EP 01 — The Premium Blend
Meet the last human king before the machine dethrones him.
🎧 Listen to Episode 01 — on Substack · Apple Podcasts · Spotify · web player
TLDR
Cope Mercer takes the stage to accept a trophy for being the last human CEO in the consumer Fortune 100, and he's magnificent about it. He preaches the gospel of the "human premium" — the irreplaceable soul only a person can bring to a boardroom — while running on zero sleep and whatever he snorted in the bathroom ten minutes ago. His wife Margaux's seat is empty, and he decides not to notice.
After the applause dies, his aide Sun corners him with the ugly news: Tidewater is coming for the takeover, and they've already named his replacement — a machine. She needs an answer by Monday, and he waves her off like she's a fly at a picnic. He'd rather brood alone in his office than admit the ground is moving under him.
So the great man ends his triumphant night at an all-night Waffle House, nursing coffee under fluorescent lights. The waitress, Darlene, doesn't know him from Adam and treats him like exactly what he's terrified he's becoming: nobody. He drinks it black and pretends that's fine.
The moral of the story: The trophy that says you're the last of your kind is just an obituary with better lighting.
Sources & links
🎧 Listen: Substack · Apple Podcasts · Spotify · web player
📖 Read the book: Kindle · Paperback
🌐 More: lasthumanceo.com · press kit
*THE LAST HUMAN CEO — a full-cast audiobook by Space Pirate Zero, made at Spaceship Alpha 9. New episode every weekday.*
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