Matoran society concepts in my head that I need to flesh out more:
Group of Le-Matoran traders who live exclusively on a fleet of airships that sail wind currents throughout the MU. All of their trade with the world below is done via cranes and elevators, it's a point of pride for them that they never touch the ground
Village of De-Matoran who live in a cave system specifically carved to have perfect acoustics inside and perfect soundproofing from the outside. Their culture is built around a never ending musical performance that they all take turns maintaining, which can be heard with no distortion or muffling anywhere in the cave system.
An outpost of Ce-Matoran who live around a natural outcropping of memory crystals, the main job in their village is to commune with the crystals and try to interpret the memories they find in there, as well as cultivating new experiences and memories for them to add to the crystals themselves. Some of these crystals form part of the GSRs long term data storage, with many of the memories they see in the crystals being observations Mata Nui made of the other worlds he visited.
The Toa Otoka
The Toa Otoka were the second Toa Team to be formed on Okoto Nui. They were formed in response to Matoran going missing along side sightings of strange, never before seen Rahi.
Each of the members of this team knew each other prior to becoming Toa, having met in Metru Nui before the Reformation. Though they bicker at times, they work together fairly well as a team.
Emana Toa of Psionics and a former Scholar and Archaeologist. She worked for the Grand Archives and studied the Agori Ruins found across the island. Though she wasn't much of a fighter, she was trained in fencing, training she puts to use as a Toa. She has an interest in the macabre, something she shares with Vhoke. She and Rakewii are in a relationship.
Rakewii Toa of Fire and mask maker. Rakewii lived in the hustle and bustle of Ta-Ifo working as a mask maker for a local mask shop. He has decent aim making him a perfect sharp shooter for his team. He's often jokey and rarely takes things seriously. He and Emana are in a relationship.
Rakota Toa of Lightning and village guard. Rakota can be incredibly blunt and rather impatient at times, but she cares deeply for her friends. She's closest to Melu, as both traveled together across Mata Nui before the move back to Metru Nui. She owns a pair of Sentinel Hounds.
Vhoke Toa of Plant Life and a former Rahi care taker. She worked at a rescue shelter in her village on Okoto Nui and has very extensive knowledge of Rahi. Her hands and feet had been modified, both for defense and locomotion. She has a pet Guurii.
Akale Toa of Iron and former caravan guard. Akale is the leader. He is the most outwardly mature, and his time as a caravan guard in Po-Oko gave him all the experience he needed to lead and protect others. He wields a heavy blaster, which has only become more powerful as a Toa.
Melu Toa of Air and former courier. Most of the Toa Team met each other through Melu. Even before the Great Cataclysm, he worked as courier in Metru Nui. He and Rokota met and traveled together on Mata Nui, and after the return to Metru Nui he met and befriended Emana and Rakewii, and would later meet Vhoke and Akale on Okoto Nui. He's not the most heroic individual, but tries his best to be useful for his team.
Though they aren't part of the Toa Team, there are several other Matoran tied to this team that try to help them in their efforts to find the source of these strange Rahi and why they are kidnapping Matoran.
Matoran Culture: Roles in the Robot, and the Ce-Matoran Conspiracy
“Matoran workers have always been among the most important inhabitants of the universe. Without them, the will of the Great Spirit Mata Nui could not be carried out.”
I’ve always found it interesting to think about the roles various characters and species were intended to fulfill in the Matoran Universe - none more so than Matoran, whose labors, we’re told, directly sustained the health of the Great Spirit. I wrote a bit about Matoran roles a few years back; some of those ideas have stood up, but others seem a little silly in retrospect. And I didn’t come up with any explanation for De-Matoran or Ce-Matoran, so the post seems a little incomplete. It’s time for me to round out the set. More below the cut.
First, the De-Matoran. For inspiration, let’s consider the parts of the human body that utilize sound. The obvious thought is ears, but of course, Mata Nui doesn’t have any landmasses corresponding to ears, right? Wrong. We know from Legacy of Evil that there was an island near Metru Nui inhabited by Matoran, presumably located within the same dome. This would make it a great candidate for serving as Mata Nui’s “ear(s).” The De-Matoran working here might have provided the power for Mata Nui to receive transmissions - and send them. As noted in Journey’s End, the Great Spirit’s voice, at a higher volume setting, could have shattered skulls across Bara Magna. In the Bionicle world, this must be accomplished by the use of tremendous sonic elemental energy. Thus, the De-Matoran near Metru Nui might have maintained both Mata Nui’s ears and his vocal cords.
What would De-Matoran be doing in other parts of the universe? It’s worth noting that for the human body, exposure to sound (especially music) can have profound effects, for better or for worse. The De-Matoran famously love silence; perhaps some parts of Mata Nui’s body required dampened sound in order to function smoothly. It could be that the De-Matoran’s labor suppressed the constant noise of the mechanics functioning beneath the surface of their world, which would otherwise be unbearable for the beings living within. I also like to think that some De-Matoran could overcome their sonic vulnerability and become excellent musicians, which were perhaps intended by the Great Beings to soothe the workers and mechanisms within the Great Spirit.
Next, the Ce-Matoran. There are a few ways they don’t quite fit in. They have no known preferred regions and no known personality traits. Their mental shielding is a curious manifestation of their element: it is obviously quite handy in battle, but I don’t have the impression that Ce-Matoran were expected to deal with psychic evildoers, so it doesn’t seem like it would be very useful in everyday life. The obvious job for Ce-Matoran is, of course, counseling other Matoran. The mental health of a population is important, especially a population whose work keeps the universe alive. The trouble is, the Matoran were never intended to have sapience or emotions, so they would hardly need counseling. So what were the Great Beings intending for the Ce-Matoran? Their placement seems utterly arbitrary.
Unless… unless the Great Beings didn’t intend to place Ce-Matoran within the robot. If everything had gone according to plan, Ce-Matoran (and Toa of Psionics, by extension) would have been entirely unnecessary. So unless one of the Great Beings knew things weren’t going to go according to plan… unless one of them expected there to be a great enlightenment of minds in the Matoran Universe… then they should never have been built. But they obviously were… so what can it all mean?
What it means is, I have a conspiracy theory on a massive scale to present: Ce-Matoran were created in secret by Velika in order to bring about the Awakening.
This sounds crazy, of course. “Velika couldn’t have created an entire Matoran breed in secret,” you say. “Look at The Yesterday Quest - Orde talks about the Great Beings creating him and the Ce-Matoran!” Well, I have looked at The Yesterday Quest, and that’s partially what’s leading this theory. During his controversial origin story in Chapter 2, Orde never once mentions the Great Beings as his creators. This is interesting, especially since the Toa’s mission is to find the Great Beings; you’d think he wouldn’t hesitate to mention he was created by them. But what if he doesn’t know? In discussing the problematic gendering of the Ce-Matoran, he only says “After that, someone decided that maybe a gentler touch was needed” (emphasis mine). This leads me to believe that Orde doesn’t know how exactly he and the Ce-Matoran came into being… suggesting it might have been a matter of some obscurity or secrecy. (When questioned about it, Greg later stated that the Great Beings directly made Orde - but this doesn’t necessarily mean that multiple Great Beings participated in the making. He’s been known to refer to the Great Beings as a monolith before.) This could have easily been accomplished by Velika, without the knowledge of the other Great Beings, before or shortly after Mata Nui’s takeoff.
Now, as for the second part of my conspiracy theory: that Velika used the Ce-Matoran to bring about the Awakening. This could finally answer the question of their functionality in the Matoran Universe. Greg has refused to clarify how Velika caused the Awakening (presumably because he doesn’t have any ideas), merely suggesting it could have had something to do with a virus. What if that “virus,” or AI patch, or whatever it happened to be, was carried by the Ce-Matoran? Velika could have created the Ce-Matoran in various forges and scattered them across the universe to bring sapience to their Matoran brethren. The vectors of intelligence then spread to the rest of the biomechanical beings in the Matoran Universe, bringing about the Awakening in full. After the Awakening, the Ce-Matoran had no more programmed roles, and simply assimilated into Matoran society. Probably a lot of them became counselors.
So, what do you think? Does any of this sound reasonable, or have I gone completely off the deep end? If you have any ideas for what Ce-Matoran could have been intended to do in a non-sapient Matoran Universe, please share; I’d love to consider some alternate theories. Until next time!
P. S. My thanks to @takanuvaofficial and @toaarcan for their brainstorming help. I couldn’t have come to this wild conclusion without your encouragement.
