  A long march of fifty years of successive theoretical progress and new
physics discovered using observations of gamma-ray bursts, has finally led to
the formulation of an efficient mechanism able to extract the rotational energy
of a Kerr black hole to power these most energetic astrophysical sources and
active galactic nuclei. We here present the salient features of this
long-sought mechanism, based on gravito-electrodynamics, and which represents
an authentic shift of paradigm of black holes as forever "alive" astrophysical
objects.
