Player One (P)

Set against the backdrop of a global disaster, Player One is a compelling, real-time five-hour story unfolding in the confined space of an airport cocktail lounge. Five strangers, trapped together as the world outside crumbles, are forced to confront their own truths in an environment teetering on the edge of chaos.

Karen, a single mother waiting for an online date; Rick, a bartender in the depths of his personal despair; Luke, a pastor on the run; Rachel, a cool and distant Hitchcock blonde; and the mysterious Player One—a voice, but not a body—each grapples with their identity, their past, and the dawning realization that the world as they know it is coming to an end.

In the tradition of Kurt Vonnegut and J.G. Ballard, Douglas Coupland masterfully explores the modern crises of time, human connection, society, and even the afterlife itself. As the story unfolds, the characters’ individual revelations build towards a greater existential awakening, leaving readers with as many questions as answers, and no doubt that humanity has entered a new phase—one with no way back. Player One is a thought-provoking, darkly humorous meditation on the fragility of existence and the relentless march of change.