Ali Psara - The Head Archivist

Background

Ali Psara is now a 32-year-old man, born in Greece on April 7, 2075.

At the age of 8, in 2083, his parents decided to return to his mother's home country, Algeria, and educate Ali Psara about Middle Eastern art, religion, and their way of seeing and living in the world.

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With a librarian mother and a bookseller father, much of his childhood and adolescence was spent wandering through stores and at home in the cool reading various magazines and books. His parents loved seeing him read and thrive in these stories and textbooks. In Hassi Messaoud, however, one could quickly run out of things to do, and every morning Ali started scanning the horizon of sand dunes, becoming increasingly drawn to the desert.

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While his family already envisioned him as an archivist, a man of letters, or even a renowned teacher, Ali found himself, at the age of 13, completely changing course when he spotted itinerant merchants in the distance, transporting spare parts and mechanized arms.

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He was totally intrigued and full of desire and passion. He approached these men dressed in dark tunics that covered their entire skin and asked them about what they were doing.

The man did not respond and simply indicated for him to go home: "You are far too distant from your town, your parents will worry, go home." Every day after their encounter, Ali sat on his rock and awaited the daily arrival of the itinerant merchant. When one day the latter granted him some time and showed him what he had in his bag. They were numerous mechanized arms from robots decommissioned after the United States' Robot Terror, but we'll talk about that later, whispered the merchant.

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Finally, after a month of waiting, the merchant returned and invited young Ali to come with him to show him his workshop in the desert. The repaving of the desert roads allowed them to cross it without too much difficulty, provided they had enough fuel. Ali's parents were aware but did not know the merchant; they were mostly afraid that Ali would deviate from their goal of making him a good teacher or man of letters. There was no question of delving into sciences and new technologies.

But the damage was done.

Desert Robotics Workshop

At the age of 16, in 2091, Ali entered the mechanic workshop of the merchant for the first time. It was a kind of shack made of brick and debris that constantly emitted sounds all day long—turbo sighs, piston clattering, and uncertain rhythm oil jets.

The merchant's name was Gabriele Cervo; he explained to Ali that he was from Italy and had been commissioned by his company to clean up the Algerian desert.

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What he explained to the young man shook him, but since 2088, following the events of the Robot Terror in the United States, they have been using oil exploitation territories to bury tons of artificial intelligences and humanoid robots.

Eventually, he added, "countries like yours are the world's landfills... And I'm sorry about that."

"To be honest with you, Ali, I'm looking for curious and passionate people to help me in my task. I understood that you know about robotics?"

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The boy was astonished; it's true that he had managed to pick up a few trinkets and turn them into animated toys, but nothing more...

Gabriele was convinced that he could become a real scientist, and Gabriele had many things to teach him. Young Ali's eyes sparkled. So Gabriele promised to give him a good scholarship so that he could study Robotics!

Months later, Ali returned with a backpack full of a sleeping bag, spare clothes, and food. He had told his parents that he would continue his studies but that right now he had a more important mission in the desert.

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For a year, accompanied by Gabriele, they cleaned the desert from top to bottom, digging into the dunes, vacuuming tons of sand grains, and sorting their various findings and desert treasures by category.

His parents would have been proud to see how precisely he could classify arms, pistons, and other mechanical tools. But what interested Ali was learning more about the use of each piece of metal and scrap.

In 2093, when Ali was 18, Gabriele, who had gone shopping, came back with a bag full of cash. The Green Washing mission was over, and Gabriele fulfilled his promise; Ali would be covered with money for the year to allow him to study robotics. Gabriele, in turn, would wait for him in Napoli, his city where he had been working for a few years now.

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Finally, in 2094, Ali Psara joined the University of Batna 2, in its technological and scientific branch. Over a period of 5 years, he knew that someone would be waiting for him when he finished—his best friend and mentor, Gabriele.

These years passed at a tremendous pace, and he couldn't wait to finish his 5th year to go to Napoli. However, nothing went as planned; Gabriele's money stopped coming, and Ali quickly ran out of money to pay for his school and food.

He pulled the rope until the end, but it was too late; he could not finish his 5th year at the University of Batna. He had to leave school and return to his parents in Hassi Messaoud, tail between his legs. He was ashamed...

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His parents didn't know what to say; they took him by the arms and embraced him.

Nothing was lost, only, where was Gabriele?

Memoria Archives

To complete his 5th year and reunite with Gabriele, in 2099, he decided to spread his wings with his meager savings to go to Italy, specifically to Napoli.

Fortunately for him, a position as a custodian of the Memoria Archives had just become available, and he could take up the position as soon as he set foot in Italy, a stroke of luck. The job itself wasn't particularly interesting, but having access to all that knowledge was a true gift from heaven. He faced rare and unique pieces, unprecedented robotic works, and science books that had never been deciphered.

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He was fascinated, and his passion for Robotics only grew! Finally, when he had time, he went to the Green Washing offices to ask about a certain Gabriele Cervo! There was no record, no name, no information under that name. He then tried to inquire about a possible man who had to work in the Algerian desert, but still nothing...

Ali Psara was completely confused and left Green Washing without saying a word. He returned to his Mare Solar apartment and pondered a thousand questions... Who was Gabriele Cervo really? Did he even exist? Was it just a mirage; had Ali's mind played tricks on him? It made no sense...

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Yet he was convinced; if he didn't exist, then he would invent him. So, from 2096 onwards, Ali set out to create a sorting, cleaning, and archiving robot. His 4 years of study at Batna and his years in the desert workshop had taught him much more than necessary. Working tirelessly for both the Archives Memoria and his personal robotic project, he eventually proposed his prototype to the Archives Memoria in 2103, a construction period of 7 years.

A robot was born, and he named it "Cervo."

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The director was impressed by Ali's talent and enthusiasm, promoting him to Head of Archives in 2104. For the past 3 years, Ali and Cervo have been organizing the archives, sorting, and ensuring that this building oversees the smooth operation of the city and the proper management of its data.

It was no longer just a workshop in the desert but the archives of an innovative city.

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One last mirage appeared in his mailbox one June evening in 2107. He opened it, and Arabic characters were written:

"Mektoub," from G.