#thehalfway

Ko-Metru and Scholar Assistants:

While I was doing some digging into Ko-Matoran jobs in Ko-Metru, I thought it was strange that Scholars required assistants (or messengers) to deliver messages back and forth between Knowledge Towers. I remember thinking: "Isn't Metru Nui a city of technology? Why don't they just message each other with a text or something?".

But then it occurred to me that maybe they're sending messages the old fashioned way- through paper. But why paper messages? It would be much simpler to message digitally...wouldn't it?

In The Halfway, Ko-Metru is just below Ga-Metru in terms of wealth and importance. While they don't have as much in terms opportunity and resources, they have the most relative to their function when compared to the other districts (Ta, Po, Onu, Le). They have access to huge, expensive telescopes and a variety of other devices that help them do their jobs, and from what I could tell from the images online, technology seems to play an important role in maintaining structural integrity. Meaning, it wouldn't be through inaccessibility that they wouldn't be using digital devices.

So I decided to take a deeper look at Ko-Matoran society and how their beliefs might impact their actions.

Mentality:

The mentality or philosophy of the Ko-Matoran also seemed to be an important factor, as the one thing that seemed to be a heavy emphasis in Ko-Metru above all else was: Silence.

(So much so that the Ko-Metru Vahki would arrest anyone who made too much noise. It was known widely as "The Silent Metru" across the city)

It would make sense that Ko-Matoran scholars, in their efforts to preserve silence, would choose the traditional method of paper writing over technological means.

Tech can be noisy- and distracting; it would make sense that writing with paper would help keep better focus, and writing things manually has also shown to help with memory retention.

Enviornment:

The location and environment of Ko-Metru also struck me as important, since environment can play a huge role in shaping a culture's method of documentation; in particular, the kind of climate and weather Ko-Metru would normally experience: the cold, the ice, and the snow.

And something clicked almost instantly:

Having grown up in an area of Canada where winter snowstorms were frequent, losing power was a common (and often unpredictable) thing.

Ko-Metru, being in a constant state of winter, would probably have it's fair share of shitty, snowy weather; if scholars were relying on technology in order to document and record all their findings, they could lose their data or be unable to access online resources until the power came back on (if at all).

It would make sense that the primary means of recording, communicating, and preserving findings would be through tangible means (i.e. paper), then inputted into a digital database for city-wide use, as necessary.

Conclusion:

It all made sense now. Writing with paper was the most reliable, most convenient method of communication between towers. It was the best way to preserve silence, improve memory, and continue work even in harsh conditions.

Ko-matoran, you are some smart cookies.

Paper Availability and Usage:

In terms of how often paper was used throughout Metru Nui, (looking at how it's described in both the books and movies), from what I can tell most Matoran haven't come across paper before:

For example, whoever found the hidden Bohrok document under the floor in the Great Temple thought it was strange that the message was written on a thin sheet (paper) instead of carved in stone.

Another example is when Lhikan gave out the Toa stones to the pre-Toa Metru, wrapped each stone in a map made of paper.* When he hands them out, the only one he mentions the map to is Nuju ("Follow the map, Thinker"). Why would he mention the map specifically?**

With all this being said, I think it makes the most sense that paper would be almost exclusively used by Ko-Matoran Scholars for their studies and (primary) means of communication between them. All written records would then be bound and stored in the Great Library in the Metru, where Scholars would send messengers to retrieve them, as needed.

End Notes:

*More on this later

**This may be a stretch, but I think because as a Scholar, Nuju was already familiar with paper maps- he just needed a reminder from Lhikan to stay focused on the present. ("No one could look further forward without seeing what was in plain sight then dear Nuju" -Turaga Vakama).