“And the reason Luke is thinking about time and free will is because he believes that money is the closest human beings have ever come to crystallizing time and free will into a compact physical form. Cash. Cash is a time crystal. Cash allows you to multiply your will, and it allows you to speed up time. Cash is what defines us as a species. Nothing else in the universe has money.”

Canadian novelist and cultural commentator, Douglas Coupland is best known for his satirical exploration of millennial life and consumer culture. His 1991 novel *Microserfs* became a defining work of the digital age, while *Generation X* (1992) offered a sharp, generational critique of alienation and materialism. His essays and fiction continue to dissect the contradictions of modern existence.