There is a new kind of extractive industry rising quietly across the African cultural landscape—nothing as obvious as mining, nothing as brutal as the colonial museum raid. Instead, it arrives with friendly logos, “innovation labs,” creative grants, workshops for emerging storytellers, and the promise of global visibility.

In a media landscape where the journalists are gone, the platforms are captured, and the truth is a liability, even a machine’s momentary gasp of honesty is worth archiving.

In the spirit of Re-enchant, these characters invite us to reconsider what it means to be fully alive: not just to function or survive, but to seek meaning, choose dignity, and act with soul.