Why did Mata Nui look like it did?

[CeeCee]

These Matoran had been living there for about 1000 years. Why did it look so un-moderen. Metru Nui was looked really futuristic, and you would have thought that by MNOGII sort of time, it would have looked half modern.

 

Why is this?

[Chro]

Since the Matoran had lost their memories of the industrial Metru Nui, perhaps it was simpler and more natural for them to adapt to a simpler tribal-esque lifestyle.

[Toatapio Nuva]

What Chro said, plus they didn't have resources on the island to build a city. But don't forget that they did use machinery, in Onu-Koro and Ta-Koro for example.

[Jean Valjean]

Also consider that there honestly weren't that many Matoran. They didn't need to create a giant city, and the only reason Metru Nui was a city was that it was, for the most part, a self-sustaining undustrial complex designed to keep Mata Nui going, and the Matoran were only there to maintain it.

 

24601

[Taipu1]

What has already been said, about numbers of them, and the resources available, and their memories, but also the fact that they only had 1 year of peace before Makuta started attacking them with the Rahi. Hard to build a city when the local wildlife is violently against you.

[Makuta of Time]

Yay, it also seemed that at the end of Bionicle 2, there weren't that many matoran recovered from the Coliseum.

[The Iron Toa]

It was a thousand Matoran, which is small for a city like Metru Nui, but that was explained as many of the buildings were actually machines for Mata Nui's functioning. And on the island of Mata Nui, the Matoran had a nice rural environment to live in with plenty of space, they didn't need to build a new city. Plus, in the Matoran Universe, it seems lots of Matoran do live pretty much like how they did on Mata Nui.

[TheSkeletonMan939]

If you were trapped on a jungle island with no technology beyond the wheel, tell me how you'd make your island look "modern" given 1000 years.

[bonesiii]

The main thing was the Rahi attacks and the memory loss. The Turaga could have taught them, but that would open up the question of "how do you know all this?" which might risk alerting them to the existence of Metru Nui and some might attempt to return and get themselves killed.

 

But for what limitations they had, I'd say what you're asking for is exactly what they got! They made a whole castle with a bridge that could lower itself into lava. A cablecar ride that reached over a large stretch of the island. A whole village out of giant lily pads, complete with a pump machine. Onu-Koro's Great Mine and all the machinery involved. The Kolhii Fields. Lotsa stuff besides.

[T.B.O.C]

Yay, it also seemed that at the end of Bionicle 2, there weren't that many matoran recovered from the Coliseum.

 

They did save the entire native population of Metru Nui. We didn't hear about any left behind, other than Ahkmou, and that wasn't something else.

 

But yeah, as everyone else has said, it wasn't really needed. They made what they needed to survive, including machinery such as the pumps for Ga-Koro, the risinf bridge in Ta-Koro, and all the drills and carts and elevators in Onu-Koro as well.

[toa kopaka4372]

As others have mentioned, they had plenty of technology, just not as much as on Metru Nui.

[Cratak]

As others have said (not trying to rub it in your face ), they did have a fair amount of technology that was formerly "modern". At the same time, they didn't have very much technology at all. A good semi-parallel is the Native Americans. They made some technology, definately not things we would gawk at today, but it was advanced for their situation back then. Most of them also lived in huts and had been for a few thousand years too. Back to the Matoran, they made technology on a need-it-now basis, with most tech being made at opportunities such as the Bohrok invasion, resulting in Nuparu's boxor.

 

*deep breath*

[bonesiii]

If I may pile on a potentially dead horse for a moment, thought of something else. Metru Nui also was not that advanced compared to Mata Nui when you really get right down to it.

 

What Metru Nui had was hundreds of thousands of years to mine resources and construct Big Stuff, thus a plethora of the most ideal materials available, as well as the ability to make objects with protodermic powers to be part of the machinery.

 

Take away just those three things, and you get Mata Nui after a thousand years. They also built using a lot of the same basic mechanical principles; gears and pistons and the like, but with only a thousand (war-torn) years to mine, they didn't have a lot of protometal, so where it wasn't available they used whatever they could get; wood, seashells, etc. But to the same basic effect. And they lacked Kanoka materials. That's really about it.

[Dual Cee]

Yup Neparu was able to create a fully usable exo suit with very limeted resources, nearly no light trapped inside a cave(wait, I know this from somewere ) Also he maximum used a few hours or so.

[T.B.O.C]

Yup Neparu was able to create a fully usable exo suit with very limeted resources, nearly no light trapped inside a cave(wait, I know this from somewere ) Also he maximum used a few hours or so.

 

He did have a few deactivated Bohrok with him though, and they're primarily made from those.

[Dual Cee]

True but he hadn't got any other stuff except those.

[Meta-Mind]

Well, in all honesty, the Matoran were pretty advanced. Ignoring obvious things like Nuparu's Boxors, they had a fully mechanically-operated bridge system for Ta-Koro, an advanced pump system to get water out of Ga-Koro, the *completely green* elevators in Le-Koro - and I don't think I need to say anything about the Onu-Koro Great Mine. The reason they didn't look very advanced was that they were very pragmatic as a people. They didn't make tech for the sake of consumerism/looking tech-y, they made tech to survive. If it worked, it worked, no matter how primitive it looked.

Yup Neparu was able to create a fully usable exo suit with very limeted resources, nearly no light trapped inside a cave(wait, I know this from somewere ) Also he maximum used a few hours or so.

NUPARU IS TONY STARKIT ALL MAKES SENSE NOWand that must be why he could fly as a toa inika too

[Chro]

Yup Neparu was able to create a fully usable exo suit with very limeted resources, nearly no light trapped inside a cave(wait, I know this from somewere ) Also he maximum used a few hours or so.

NUPARU IS TONY STARKIT ALL MAKES SENSE NOWand that must be why he could fly as a toa inika too

How about we don't start labeling the Inika/Mahri as the Avengers...

[DarkLordBane154]

I have always wondered whether the majority of the islands in Matoran Universe on the inside looked more like Mata Nui or industrial style of Metru Nui. Any thoughts?

[Dual Cee]

You have three different types I think:

 

Giant Metrupolis factory city. (Metru Nui, Xia)

 

Tropical islands: (Mata Nui, Artidax, the continents,...)

 

Islands with just a foretress and nothing more(Daxia, Destral, Odina)

 

And you have Zakaz

[DarkLordBane154]

I always just thought it was weird that Metru Nui could be so advanced while other Matoran on the Southern Continent and other small islands were just living in small tropical villages in the forests or wherever.

[bonesiii]

I always just thought it was weird that Metru Nui could be so advanced while other Matoran on the Southern Continent and other small islands were just living in small tropical villages in the forests or wherever.

How do you know other Matoran, including but not limited to those on the Southern Continent, were just living in small tropical villages?

 

But Metru Nui is in the brain, it makes sense. Anyways, there ARE some "just small tropical villages" elsewhere, but why not? The entire population doesn't have to be at work. More to the point, that is certainly not ALL that must exist elsewhere. And we know of several exceptions to that. I think it's likely that there are several other major giant-robot function cities similar to but smaller than Metru Nui. And even if there weren't, the rest of the population is there to be called in if necessary to do repairs. Ideally repairs would be rarely needed, so in the rest of the time they would simply need to survive and the best way to do that is in small tropical villages in the forests.

Edited January 8, 2013 by bonesiii

[Chro]

I think it's likely that there are several other major giant-robot function cities similar to but smaller than Metru Nui.

Yeah, that makes sense. I'd say there'd be minor ones near the joints (servo maintenance) and maybe some at the feet and hands (thrusters?). Likely a few scattered around the torso for various other purposes.

I wonder if there were any unfortunate Matoran domes on his back that were crushed when he fell to Aqua Magna...

[bonesiii]

Well, there are no Matoran in the legs, apparently, so no to the thrusters one there. I suspect they're mostly at various places on the continents. But the joints and hands thing is possible too, yeah, for torso joints and arms.

 

I've wondered if there is a subsystem that's automated that handles repair of the joints, and would include the feet systems, which surfaces at points in the torso. So the Matoran would repair that repair system, rather than directly repairing the legs. That would help explain how the legs aren't inhabited and yet haven't fallen into utter disrepair.

[Chro]

Wait, what? None on/in the legs? Huh, I didn't know that.

Yeah, maybe a repair system like that. Or maybe another species was there instead of the Matoran...? Unlikely but possible.

[Roki]

Well, there are no Matoran in the legs, apparently, so no to the thrusters one there. I suspect they're mostly at various places on the continents. But the joints and hands thing is possible too, yeah, for torso joints and arms.

 

I've wondered if there is a subsystem that's automated that handles repair of the joints, and would include the feet systems, which surfaces at points in the torso. So the Matoran would repair that repair system, rather than directly repairing the legs. That would help explain how the legs aren't inhabited and yet haven't fallen into utter disrepair.

IIRC at least one of the islands in the southern chains was populated by matoran at one point prior to being driven out by Rahkshi. In one of my blog theories, I speculated that the Plasma Matoran were directly related to the maintenance of the weapons and proportion systems of the MU, furthermore I liked to postulate that at the end of each of the four island chains there were at some point small plasmatoran villages, that were wiped out by the brotherhood or forgotten about due to isolation.

 

-Roki

[~Shockwave~]

I Read most of the comments and I would like to add a key point that I have not seen.

 

For the most part, it seems like they have a relatively traditional economic structure. That type of economy does not accept change or advances very well. For example, look at Takua, he was generally not accepted well because he was not an effective piece in their structure. Add on to that the Turaga, a figure that resembles an elder. And the fact that everyone seemed to have a job that was expected of them. And, all things considered, it worked well for them.

 

But it doesn't change the fact that it doesn't allow for much change, and I think that is an important piece of the puzzle as well. Just my two cents.