90's and early 2000's animated television shows, airing every Saturday morning. A strong case can be made for this era of 'cartoons' being one of the greatest high points for super hero orientated animated pieces. In retrospect, this fact, going hand in hand with the influence of my 2 older brothers, was clearly a big contributing factor to my creative ambitions. Born in 1993 and growing up in a town about an hour outside of the City of Cape Town, gaining access to media based on characters with super powers, going on interesting adventures always proved to be very challenging for me. Because of this, my first solution to this problem was to learn how to draw and sketch out images of my favourite heroes, and dreaming up my own ideas for the journeys they would be going on. This later turned to me demanding more from myself, creating my own characters for which I could paint an imaginative mental picture around.
10 years ago, my idea for this book stemmed from a simple idea of assigning fictional, young South African citizens with 'Super Powers' and developing a story around it. Starting out with simple sketches, then turning it to a full on, early version of Hydrogen Theory. Naturally, at 17 years old, my view of the world was much different to the way I see it today. Hanging onto my optimism over the years for the potential of this earth, real life experience left me in a dark place for a long time while meditating on the issues facing us all in our everyday lives, both as individuals and a species, among other species, endangered by the man-made threats surrounding us all.
For those of you wondering if Hydrogen Theory is a direct work pointing out the flaws of any specific institution, please know that the entire world I've created in the book is a fictional one, using familiar processes and locations to ground my super powered storyline, only hoping that when reading this novel, some thoughts are brought to your attention regarding your place in this world, your contributions to it and your fellow human beings, and the fact that choice and freedom should always be a birthright to each and every one of us. Please know that beyond your responsibilities, any good work is usually built upon the foundations of your willingness.
I returned to reworking this novel during the testing COVID-19 pandemic, returned to the realization that I love creating original stories, and beyond that, creative work, thoughts and contributions to this world.
Beyond all questions of ethics and morality posed in this product, this book, stripped bare is an example of my practicing what brings joy to my heart, and I hope that can always be motivation for you to do the same.
DILLAN BARTES
30 July 2020
YOU ARE READING
The Hydrogen Theory: A Novel
ActionSet on a fictional earth, where numerous members of the youth has been born with super-human abilities. In Cape Town, South Africa, the city is strained by a genetic segregation act passed by the government that unwillingly puts among many others...
