BZP Chronicler
Group: Archiver of Reference
Posts: 103
Joined: 3-February 07
Member No.: 52043
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- Is the Expanded Multiverse considered official Bionicle canon? If not, why is this topic in the BRC?
ANSWER: No. The vast majority of things in the Multiverse, and the Multiverse itself, are strictly noncanon. There are three exceptions thus far:
1) The 15 winning entries of the Weapons contest were created on the canon island of Xia; approved to be canon by Greg, and having Biosector01 pages.
2) Greg gave us permission to use the canon Kanohi Olmak from "Tuyetverse" that Core Dimension Takanuva left floating in the space between universes, for the origins legend of Aethion.
3) Eleven mask powers of the thirty we invented for the Multiverse use the old comic unknown-power mask shapes, and Greg approved these powers as canon as well. They are pictured on the BS01 Kanohi page (the powers are summed up on the Powers page, linked there). (There have been several changes due to helpful fan input to these, and depending on how you count Toa Pouk's mask, it's ten or eleven. Scroll up in the BS01 link to the right to see that one, the Mask of Emulation, for more details.)
However, many official species and objects exist in the Multiverse. Matoran, Toa, Turaga, Agori, Glatorian, Makuta, etc. all exist as species here, though official characters or locations do not exist here. Official Kanohi types exist here. Projectiles, Vehicles, Rahi species, etc.
The Fanon Collection topic is in the Bionicle Reference Center so that freely available fanon content is easy to find. This is more than just the everyday fanfiction, MOC, art, etc. -- this is fanfiction, MOCs, art, and other content specifically designed to be part of a collection contributed to by countless fans -- and available as "freeware" for anyone to use. Also, most of the EM stuff is in S&T (where the EM's predecessor, the Expanded Universe, was started long ago by others), the Library, and elsewhere; this topic merely serves as the Hub of all things Multiverse.
- Can a character from an alternate (fan fiction) dimension be Copied into the Expanded Multiverse?
ANSWER: We prefer you switch that, and say the character originally existed in the EM; randomly spawning there or "was always there", and got Copied out to the alternate dimension. The effect is the same, and it's more consistent with the Aethion Origins section of the EM Guide, which implied that the Olmak Effect could not exactly copy characters from other dimensions; instead it exactly copies characters from the EM TO other dimensions.
Also, you could consider having such characters use some form of interdimensional travel to actually go to the EM, instead of being copied.
However, we have established a way you can have an exception to this "rule." When the Olmak Effect spawns a new character inside the Multiverse, normally it mixes and matches aspects of many characters from a wide range of dimensions, to create a totally unique character. However, rarely you can say that it focuses much more on taking aspects of one particular character from a different dimension, so it will spawn a near-copy of that character. They can have the same name, appearance, powers, even some of the same memories, but there must be at least one major difference from the original.
- Are Copies to fanfic versions of official locations limited to the time of 2008 and on? After all, the Expanded Multiverse did not come into existence before Toa Takanuva's travels in 2008 during which he left the Tuyetverse Olmak floating in space, where it soon after underwent whatever mysterious changes that spawned the Multiverse. And time travel is not possible in Bionicle.
ANSWER: The Olmak Effect's Copying power is not necessarily constrained by the official rule on time travel. After all this is non-canon aside from the fact that we are using that official Olmak for the origins story. Sending a copy to a past era in another universe is not exactly the same thing as traveling back in time to the past of your own universe.
However, there is an alternative explanation if you do not like time travel, involving the official fact that time can flow at different rates in different dimensions. For during a month or so in the official Bionicle Core Dimension, 500 years passed in the Expanded Multiverse, because time flows much faster there. So, you could write your story in an alternate dimension using official locations in which time is very slow. If it split off before the point at which you want to start your story, and if a Core Dimension month is equal to, say, a day, then by the time the Copy appeared, the "past" could be even in time with the EM's present.
An example of a character being copied into a pre-2001 Mata Nui Island setting will be shown in the first Cipher Chronicles episode, in fact.
- Can I invent new characters, species, organizations, etc. for stories I write for the EM?
ANSWER: Absolutely yes! They won't, most likely, be put into any PDF guides (unless you also enter them in contests and they get approved), but they will still be considered to exist in the Multiverse.
- May I mention Team Cipher, or other major EM things mentioned in the 100 page guide, in my own EM stories? What about actually featuring them directly?
ANSWER: Absolutely yes! You might want to wait until a few episodes of the Cipher Chronicles are posted first, so you have a sense of what times you could fit them into. But regardless, you're encouraged to! We intend to use "gappism" a lot more in the Cipher Chronicles than official story has, leaving times in between stories when other events could have occured, which you can imagine.
Also, hundreds of years of time of our characters' lives, and the unwritten histories of the planets, can be imagined before the start of the Cipher Chronicles.
- How does one get invited to be a guest writer for the Cipher Chronicles?
ANSWER: At the moment, it's just, we ask you to. However, we will probably provide opportunities to apply for invitation at a later date. We will also have story contests, in which case the winning story/stories will become Cipher Chronicles episodes.
- How's the whole Olmak Totem system work?
ANSWER: I've written a detailed response to this question here, citing page numbers to go to in the Guide for more details too. Also, an example will be shown in the first Cipher Chronicles episode.
- What kinds of stories can be posted in the Story Submission Topic?
ANSWER: Epics, short stories, comedies, comics, whatever you want! As long as it's a story, in some way. Also, epics, comedies, comics, etc. don't need to fully posted or completed to submit them, as long as something is done. (Short stories on other hand are one-post dealios by definition, but you could also try a Short Epic.)
In terms of where submitted stories may take place, there are two options currently:
1) Take place inside the Expanded Multiverse; on one of its seven (main) planets.
2) Take place in a fan dimension, such as official locations used in fan fiction, or totally original dimensions, whatever, as long as they use something from the EM, copied out via Olmak Effect. Another example of something in this category might be a character who travels interdimensionally to the EM, or travelled interdimensionally from it, etc.
The only real rule is it must involve the EM in some way; you cannot (at this time) merely submit a random fanfic that has nothing to do with the EM. We might consider changing our minds about this (so, the characters would be fair game for other fans to use, too), but we fear it could be abused or overused.
- Anything I submit to the EM is useable by other members, right?
ANSWER: Correct; by submitting anything to the EM, you agree to give up your exclusive rights to it, making it "fanon."
Technically, you could write a story taking place in Aethion for the Library or post a MOC in BBC etc. saying it is in the EM, and NOT submit them to the Story Submission Topic or to a contest. In that case, you would still own the rights because you did not submit it to the EM formally. In general, though, the whole point of the EM is for fan content to be submitted, so this is not recommended; if you're not comfortable giving up exclusive rights to something, have it be your own fanfic realm or character etc.
- What about credit?
ANSWER: For credit, we ask only that members cite "Expanded Multiverse Contributors" or something along those lines, though they are encouraged to cite the specific contributors as well.
- How is time measured in the EM?
ANSWER: For years, they would say "Year 500", or sometimes "The 500th year". For days, they would say "Day 120 of Year 500", but you could just use English months and approximations "as a translation" if you want. As far as we've established, they do not have months.
As far as year/day length, we're just going with same as Earth, as official Bionicle story does.
- Are love or romance possible in the EM?
ANSWER: Brotherly love is, of course, common in Bionicle and it's no different here. For romance specifically, we're not going to ban it outright, but it will not, most likely, be used in the Cipher Chronicles.
We suggest going with the official facts on this issue. That is, Matoran, Toa, and other MU beings are not capable of romance, while Agori and Glatorian are capable of romantic emotion.
Also, you could employ the plot device of the Reality Shift to say that romance is possible in your interpretation of the EM even for MU species.
(And of course, anything along these lines, you must be careful to keep it suitable for young children.)
- What about new elements, or element prefixes, colors, etc. in the Multiverse?
ANSWER: Swert and I have compiled a list of approved Multiverse elements. See the Mini-Guide below for the list. Other elements could work under the Reality Shifting rule, but these are the ones we accept. We've also assigned prefixes and primary (most common) colors. Take the colors with many grains of salt, of course; even in canon Bionicle characters have a wide variety of colors in each element.
- I didn't see Time or Life on that elements list. Can we make characters of those elements?
ANSWER: For the contests, these aren't allowed as the Legendary elements are overpowered. Otherwise, instead of denying the possibility, per se, Swert traveled to the Multiverse and looked up this helpful excerpt.
From the published annals of Alarist scientists...
"LIFE. We have only attempted once to try and create an Element Key charged with the Element of Life, but unfortunately the results created a very unstable element key which sprang to life and ran into the Olmak Effect used to create it, instantly transporting it to space and ejecting into the Bluespace wall, destroying it. Attempts to recreate this event have not been made.
TIME. With the generous funding of the Wiki Nui government, we have determined that there is no known way to create an Element Key charged with the element of Time itself. We have since examined all methods of creating it, from using a gadget set to the clock function, to an hourglass actively pouring sand, even letting a blank key sit there for 5 minutes next to the Bluespace wall in hope of it capturing the minutes going by, but none of these methods worked. It is then believed that if a user were to be wearing the Vahi, which is the Kanohi mask of time itself, they could perhaps capture its energy. However, since no known Vahi exists to our knowledge, we are left speculating."
- Does Shattered have places devoted to the other canon and EM elements besides the standard six?
ANSWER: Yes, in two ways.
One, any person of any element could commonly live on the main Fragment most associated with their element (i.e. a Gravity Matoran living in the Cave Fragment), or really any fragment.
Two, there are Shard Moons orbitting the larger fragments, each devoted to one of the canon and EM main elements (but not to combos, or at least not most of them). These too have artificial gravity and people live on them. As for which ones orbit which Fragment, we're still working on deciding that, and we haven't decided about combos either.
- What's Alarist government like?
ANSWER: Wiki-Nui and BZ-Koro are each run by characters equivalent to the real-world staffs of the Biosector01 wiki and BZPower. Each of them also have lower ranking assistants that are totally fictional. The two islands and their internal waters and airspace are governed by these governments.
For matters of extraplanetary relations, and the boat and aircraft travel between WN and BZK, there is the Alarist Ambassadorial Goverment (AAG), located on a tiny central dot island in the ocean between WN and BZK. Its employees are half and half from WN and BZK, and the top officials are considered ambassadors, so they answer to their respective governments in terms of what major decisions they make. Team Cipher is also a new division of the AAG.
WN staff manage largely via the Gadget and telescreen and Cargo Star internet system, with important meeting places in the Museum itself and a few other important buildings. BZK staff manages largely in Forum Plazas, where people physically meet to discuss ideas, and inscribe major ideas in tablets. These discussions are recorded via Gadget and archived on the Cargo Star internet in addition, and simple telescreens are in place in some Forum Plazas. Both WN and BZK have their own news organizations that are affiliated with Hanashi News.
- Don't some of the Multiverse elements overlap with other elements? Aren't some of them useless?
ANSWER: This is a common misconception among Bionicle fans that elements or powers are not supposed to overlap, but it's quite simply a myth. The Bionicle tradition established in 2001 is that all elements and powers can overlap others in some ways.
For example, Ice and Water clearly overlap -- an Ice Toa can even make any amount of water he wants, and absorb any amount of it, indirectly (by making ice then absorbing heat to melt it, or freezing water and absorbing the ice). Stone and Earth also overlap in some senses. Light and Shadow overlap in the sense that each is the absence of the other in a way. Air, Water, Earth, Ice... then later Gravity, Magnetism, Psionics... all these examples can easily move things around (that aren't made of their element). Iron Toa could make magnets which could do much of what Magnetism can do, or Magnetism could magnetize existing metal. Fire and Ice can both warm or cool things by adding or absorbing heat or cold energy. Etc.
The differences do exist, though, that mean every power will have its own unique pros and cons, including elements.
In the Multiverse, for example, some say that Gold and Iron are redundant. But we don't see it that way. Gold is a much more flexible metal, which means a Toa of Gold can send out a beam quickly much like a Toa of Ice and encage an enemy much faster, whereas a Toa of Iron's beam will be easy to dodge and the cage slow to form so most enemies would get away. On the other hand, Gold's flexibility would make for a wimpier cage, while Iron cages would be hard to break out of. Unique pros and cons.
I'm personally a strong believer in power overlapping (and element overlapping), and do not believe it should ever be used as an argument against an element or power existing -- especially since we already know infinite different powers are possible with different protodermic mixtures. Statistics says many of those possible mixtures are bound to overlap, sometimes almost totally. Although Swert has gone on record being a bit more cautious about it than I for canon.
For the Multiverse, there's a simple rule -- every main element must have its own unique list of pros and cons, or else it must be consigned to a combo element -- and even the combos have their own pros and cons. Anything in the combo elements realm is fair game, even with major overlaps, however (for example, the Steel combo element is within the range of what Iron can control, but the Combo focuses exclusively on it so it's simply easier to create that way), as long sa there's some unique pro for it.
Only when something would literally be totally contained within another existing element and there's NO uniqueness that we see as enough would we turn it down. (For example, we have turned down Rock and Stone being considered different types of Stone; instead we have some different types as combo elements but for the most part they are the same.) There's a big difference between overlap and contain.
Also, some of the EM elements exist because of unique settings in the Multiverse itself. Sulfur is a main element because glomosulfur is the most common substance on Promathus, Gold and Silver are everywhere on Izumal, Blue Energy exists because of the bluespace, even though its blue electricity power is similar to what Lightning can do, etc. So in those cases, arguments comparing them to Bionicle canon don't work at all. Regardless of what is true in the canon Core Dimension, the distinct main EM elements ARE distinct, simply because we say so. 
- What are the known ways to combat the Olmak Effect anomalies?
ANSWER: There are two main direct ways to combat it, and other more indirect ways to avoid as much harm. None of these ways is a cure; if a cure exists it will be up Team Cipher to find it.
1) Anomalies get weakened and slightly deflected by massive amounts of sonic energy. We're talking many decibels. Why, nobody knows, but it works. Theoretically, any building, vehicle, etc. could be equipped with intense sonic projectors and anomaly detector cameras, with either clockwork brains to analyze what the camera sees, or beings who hit a button. Note that this cannot prevent them at all. All it can do is affect anomalies that are already in progress. Note also that Toa of Sonics can also create dampening cones around their beams of intense sound, so people in the area don't necessarily go deaf.
2) Anomalies do not appear to form within the close vicinity of the Enlightened power source. Of course, only the top Enlightened leaders know what the power source is, and there are other classified reasons why it wouldn't make a perfect shield. The most important is that only one is known to exist and it's not known if more could be made, so it doesn't protect even most of the city, let alone the whole Izumal continent.
As the Guide mentions, a more passive strategy is to make sure the Olmak Totems are far away from each other. The OE gets worse when they are brought closer together, therefore keeping them far apart is a partial solution. But the OE still happens, and it is still getting worse overall everywhere, so this is far from a cure.
Finally, the most surefire way to keep safe from the anomalies is to stay mobile. If one heads your way, get out da way.
- Any powers that people won't or can't use in the Multiverse?
ANSWER: Yes. Best example? Teleportation. Now, people WILL use it, but any variation on teleportation is extremely risky, because any OE anomalies that appear in the line of beaming (or even very close to the vector) will disrupt the thing -- or worse, person -- being sent. Beings unlucky enough to get caught in this can easily be killed, their energy simply dissipating and never even materializing at all.
Teleportation of people is usually limited to the Olmak Totems between planets -- this is more of a dimensional gate than a beaming, and is immune from any distortion. Note that this system actually prevents normal Kanohi Olmak from working between planets; an Olmak wearer can only go to other places on their planet, or jump out of the Multiverse entirely to another dimension. Of course, they can just jump to the nearest Olmak Totem and go from there...and if they're really skilled, they can jump out to a random alternate dimension, then jump back into the Multiverse on another planet, although the latter is a fairly silly method when the former is so easy.
The only other major use of people teleportation is the safeguard backpacks worn by all participants in the Clash gladiator sport on Promathus, and some other versions of Clash played in other locations. This is why all such variations on Clash have strict rules about the game pausing if any anomalies are detected nearby.
Teleportation of things is another matter.
Cargo Stars are used daily to send supplies, objects, and especially raw materials or junk for recycling, etc. between planets. This teleports the stuff on multiple beams right through the Bluespace Ceilings. Distortions are common, but don't usually matter much as only cheap machines are sent usually, and obviously a bit of warping of junk for recycling or of most raw materials is irrelevant.
Also, Toa sometimes use Suva to teleport Kanohi, for emergencies, and various other object teleportations are common. Promathus specifically has a whole network of object teleporters throughout its land, complete with sensors and processors to time the jumps with times when the line of beaming is clear of anomalies.
The canon concept of immoral powers exists here too. However, this is not usually quite as clearcut as in canon.
Most Toa will not use "immoral" powers, but many will if they think they have no choice. Also, some powers are not evil per se but are considered taboo because they make a lot of people uncomfortable, like Undeath. On Warzone especially, such lines are blurred. And no element is considered totally evil here; Shadow Toa could exist that are good; it's simply more likely that they'll be evil. Also, some evil beings might look at Toa mask powers and the like as just as distasteful as Toa look at their powers.
Legendary Powers are also treated as if they do not exist by most (although again, we have not quite ruled it out). All time-based powers, including the Time Jump EM mask, are banned for use by Izumal Agents (as well as teleportation, with the possible exception of whatever secret method Agents use to get to other planets). Agents will also not use a wide range of powers when offworld, simply to conserve power in ther suits, since they're cut off from the city's power source out there.
With most other beings, aside from teleportation and taboo or immoral powers, pretty anything goes.
- Can Glatorian, Agori, etc. use Element Keys to swap elemental association? How about Matoran? Makuta? Everybody?
ANSWER: Yes on Agori and Glatorian. Please note that they can't gain actual elemental powers, though.They must use tools similar to what Mata Nui gave some Glatorian in The Legend Reborn if they want to weild elemental power -- where the power is in the tool, not the user. And yes, such tools could probably change elements via EKs.
And yes, all relatives of Matoran can swap elements, including Turaga, mutants, and some EM species that are related to Matoran. Yes, Makuta can swap elements too -- so a Makuta of Light, or Fire, or whatever is possible. In fact pretty much any species can swap elements, it's just some rare sapient species that can't, and many Rahi that don't have elemental associations.
- Could beings with non-elemental powers somehow swap them?
ANSWER: Yes, we have established that there are more expensive modifications of Element Keys called Power Keys. These allow any power to be swapped with any other power, but it's a lot more unpredictable. Since there are far more total powers than just elements, mistakes are bound to happen.
- Will there be elements for Rahi control and Insect control?
ANSWER: At this point, we're sticking to the official line that those are powers, not elements. They can't involve making or absorbing; they're really just variants on Psionics mind control. However, if you want to have them be elements due to Reality Shifting, you can, and we are not ruling out that in the future strange types of combo elements called "control only" might be mixed.
Also, Power Keys could enable a Toa to replace their elemental power with these powers instead, so they could behave similar to elements. A Toa of Insect Control (who became one via Power Key) could not do anything more than the EM Kanohi version... but he could have his actual mask power be a different mask, so it could have some advantages.
—bones
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Expanded Multiverse Fanon Collection Topic, Noncanon Bionicle characters, objects, and more you're free to use
Oct 21 2009, 02:04 PM
