  For small values of the mass (in relation to the angular momentum and
electric charge), the Kerr-Newman (KN) solution of Einstein equation reduces to
a naked singularity of circular shape. By considering the Hawking and Ellis
extended interpretation of the KN spacetime, as well as Wheeler's idea of
"charge without charge", the non-trivial topological structure of the extended
KN spatial section is found to represent gravitational states with
half-integral angular momentum. As a consequence, it can be consistently
interpreted as a model for the electron-positron system, in which the concepts
of mass, charge and spin emerge from the spacetime geometry. According to this
model, therefore, instead of a simple arena, spacetime must have a concrete
existence, being responsible -- through its highly non-trivial topological
structures -- for the building blocks of (at least some of) the existing matter
in the universe.
