  We address the origin of the Cooper pairs in high-$T_c$ cuprates and the
unique nature of the superconducting (SC) condensate. Itinerant holes in an
antiferromagnetic background form pairs spontaneously, without any `glue',
defining a new quantum object the `pairon'. In the incoherent pseudogap phase,
above $T_c$ or within the vortex core, the pairon binding energies are
distributed statistically, forming a `Cooper-pair glass'. Contrary to
conventional SC, it is the mutual pair-pair interaction that is responsable for
the condensation. We give a natural explanation for the {\it ergodic rigidity}
of the excitation gap, being uniquely determined by the carrier concentration
$p$ and $J$. The phase diagram can be understood, without spin fluctuations, in
terms of a single energy scale $\sim J$, the exchange energy at the
metal-insulator transition.
