The Protectorate of Spice Harvester 273 is a colossal, orderly nation, renowned for its enslaved workforce, ubiquitous missile silos, and ritual sacrifices. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical, devout population of 8.543 billion Spice Harvester 273ians are kept under strict control by the oppressive government, which measures its success by the nation's GDP and refers to individual citizens as "human resources."

The large, corrupt, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Industry, Defense, and Education. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 57.6%.

The frighteningly efficient Spice Harvester 273ian economy, worth 913 trillion spices a year, is led by the Information Technology industry, with major contributions from Arms Manufacturing, Cheese Exports, and Automobile Manufacturing. Black market activity is rampant. State-owned companies are common. Average income is an impressive 106,947 spices, with the richest citizens earning 9.6 times as much as the poorest.

Machine gun nests are the latest must-have gardening trend, mollycoddled youths run the country, the police crack down on tax evaders without mercy, and citizens are frequently searched for illegal weapons. Crime, especially youth-related, is relatively low, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Spice Harvester 273's national animal is the sandworm, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

Spice Harvester 273 is ranked 35,557^th in the world and 223^rd in Jihad Army of the Emperor for Most Scientifically Advanced, scoring 194.61 on the Kurzweil Singularity Index.