"Vecchio Lupo" - The resilient geologist
Background
Matteo Alivesi, better known as "Vecchio Lupo" in the Via Veneto district, is a 67-year-old man born on March 17, 2040, in Iglesias, Sardinia.
Matteo was raised by a very conservative peasant family. He loved spending his time climbing and exploring the central lands of Sardinia with just a backpack, sturdy shoes he had saved up for, and a flask with numerous flavors he won in a social media contest. It was one of his greatest prides.
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During his childhood, he attended the traditional school system until the age of 16 when he was requisitioned full-time by his family. He had to take care of their fields and take over, but he hated it, working with his father or mother. They had different characters, and he preferred to stay alone or not have to talk. From one day to the next, he stopped coming to the fields. He managed to get a job as a miner at Carbosulcis mine. He quickly realized that he needed others to live and survive and developed an attachment to all those miners who, like him, endured disastrous working conditions. He had a meager salary, and breathing became difficult, but it was his only way to make a living and distance himself from his family circle under embargo format.
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It might not have been the best choice, but it was his, so his colleagues respected him. His apathy and solitary side changed when, in 2062, an accident occurred in the mine. There had to be an emergency evacuation, and Matteo was trapped with three of his compatriots. For a whole day, these four men were deprived of freedom and light, only headlamps and the remains of coal fire illuminated the space. They thought they were going to die of suffocation, so they decided to simply talk and open up, even if it meant dying, might as well take the time to have one last good moment. After all, who would want to rescue miners paid peanuts? No one was waiting on the other side of those rocks piled up during the accident.
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Just when everything seemed lost, they began to hear voices, and these voices were not in their heads; they were approaching and echoing in the distance, accompanied by the sounds of pickaxes and shovels. Matteo couldn't believe his ears; his father was there, behind the rocks, directing men to save his son and his colleagues. On that day, Matteo collapsed, and as the rocks fell, he gathered all the strength he had left to hug his father. "Sorry, Dad." "It's nothing, Matteo, everything is fine now."
At the age of 22, the young man finally understood the meaning of the words family, love, and forgiveness. He wanted to become like his father, not a farmer, but a savior of men.
Change of plans
Upon the closure of the last coal mine in Sardinia, Nuraxi Figus de Carbosulcis, in 2064, Matteo, then 24 years old, left the island to join the mainland. Specifically, he went to Camerino to pursue a Master's degree in geo-environmental resources and risks. He wasn't a genius, but he wanted to assist the working class and prevent such geological accidents.
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He had to obtain his state diploma and then successfully complete his Master's in Camerino. After that, in 2070, at the age of 30, he took on various roles as a geologist, engineer, and environmental missions to build a small reputation. Eight years after the "Siste åndedrag" event, he proposed solutions and ideas to Greenwashing and was hired to work for the city of Napoli in the environmental and urban planning sector, providing environmental solutions for the entire country. From that moment on, his name was etched in stone.
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A jack-of-all-trades, he quickly became an indispensable member in the expansion of Green Washing and the discovery of mining sectors abundant in resources throughout Italy.
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Starting in 2076, he stepped back and reflected on his actions, questioning his choices and discoveries. It wasn't wise to reveal too much about the geological terrains and resources, at least not too quickly. Society was gradually returning to life, and it shouldn't spiral out of control again. Since he left Sardinia, his life has completely changed, and everything is moving much faster. The times of solitary night climbs at Nuraghe Monte Sinì are long gone.
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He returned to Napoli in 2098 after founding a loving family in Sardinia and bidding farewell to his predecessors. These long years, we assume, were spent managing his aging father's growing business. He wanted to at least preserve this magnificent heritage and ensure its sustainable development.
Vecchio Lupo
In 2098, at the age of 58, Matteo was called by a certain Federico De Angeli, an innovator and scientist rapidly climbing the ranks.
Step by step, Matteo became involved in the Hemantic Portals program with the aim of safely transporting large loads and avoiding complex and perilous logistics in high-risk environments!
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Surrounded by renowned scientists, he quickly found his place within Mente Scope and gained a wealth of knowledge through hands-on experience, with internal training sessions and courses.
Why him for this project? Because Federico saw in this aging man a true well of knowledge and resilience. He could trust him implicitly, and he had heard, thanks to the State and the ministries, that Matteo was a good, pure man perfectly capable of developing effective solutions for the installation and operation of Hemantic Portals.
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It was a great success, but it was too much for Matteo. At the age of 63, he left Mente Scope and once again withdrew from the media spotlight. He knew the world was accelerating, and he didn't like it. Perhaps his knowledge was too vast for him, and his intuition and assumptions led him to nothingness.
And he had seen it coming. He preferred to enjoy a well-deserved retirement in Sardinia with the rest of his family, but his curiosity and humanism urged him to stay close to Napoli. Hoping that one day, perhaps, someone would realize the dangers and follies of science.
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He had glimpsed her around a corner, a blonde woman, slender, ready to do anything for her husband. But did "Vecchio Lupo" know that she was causing harm as well?
He didn't know, he had simply seen her on Via Veneto, hurried and tense. He tried to say a few words to her that he didn't believe, to ease the burden she carried.
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Humanism and hope never die, as long as we are there to observe them, said "Vecchio Lupo." He had become the grumpy old man of his childhood again and unintentionally scared the children in the neighborhood.
Poor chidlren, but poor Matteo, nicknamed "Vecchio Lupo."