has been 'going shopping' by annexing nearby nations for their resources, Pontazsk companies generally just fire employees in lieu of giving them vacation, and citizens are deployed to barren deserts to protect small territorial claims. Crime is all-pervasive, with the police force struggling against a lack of funding and a high mortality rate. Pontacium's national animal is the Man-Eating Potato, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation, and its national religion is Servitude to the Mind.

Pontacium is ranked 53,333^rd in the world and 1^st in Arcius for Largest Publishing Industry, scoring 4,510 on the Bella Potter Productivity e-Index.