# Hyper Drive: A-Side by Ryan Bell

## The work and its context

Hyper Drive: A-Side is project 392 on the Art Blocks V2 core contract 0x99a9b7c1116f9ceeb1652de04d5969cce509b069, published under the canonical slug hyper-drive-a-side-by-ryan-bell and credited to Ryan Bell. The indexed project record reports a completed edition of 200 of 200 invocations, runtime p5@1.0.0, and the official description: Hyper Drive is based on the mathematics of recursion. Scale symmetry is used to create patterns that repeat at ever-smaller intervals, creating the illusion of infinite depth and complexity.  The rule for the recursive loop is incredibly simple. A box is drawn, then a snapshot of the full canvas is resized to cover the boundary. As this process is repeated, small variations in position create endless fractals.  This project is an experimental cross-chain collection, with a fully-generative A-side published via Art Blocks on Ethereum and an AI-based image composition B-side published via fxhash on Tezos. The artwork symbolizes the great divides we must cross, the connections we make along the way, and the disconnections we feel. We move through the world as the world moves through us. [^S01][^S02]

Those figures are current index observations retrieved on 2026-09-19, not a reconstruction of the original public sale announcement. Atlas position is a catalogue ordinal and is not the on-chain project ID. The live collection page and the Hasura projects_metadata row agree on title, slug, contract, and project ID after a filtered query that used the exact slug. [^S01][^S02]

Contract 0x99a9b7c1116f9ceeb1652de04d5969cce509b069. Aspect ratio indexed as 0.75. Website https://twitter.com/iRyanBell.

This essay treats the stored artist program, four independently identified outputs, and a freshly checked AB5D holding (or an explicit collection gap) as primary evidence. Metadata traits are cited only when they were returned for the same V2 contract token IDs that were visually inspected. They do not replace looking at the pictures. [^S04][^S09]

## Conception and development

The official project description is the development account used here. Interview or dossier sentences that name a different slug are not treated as statements about this series. Hyper Drive is based on the mathematics of recursion. Scale symmetry is used to create patterns that repeat at ever-smaller intervals, creating the illusion of infinite depth and complexity.  The rule for the recursive loop is incredibly simple. A box is drawn, then a snapshot of the full canvas is resized to cover the boundary. As this process is repeated, small variations in position create endl

The development account used here is the specific source named in the citations, not a paraphrase of an artist-dossier page. Where that account is an official project description written in the artist's voice, that limit is stated rather than upgraded into an unpublished studio diary. Where an interview exists, the sentences that actually name Hyper Drive: A-Side are the ones relied on. [^S07][^S01]

Secondary pages that only repeat the marketplace listing are not treated as independent conception sources. [^S02][^S07]

## How the work was constructed

The complete artist program for slug hyper-drive-a-side-by-ryan-bell was retrieved from projects_metadata.script filtered by that exact slug. The UTF-8 payload is 20560 bytes with SHA-256 047178bb5c1e79fbb65375aa025f60a74a71ce31a469d8d072f73b55039d5e0b. Runtime on the project record is p5@1.0.0. The script was read in full; it was not executed in this research session. [^S03]

The stored generator is 20560 bytes, SHA-256 047178bb5c1e79fbb65375aa025f60a74a71ce31a469d8d072f73b55039d5e0b, runtime p5@1.0.0. Detected source markers: setup, draw, noLoop, createCanvas, tokenData, hash, colorMode. Named functions include o, r, t. tokenData.hash is read in source. Output then follows the drawing path those functions implement. Token 0 observation: Inspected media-proxy PNG is 1800x2400px, mid-tone and muted or near-neutral (mean RGB 136,129,121). File size 9360546 bytes. Indexed features: Side A; View Mixed; Frame Framed; Speed Warp; Palette Sketch; Symmetry Wild; Complexity Normal; Photogenic None

Visual claims come from inspected media-proxy PNGs plus indexed token features.

Seed handling is visible in the retrieved program: tokenData.hash is read in source. Time and interaction behaviour in code is: Source contains noLoop. The inspected PNG is a finished still. Live motion was not stopwatched. A handler found in source is not the same thing as a control that was pressed in a live renderer during this session; tested controls are listed only when an actual key or pointer action was performed. [^S03][^S10]

External dependencies are those declared by script_type_and_version plus any library identifiers inside the file. Public visibility of the stored script does not grant a right to redistribute the raw artist source in this package, so the analysis cites functions and byte length rather than reprinting the program. [^S03][^S06]

## The mint

Indexed chronology for project 392 on 0x99a9b7c1116f9ceeb1652de04d5969cce509b069 is as follows. First token minted_at is 2022-11-23T20:59:35+00:00. activated_at is 2022-12-08T19:12:23+00:00. start_datetime is 2023-01-11T18:00:00+00:00. completed_at is 2023-01-11T18:12:23+00:00. Invocations stand at 200 of a maximum 200, with complete=true on the retrieved row. [^S02][^S04]

Calculated intervals from those timestamps: first mint to activation is 14.93 days; activation to start_datetime is 33.95 days; start_datetime to completion is 12.4 minutes; first mint to completion is 48.88 days. These are differences of indexed clock fields, not a claim about when a web storefront button became visible to every collector. A first mint that precedes start_datetime is treated as an early or reserved mint unless a separate allocation record is produced. [^S02][^S04]

Indexed clocks: first 2022-11-23T20:59:35+00:00, activated 2022-12-08T19:12:23+00:00, start 2023-01-11T18:00:00+00:00, completed 2023-01-11T18:12:23+00:00. Early first-mint timestamps are not labelled reserved without a separate allocation record.

Historic per-token ETH prices for the original public sale were not recovered from a primary price table during this session and remain unresolved. Any floor price visible on a marketplace page in 2026 is a current listing observation, not the 2021 ask. [^S01][^S02]

## Copyright and licensing

The project record stores the artwork licence label 'NFT License 2.0'. That label is not a Creative Commons version string and is recorded as a custom or unknown artwork term. Code rights for the artist program are not separately labelled on the same field; they are treated as unknown rather than assumed identical to the artwork deed. [^S02][^S06]

Artwork label copied exactly as 'NFT License 2.0'.

Third-party runtime p5@1.0.0 is a separate rights object from both the artwork outputs and the artist source. p5.js, three.js, and ordinary browser JavaScript each keep their own licence texts. This package does not redistribute those libraries. [^S03][^S06]

Original essay prose in this package is dedicated CC0-1.0 by the research operator. That dedication does not change the artwork, code, or dependency licences.

## Close reading of examples

Hyper Drive: A-Side #0 is token 392000000 on 0x99a9b7c1116f9ceeb1652de04d5969cce509b069, minted 2022-11-23T20:59:35+00:00. The canonical token page returned HTTP 200. The inspected media-proxy PNG is a static frame. Inspected media-proxy PNG is 1800x2400px, mid-tone and muted or near-neutral (mean RGB 136,129,121). File size 9360546 bytes. Indexed features: Side A; View Mixed; Frame Framed; Speed Warp; Palette Sketch; Symmetry Wild; Complexity Normal; Photogenic None Indexed features returned for this V2 token: Side A; View Mixed; Frame Framed; Speed Warp; Palette Sketch; Symmetry Wild; Complexity Normal; Photogenic None.  [^S04][^S05][^S09]

Hyper Drive: A-Side #1 is token 392000001 on 0x99a9b7c1116f9ceeb1652de04d5969cce509b069, minted 2023-01-10T19:58:35+00:00. The canonical token page returned HTTP 200. The inspected media-proxy PNG is a static frame. Inspected media-proxy PNG is 1800x2400px, mid-tone and muted or near-neutral (mean RGB 96,108,100). File size 9018928 bytes. Indexed features: Side A; View Horizon; Frame Framed; Speed Warp; Palette Crayon; Symmetry Wild; Complexity Normal; Photogenic None Indexed features returned for this V2 token: Side A; View Horizon; Frame Framed; Speed Warp; Palette Crayon; Symmetry Wild; Complexity Normal; Photogenic None.  [^S04][^S05][^S09]

Hyper Drive: A-Side #10 is token 392000010 on 0x99a9b7c1116f9ceeb1652de04d5969cce509b069, minted 2023-01-10T20:44:35+00:00. The canonical token page returned HTTP 200. The inspected media-proxy PNG is a static frame. Inspected media-proxy PNG is 1800x2400px, mid-tone and muted or near-neutral (mean RGB 165,153,143). File size 9138971 bytes. Indexed features: Side A; View Windows; Frame Framed; Speed Normal; Palette Red; Symmetry Wild; Complexity Normal; Photogenic None Indexed features returned for this V2 token: Side A; View Windows; Frame Framed; Speed Normal; Palette Red; Symmetry Wild; Complexity Normal; Photogenic None.  [^S04][^S05][^S09]

Hyper Drive: A-Side #20 is token 392000020 on 0x99a9b7c1116f9ceeb1652de04d5969cce509b069, minted 2023-01-10T23:01:47+00:00. The canonical token page returned HTTP 200. The inspected media-proxy PNG is a static frame. Inspected media-proxy PNG is 1800x2400px, mid-tone and strongly coloured (mean RGB 172,57,17). File size 8689230 bytes. Indexed features: Side A; View Mixed; Frame None; Speed Normal; Palette Vibes; Symmetry Normal; Complexity Normal; Photogenic None Indexed features returned for this V2 token: Side A; View Mixed; Frame None; Speed Normal; Palette Vibes; Symmetry Normal; Complexity Normal; Photogenic None.  [^S04][^S05][^S09]

The AB5D header candidate is token 392000178 (edition 178), currently indexed to 0xdd19308a9731cdecb67e0d80ca6823394208c045, which is one of the three linked addresses returned for username ab5d on 2026-09-19. That ownership match is a present-tense index observation, not proof of continuous custody since mint. Inspected media-proxy PNG is 1800x2400px, dark and strongly coloured (mean RGB 90,32,33). File size 9096861 bytes. Indexed features: Side A; View Mixed; Frame None; Speed Warp; Palette RGB; Symmetry Normal; Complexity Normal; Photogenic None [^S08][^S04][^S09]

Motion, interaction, and audio: Source contains noLoop. The inspected PNG is a finished still. Live motion was not stopwatched. The static PNGs document halt or preview states. They are not by themselves proof that a live loop is still running, nor proof that a work is silent. No soundtrack was heard from these pages during this session. [^S09][^S10][^S03]

## Significance and limitations

Hyper Drive: A-Side is project 392 by Ryan Bell on 0x99a9b7c1116f9ceeb1652de04d5969cce509b069. The close readings above are the evidence for what the stored program outputs.

Unresolved research questions that remain after this pass: (1) What was the exact public-sale unit price in ETH at start_datetime, supported by a contemporaneous primary source rather than a later floor? (2) For tokens whose live renderer was not stopwatch-timed, what is the measured wall-clock period of one full cycle or one completed progressive draw? (3) What contemporaneous primary source records the original public unit price in ETH? (4) Incomplete Control aside, do any of the three current AB5D wallets later acquire or dispose of the header token used above after 2026-09-19? [^S02][^S08][^S10]

This package is a draft for human review. Structural validation tests file shape, not the truth of seeing or of licence interpretation.

[^S01]: Art Blocks. [Hyper Drive: A-Side by Ryan Bell collection page](https://www.artblocks.io/collection/hyper-drive-a-side-by-ryan-bell). Accessed 2026-09-19.
[^S02]: Art Blocks Hasura index. [projects_metadata record for hyper-drive-a-side-by-ryan-bell](https://artblocks-mainnet.hasura.app/v1/graphql). Accessed 2026-09-19.
[^S03]: Ryan Bell. [Hyper Drive: A-Side on-chain artist program](https://artblocks-mainnet.hasura.app/v1/graphql). Accessed 2026-09-19.
[^S04]: Art Blocks Hasura index. [tokens_metadata for sampled Hyper Drive: A-Side token IDs](https://artblocks-mainnet.hasura.app/v1/graphql). Accessed 2026-09-19.
[^S05]: Art Blocks. [Canonical token pages for sampled Hyper Drive: A-Side outputs](https://www.artblocks.io/token/1/0x99a9b7c1116f9ceeb1652de04d5969cce509b069/392000000). Accessed 2026-09-19.
[^S06]: Art Blocks project record. [Reported artwork licence label NFT License 2.0](https://www.artblocks.io/collection/hyper-drive-a-side-by-ryan-bell). Accessed 2026-09-19.
[^S07]: Ryan Bell. [Hyper Drive: A-Side official description](https://twitter.com/iRyanBell). Accessed 2026-09-19.
[^S08]: Art Blocks. [AB5D linked wallet set and profile index](https://www.artblocks.io/profile/ab5d). Accessed 2026-09-19.
[^S09]: Art Blocks media proxy. [Static PNG renders of sampled Hyper Drive: A-Side tokens](https://media-proxy.artblocks.io/0x99a9b7c1116f9ceeb1652de04d5969cce509b069/392000000.png). Accessed 2026-09-19.
[^S10]: Art Blocks. [Live generator renderer for Hyper Drive: A-Side](https://generator.artblocks.io/0x99a9b7c1116f9ceeb1652de04d5969cce509b069/392000000). Accessed 2026-09-19.