  We present our view of the immediate environment of an astrophysical black
hole. We discuss the origin of the electron-positron and electron-proton jet
components, and the origin of the large-scale magnetic field. We show how the
aberrated radiation field viewed by the rotating plasma generates an azimuthal
induction electric field, and how the curl of this electric field steadily
grows the magnetic field to equipartition over a few hundred million dynamical
times. That timescale corresponds to weeks for stellar mass black holes, and
million years for super-massive black holes. We conclude with numerical and
observational confirmation of the action of a Cosmic Battery in accretion flows
around astrophysical black holes.
