Velika and AI

[Archon~]

Recently (well, yesterday precisely) I've noticed that the BS01 Velika page states that he is "responsible for the nanotechnology inhabitants' evolution into a sophisticated culture of artificial intelligence."

 

Now, I'm just curious, where was this confirmed, how exactly did he do this, and why would he do it if it would just cause problems later on when it came to deactivating the nanotech?

[fishers64]

Confirmed here:

 

 

 

1) This makes sense. Are there any of these theories that we've come up with that you like the best? Do you have any preferred reason for Velika giving them sentience as of yet?

2) In a related area, I've been wondering: Just how benevolent are/were the Great Beings? Mata Nui himself seems to imply that they were wise and good - were all the GB's benevolent at the start, and then, like humans, some became bad or went insane? Are some GB's still good and would want to stop Velika, were they to know what he wants to do?

3) On that thought, have the other GB's thought about where Velika went? They probably would have missed him after a while.

4) Lastly, what exactly is Velika's moral situation? Is he bad through and through, like Teridax, or is he just confused, or (I find this idea interesting) does he genuinely believe that he is doing the right thing?

Greg, I think that these questions got buried, along with the following post.

 

1) Not a preferred theory, no, but I do think we can take as a given that Velika was responsible.
2) To answer your last question first, yes, some would try to stop him, probably most. But as for good or bad .. they were scientists, Scientists discover cures for diseases -- or unleash plagues -- not out of good or evil, but because they CAN.
3) He probably made a big show of going into exile so they wouldn't be concerned about him
4) He definitely believes he is doing the right thing. Conquerors usually do. He feels that a lack of direct control by the GBs caused the crisis, and he is determined to remedy that.

 

(Source)

 

Official "thoughts on why": 

Musings on why Velika might have bestowed sapience on the MU inhabitants.
 

 

So the question is - how would giving the Matoran sentience have benefitted Velika?
 
After brainstorming ideas with a brother of mine, I came up with something: Maybe Velika felt that Mata Nui's purpose could be fulfilled much better if the components were sentient. It's possible that he felt that Mata Nui's destiny (or at least, what he wanted Mata Nui's destiny to be) would be better achieved if the Toa, Matoran, and others actually had feelings - especially if we assume that he wanted Mata Nui to eventually reunite Spherus Magna.
 
If I may quote Hero Factory, Preston Stormer once said that heroes do best at jobs they actually care about. Maybe it's the same with Toa - they may argue, they may get angry, but they might just be that much more desperate and effective if they actually care about the universe and those around them.
 
The downside to this is that once you give robots sentience, they may rebel or stop working. Velika might have felt that this price was worth it.
 
Any thoughts on this? (Thanks again!)

2) Hmmmm ... well, if he thought of the Matoran as sentient beings who were still programmed, and so could be more easily influenced him ... maybe he felt they would be the core of the new society he planned to build. Maybe Matoran and Toa would have enforced his rule?

 

 

 
 

More discussion on the Velika/sapience suggestion:
 

 

One more thing that occured to me: Velika may have felt that it would be easier to blend in with a society-machine where all the beings were sentient, like him. Otherwise, he might be like a germ in our own bodies - an outsider, something that the machine might eventually eliminate in self defense. Does this make sense?
 
One other, slightly unrelated thing - do you think that some Great Beings would have favored different elements? In the same way, for example, that some LEGO Designers might favor different sets that they made, or different themes? Might Velika have favored the Element of Stone, seeing as he took a Po-Matoran's body, or was this unimportant to him?

 
1) Yes, it does. Velika would not have been able to just follow a pre-programmed way of life for 1000 years.
2) It's possible, certainly.

 

 

[Archon~]

So, I don't quite want to start another topic for another question that I think fishers will answer by the morning, so I'll just ask away.

 

Bs01 states that Takanuva's "primary destiny" is playing some kind of role in a GB civil war? What war? Also, if he were to play this role and go against the GBs, why would they program that into him, or is destiny not quite written by the Great Beings?

[N.S.M.8]

So, I don't quite want to start another topic for another question that I think fishers will answer by the morning, so I'll just ask away.

 

Bs01 states that Takanuva's "primary destiny" is playing some kind of role in a GB civil war? What war? Also, if he were to play this role and go against the GBs, why would they program that into him, or is destiny not quite written by the Great Beings?

Destiny was not written by the Great Beings.  Spherus Magna inhabitants (including the Great Beings) are subject to it just as the Matoran are.

[Katuko]

Bs01 states that Takanuva's "primary destiny" is playing some kind of role in a GB civil war? What war? Also, if he were to play this role and go against the GBs, why would they program that into him, or is destiny not quite written by the Great Beings?

Mata Nui, when in control of the Matoran Universe's systems, was able to set and change the destiny of the inhabitants. Destiny has been theorized to be some form of compulsory programming - a task you are influenced to do, but will not necessarily achieve unless you try your best. It's also clear that MU inhabitants don't want to meddle in the destinies of others, such as when the Toa Nuva spend all their time trying to awaken Mata Nui, but concede the task of saving his life to the Inika/Mahri.

 

Takua was destined to turn into a Toa of Light. However, his destiny appears to not have been defeating Makuta, or even to be the driving force behind Makuta's ultimate downfall. Greg mentioned that Takanuva's destiny was not complete, and went on to comment that he imagined him playing some sort of leading role in a GB civil war. In all likelihood, this war would have involved some GBs that wanted to let the Agori and Matoran live in peace, and others that wanted to reclaim their rule of Spherus Magna.

 

Destiny may have started as a simple programmed task, but after the initial Matoran AI changed to become independent beings, the systems of the MU may also have changed to the point where the GBs can no longer control a Matoran's destiny directly. It might be dictated and modified by way too many variables they no longer have a chance to work with.

 

Or, it would be funny if Makuta - in control of the MU - glanced over the list of destinies, saw "TAKANUVA: DEFEAT TERIDAX", went "Nope!" and erased it, leaving it a blank slate to be filled in later.

[fishers64]

Here's the orginal reveal on that: 
 

2 .You stated some years ago that you knew Takanuva's destiny, but wouldn't reveal it because it might pertain to future story. As the story is indefinitely on hold at best, can you now reveal this information?
 
2) My plan was to have him play a major role in a Great Beings' civil war, between Velika and like-minded followers who felt the GBs should dominate Spherus Magna directly, and other GBs that wanted no interference with the society at all. That assumed that the story team did not have other plans for the character, but if they did not, that was my intention for him.

 
Note that doesn't confirm directly what his destiny was. That just says writer's intent.
 
And again: 
 

1. While I understand many of the story details that people are curious about as far as BIONICLE is concerned simply don't exist, since you never planned that far ahead. However, there is one thing which you may know; Takanuva's destiny. Could you enlighten us as to the plan for that particular piece of story?
 
1) There were none. The plan for the new movies did not include him, so anything more with him would have been something I came up with as needed.

 

So it would fall into "whatever is authorially convenient" category, so his destiny in specific could be something that they wrote in that they didn't intend to have happen in the middle of a GB war and meant for something else.