(Pocket) Dimensions and Universes

[TakunuvaC01]

Something that's puzzled me since 2009 is this idea of "pocket dimensions of the Matoran Universe".As I originally understood it, there are two types of alternate dimensions- parallel, which are similar to the "main universe" but diverged at some point and thus have a different timeline, and "alternate" or "pocket", which are not similar to the main universe. The Field of Shadows was some other strange dimension, but the Kingdom or Dark Mirror universes were parallel timelines.Now of course we know that the so-called Matoran Universe is really the insides of a giant robot. It's not a universe per se, it's a part of a larger universe. So... what exactly are these pocket dimensions? BS01 says:

Pocket Dimensions are minor universes linked to the Matoran Universe; their integrity is tied to that of the Matoran Universe's and, subsequently, the health of Mata Nui.

This makes it sound like they are, in some way, part of the MU- or, more accurately, Mata Nui.Is it possible they are actually separate components of Mata Nui? Created by the GBs (or Mata Nui himself?): perhaps they're just sealed-off components of Mata Nui's structure, or more satellite bodies such as the Red Star. Or maybe they are alternate dimensions, and Mata Nui actually extends into alternate universes and is more like a separate universe than we might think?Perhaps all this is already known or hypothesized, but I haven't read anything on the subject.

[Constructelf]

I tend to think of alternate universes as completely separate from prime reality. Pocket dimensions, however, I view as smaller, linked worlds. Imagine that the multiverse was a bunch of bubbles. Each bubble would be a separate universe. Now there would be a few bubbles attaches to the bigger, ones; these would be the pocket dimensions. If the big bubble pops, so do the small ones.

[bonesiii]

Not quite. Parallel does not normally exist at all in canon Bionicle; that is something like my Paracosmos fanfics where something actually causes the main events to happen like they do in canon. But if we were going to count parallel, it would be three major types:1) Alternate -- they're almost all this. This is what you used the word parallel for. This is what results at a 'choice fork' such as Matoro deciding to sacrifice himself and save the Great Spirit -- the Core Dimension (main canon universe) choice, or not to -- the Kingdom alternate universe. It's alternate because it's an alternative scenario. Same universe but what it would have been if something else happened.2) Parallel is the same as Alternate, except as you go forward into the future, main events are basically the same as in the canon universe. This cannot naturally happen. (These two terms are often confused.)3) Pocket Dimensions which normally shouldn't really even be listed with alternates or parallels. They're just basically special areas of the normal dimension that can't be reached by normal travel. Kinda like a pocket in one pair of pants, versus an entirely different pair of pants.The Field of Shadow is a pocket dimension.The Kingdom and all the other "alternate choices" dimensions are alternate dimensions.And of course, some completely different fan-created dimensions (like the Multiverse) could be seen as a fourth category entirely as they aren't based on "choice forks" at all.

Edited October 14, 2012 by bonesiii

[Meta-Mind]

Something that's puzzled me since 2009 is this idea of "pocket dimensions of the Matoran Universe".As I originally understood it, there are two types of alternate dimensions- parallel, which are similar to the "main universe" but diverged at some point and thus have a different timeline, and "alternate" or "pocket", which are not similar to the main universe. The Field of Shadows was some other strange dimension, but the Kingdom or Dark Mirror universes were parallel timelines.Now of course we know that the so-called Matoran Universe is really the insides of a giant robot. It's not a universe per se, it's a part of a larger universe. So... what exactly are these pocket dimensions? BS01 says:

Pocket Dimensions are minor universes linked to the Matoran Universe; their integrity is tied to that of the Matoran Universe's and, subsequently, the health of Mata Nui.

This makes it sound like they are, in some way, part of the MU- or, more accurately, Mata Nui.Is it possible they are actually separate components of Mata Nui? Created by the GBs (or Mata Nui himself?): perhaps they're just sealed-off components of Mata Nui's structure, or more satellite bodies such as the Red Star. Or maybe they are alternate dimensions, and Mata Nui actually extends into alternate universes and is more like a separate universe than we might think?Perhaps all this is already known or hypothesized, but I haven't read anything on the subject.

Well, as I see it, dimensions like the "Field of Shadows" and some others are linked to Mata Nui directly - they were made by the Great Beings. Whether they're physical locations in the robot or seperate, linked mini-verses (to coin a new term), they're definitely part of the robot. These are "pocket dimensions."Then there are "alternate universes." These are worlds like The Kingdom, The Melding, or the Toa Empire universes, where they forked from what we consider the "main reality" based on choices or events happening differently. This is also the setting for many fanfics, as GregF officially stated (I believe) that any fanfic would be considered to take place in an alternate universe.Another category entirely could be made for some other types of worlds, such as the "Expanded Multiverse" run by Bonesii and some others. I'm not sure where these come in to the picture at all, though they're just... more universes, to be honest.

[northmarch]

I figured it was:Alternate realities = every possible version of events e.g. Kingdom, toa empireAlternate dimensions = different levels of the same reality. E.g. Never really saw them in Bionicle Packet dimensions = like a bubble inside a bubble. E.g. City of silver, field of shadows

[The Iron Toa]

I wonder of the pocket dimensions collapsed when the Matoran Universe died.

[Baron Von Nebula]

Maybe it's like Mutran's Karda Nui lair. It was bigger on the inside than on the outside, and someone (not sure who, maybe Solek?) theorized that the technology might be related to the Destral teleportation system. Since the Makuta seem to have worked out how to make pocket dimensions (don't know about the Field of Shadow, but a Makuta-made species could access it, which suggests they may have made or at least studied it), I don't see why the GBs couldn't have done something similar when making Mata Nui.