I’ve been working on an improvement to my “the Matoran Universe has layers” concept, not quite done yet but wanted to post an update anyway.
It was noted in discussions over on discord that while they are called domes, spheres would be a better/stronger structure from an engineering perspective, so I’ve tried to put that into the layers concept:
The lower hemisphere of each sphere would be filled with the underground portions of the islands, the silver sea etc. to so the inhabitants in the upper hemisphere it would still be easily described as a dome from their perspective.
I also changed the Southern Continent’s dome and the Karda Nui dome to just be different hemispheres of the same overall sphere, with the land of the SC/the roof of KN being a thin sheet in the middle. This lines up quite well with this being quite a fragile area geologically speaking, with all the falling stalactites and the launching of Voya Nui during the Great Cataclysm.
I also made this 3D model, as visualising how the spheres would fit together inside the GSRs chest was a little tricky in 2D only:
What do you think? Is this an improvement over the original concept?
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There are many powerful beings within the BIONICLE universe, but all of them pale in comparison when it comes to one wandering Matoran turned Toa of Light. You heard that right. Takua is tougher than Tahu, more durable than Makuta, and rivalling Mata Nui himself in sheer dogged survivability.
In this edition of the Knowledge Tower, we explore the physics of projectile motion, determine the strength of Gravity of Aqua Magna and draw pictures of Takua in increasingly bizarre ways, all to prove one central hypothesis – Takua the Chronicler is COMPLETELY INDESTRUCTIBLE!
Get your new BIONICLE Science investigations here, only at the Knowledge Tower.
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Fan Theory: Like Ogres and Onions, the Matoran Universe has Layers
This theory has been rattling around in my head for some time, I might make a Knowledge Tower video about it someday, but I’m not certain if its a good fit, given its more of a theory than anything where I actually do some science in it. Maybe you all can let me know if this is a good video idea in the notes?
Anyway, the crux of this theory is something to try to explain how all of this:
Actually fits into the body of the GSR.
This is a long post, so I’ll put the rest under the cut.
We already know from Greg quotes that the MU map isn’t really to scale, its more to show the rough position of the islands rather than their actual relative size compared to one another, hence why Odina is so large, and why Voya Nui seems to take up most of the southern continent despite being described as being relatively small in story.
But even using this as a guide for placement only, it still doesn’t really gel with the actual layout of the Great Spirit Robot, with everything in the torso area having to be squished up into the upper torso given the empty space in the abdomen.
This is further compounded by this image, which places the giant vortex in the endless ocean that leads to the great waterfall in the middle of the chest of the GSR, once again placing both the southern continent and Karda Nui squarely in the upper torso:
I’ve seen more than a few fan maps of the MU that try to address this problem, but all the ones that I have seen have never quite been satisfying to me, they make the southern continent especially far too small than what the storyline suggests it should be in order to get everything to fit.
But my solution, which I don’t think I’ve seen elsewhere before, came to me when I remembered that Karda Nui was in a dome that was underneath the southern continent - it was on a separate layer. And, well, Karda Nui can be on a separate layer, why not other sections of the MU as well?
That thought let me to making these maps of how I think the MU could possibly be laid out:
As you can see, from this layered approach, not only can you fit everything in nicely, but you can also keep the continents large without having to compromise to make them fit in. It even allows for additional domes that could house some of the other locations / smaller islands that are mentioned in the story that are not included in the official map. I did also play around with the size of each island compared to the offical map, given Greg already confirmed that the sizes on it were not accurate and so I could maximise the liveable land area of the MU.
I also used the fact that Greg has confirmed that ways to get into Karda Nui are via portals (with the canon one known being near the southern continent and also being where Destral moved itself to during the Karda Nui arc) to get around the issues not only of travel between layers, but also of travel between the head, torso and limbs without having to mess around with relative positions of those places moving when the robot moves its joints. The way I figure it, if the portal took up the entire sea gate tunnel width, then it could be entirely possible that the inhabitants weren’t aware they were going through a portal at all, it could just look like a regular tunnel to them, leading to the MU map from the inhabitants perspective I included here too.
I’ve tried to include as many canon compliant details into these maps as I could (e.g. connections between the torso and arms at multiple points to explain the routes taken by the Federation of Fear, room in Artakha and Xia’s domes for the islands they used to share them with before they were destroyed, the position of the pit being based both on proximity to Daxia but also on the placement of Mahri Nui in the Faber concept art above etc.), but I may have missed some details, so do let me know if you spot any.
I could also potentially use these maps in the future to work out things like total land area of the MU for the Faber and Farshtey sizes given I can determine the area a pixel represents in each, so these could be quite useful to Knowledge Tower videos in the future, but first I’d like to get some peer review on the core ideas from the wider fandom here on Tumblr.
What do you think of the maps and the idea behind them?
I'm curious as to how you decided on your avatar's design! Obviously a Metru-Nui Ko-Matoran makes sense but the choice of mask and colour layout intrigues me. Also if they have a character name or they just use yours
Hey!
So the choice of Ko-Matoran was based on the fact that "the Knowledge Tower" seemed like a good name for a science based BIONICLE youtube channel, but you probably already figured that out.
The choice of sand blue was just because I liked the colour and thought it looked good, plus it was one of the colours used in the Mata Nui online game so I was able to directly sample it to use in the MNOG style I was going for with the avatar design.
The choice of a noble Ruru was partially just because its a favourite of mine in terms of mask design, but I also felt the idea of "seeing through the darkness" fit in with the themes of a science based channel - I've always liked the metaphor of science as a light to beat back the darkness of ignorance.
As for a character name, I've just been calling him the Scholar, it seemed appropriate.
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Me: ok, I really could do with some inspiration for my next Knowledge Tower video
My brain: sorry boss, all I can offer you is ideas on a speculative history of Metu Nui through the lens of developments in transportation technology and how those shaped the culture of the city into what it is today
Me: what the fuck? How is that in any way what I asked for? Who would even want that?
My brain: it's told through a documentary style series of interviews! Kinda like World War Z! You love that book!
Me: ugh fine. At least if I type something up it'll get out of my head and I can hopefully get back to thinking of video ideas
*sits at computer*
My brain:... Nope, can't do that either boss. Sorry.
Voya Nui is a floating island from the world of BIONICLE, but could a whole island really float on the waves? In this Knowledge Tower Short, we find out.
When the Visorak Horde invaded Metru Nui, it seemed to the embattled Toa Hordika like there were countless biomechanical spiders around every corner - but I decided to count them anyway.
Just how ridiculously outnumbered were the Toa during the Great Rescue? Watch this video to find out!
Get your new BIONICLE Science investigations here, only at the Knowledge Tower. What part of BIONICLE lore do you want to see investigated next? Give me your suggestions!
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