How do matoran reproduce?

[Lachanu]

Does anyone know how matoran reproduce, or if they even do it at all? It has never been officially anounced if they do...

[ToaKapura1234]

They are created in labs in Metru Nui by Turaga.

[Vishanui]

Really? Wow, I always just figured the same matoran originally made by the GBs were the only ones in the MU, never figured they could just be made.

[Canis Lycaon]

They are created in labs in Metru Nui by Turaga.

Not quite. They are actually made in factories in Metru Nui, which are operated by the Turaga, or Mata Nui. Can't remember which. It was that lack of access to the factories that prevented new Matoran from being made on Mata Nui.

[bonesiii]

They are made with mysterious machines ("labs" is not known to be the right word, nor "factories") in Metru Nui and other places, when approved by the Turaga who rules the city, tapping into some kind of power from Mata Nui. How this works was stated to be something LEGO would never reveal so that there is still some mystique about them. And this was officially announced and is actually very common knowledge (probably one of the most common questions topics in S&T... over and over and over ).

 

And since this usually comes up somewhere along the conversation: these machines are being moved out of the giant robot to Spherus Magna now.

 

I have a theory on how these machines work in my upcoming retelling of Bionicle history, as I've mentioned before (which I'd rather save for the story).

Edited July 9, 2013 by bonesiii

[Katuko]

The (mostly) organic species on Spherus Magna reproduce like we do. This has been officially confirmed, and we can tell by the fact that Glatoran and Agori have actual family members.Matoran are artificial, and we've never been told exactly how one is made. We don't even know all that many details about their internal workings. Bones is right in saying that neither "lab" nor "factory" is the correct term for the machinery that can create them, as that implies mass production or maybe an overly simplified view on how the process occurs. Greg has confirmed that at least the Matoran themselves know and could tell you how it works if you asked them. They just don't talk about it because it's a non-issue for them; a natural part of being a Matoran.Any new Matoran would be made extremely rarely anyways due to their incredibly long lifespans. With recent revelations we also know the original intention of the Red Star was to "recycle" existing beings, further reducing the need to make brand new ones.

[Kopekemaster]

They are made with mysterious machines ("labs" is not known to be the right word, nor "factories") in Metru Nui and other places, when approved by the Turaga who rules the city, tapping into some kind of power from Mata Nui. How this works was stated to be something LEGO would never reveal so that there is still some mystique about them. And this was officially announced and is actually very common knowledge (probably one of the most common questions topics in S&T... over and over and over ).

 

And since this usually comes up somewhere along the conversation: these machines are being moved out of the giant robot to Spherus Magna now.

 

I have a theory on how these machines work in my upcoming retelling of Bionicle history, as I've mentioned before (which I'd rather save for the story).

 

Gah will you stop teasing us already.

 

Just to clarify (because I don't see anyone actually saying it before me), Matoran cannot reproduce. Agori can, though.

[darkslizer]

I'm not sure whether to commend you on your three dimensional thinking or to tell you to get your mind out of the gutter. I don't believe they reproduce, and they are just created. However, something has bugged me for a while. What if the Av-Matoran transformation is a two-way thing? What if, after a longer time period, assumably, when the Bohrok go idle, that they slowly return to being Matoran, who could be of more use than idle Bohrok? Therefore, they are "created".

[bonesiii]

I'm not sure whether to commend you on your three dimensional thinking or to tell you to get your mind out of the gutter. I don't believe they reproduce, and they are just created. However, something has bugged me for a while. What if the Av-Matoran transformation is a two-way thing? What if, after a longer time period, assumably, when the Bohrok go idle, that they slowly return to being Matoran, who could be of more use than idle Bohrok? Therefore, they are "created".

1) Not sure who you're worrying has their mind in the gutter... the posts above seemed fine to me.

 

2) No, it's a one-way change. (Unless perhaps the Mask of Life were to get involved.)

[darkslizer]

I was kidding. :PExcept for the Bohrok thing.

Edited July 16, 2013 by darkslizer

[25K Now!]

They are made with mysterious machines ("labs" is not known to be the right word, nor "factories") in Metru Nui and other places, when approved by the Turaga who rules the city, tapping into some kind of power from Mata Nui. How this works was stated to be something LEGO would never reveal so that there is still some mystique about them. And this was officially announced and is actually very common knowledge (probably one of the most common questions topics in S&T... over and over and over ).

So, with Mata Nui's body in ruins, where does the power come from?

 

The Ignika?

[shadow pridak money gang]

A specially outfitted Gukko bird brings a newly built Matoran to the Turaga of the city, wrapped up in a little sheet with a certificate of authenticity.

 

-Tyler

[Constructelf]

A specially outfitted Gukko bird brings a newly built Matoran to the Turaga of the city, wrapped up in a little sheet with a certificate of authenticity.

 

-Tyler

*applause*

 

 

 

They are made with mysterious machines ("labs" is not known to be the right word, nor "factories") in Metru Nui and other places, when approved by the Turaga who rules the city, tapping into some kind of power from Mata Nui. How this works was stated to be something LEGO would never reveal so that there is still some mystique about them. And this was officially announced and is actually very common knowledge (probably one of the most common questions topics in S&T... over and over and over ).

So, with Mata Nui's body in ruins, where does the power come from?

 

The Ignika?

 

The machines could have some sort of power source that they could run on. If not, then possibly the Ignika could power them (Mat Nui's spirit is inside as well; maybe he'll wake up to help run the machines?)

[man774]

Wait, when was it revealed how matoran are created?

[bonesiii]

Wait, when was it revealed how matoran are created?

Beyond what I said in my first post here, it wasn't. What I said was revealed by Greg near the end. But we still don't know how exactly these machines work and that presumably is what is meant to never be revealed.

 

 

Re: power source -- well, I doubt the Ignika needs a machine to do that. It made a body twice out of just stuff laying around. But I doubt it will be getting involved in that sort of thing.

 

More likely they'll plug them into whatever power sources can be made on Spherus Magna, salvaged from the MU, etc. That could be anything from a newly-built small-scale version of Karda Nui to an internal combustion engine -- who knows?

[~Shockwave~]

A specially outfitted Gukko bird brings a newly built Matoran to the Turaga of the city, wrapped up in a little sheet with a certificate of authenticity.

 

-Tyler

I like this explanation.

 

On a more serious note. I believe I've heard that matoran where unable to reproduce. Meaning they are probably built. But I think that's been covered.

[25K Now!]

A specially outfitted Gukko bird brings a newly built Matoran to the Turaga of the city, wrapped up in a little sheet with a certificate of authenticity.

 

-Tyler

Actually. That's pretty logical; we need some sort of delivery of the Matoran to their assigned locations, after all.

[FallenCor]

I feel like I should know this, but who (if anyone) actually operates said machine(s)? Do they just spontaneously spring to life and spew a new Matoran out every X number of years, or are they seriously operated by the Turaga as some people have said? Since the Makuta had the ability to create Matoran, I simply assumed that they operated the machines for however long until they decided, "ha, not anymore," which might actually explain their disuse? (I'm just speculating that they haven't been touched in centuries, though.) Speaking of, has it yet been discussed how the Makuta go about creating Matoran? I might need this for a fan-fic, ha ha.(5am ramblings ftw! *bricked*)

[Katuko]

I feel like I should know this, but who (if anyone) actually operates said machine(s)? Do they just spontaneously spring to life and spew a new Matoran out every X number of years, or are they seriously operated by the Turaga as some people have said?

We don't know how the machines work at all, but the Turaga would only be needed to actually allow a new Matoran to be constructed by them. I believe a regular Matoran could use the machine just fine. We pretty much know that the machines are not automatic. They can be activated by Mata Nui at will, a Makuta whenever he/she feels like it (apparently), and by Matoran after a Turaga has approved it.The reason we haven't seen new Matoran being created is that it's never been necessary from a story standpoint, and maybe not from the MU's standpoint either. Very few Matoran actually die, and those who have in recent years would either be elsewhere than the story focus (such as on the mainland) or they would not get immediate replacement anyways. The islands of Mata Nui and Voya Nui had no machinery, and Metru Nui needed repairs when we got there.

[FallenCor]

*Shockwave voice* Your answer is... logical. Well then, now that Mata Nui is MIA, and the Makuta all but extinct, it's all up to the Matoran to run them now. Shame we'll never know how they work; though I look forward to reading about Bonesiii's theory. Hmm, I wonder if there's something in the machines that prevents mass production. Because think about it: Why didn't Teridax simply wipe the Matoran out, claim the machines, and start anew? Can't exactly assume they (or 'it') are smaller devices than we might imagine, because eveyone in Bionicle lives such crazy-long lifespans, an evil-doer would have all the time in the world to re-create an army of Matoran. Guess we'll never know for certain, but it's fun to think about.

[Katuko]

Because think about it: Why didn't Teridax simply wipe the Matoran out, claim the machines, and start anew?

It's easier and more cost-efficient to just wipe the memory of the current Matoran than to construct entirely new ones. Even then, Makuta wanted the Mask of Time to speed up the process of his plans (despite the mind-wipe apparently working rather quickly anyways). After the failure to control the Matoran, it was more a matter of pride and neccessity than anything else that kept him from just nuking the population, I believe.Mata Nui was already down for the count and Metru Nui was abandoned, so it's not like a thousand years to build new Matoran would have affected the state of the city much more than messing around with the Matoran on Mata Nui for the same amount of time.He did need the Toa Mata to arrive and wake the Great Spirit, but I'd think he could do that by posing as a Turaga again rather than rely on the population he couldn't control to guide them.

[bonesiii]

Shame we'll never know how they work; though I look forward to reading about Bonesiii's theory. Hmm, I wonder if there's something in the machines that prevents mass production. Because think about it: Why didn't Teridax simply wipe the Matoran out, claim the machines, and start anew?

This also came up for my story. Although exactly how I handle it is spoilers, that handling is inherently non-canon so it shouldn't hurt to say the main answer that probably works in canon -- Mata Nui's permission (or rather the ruler of the giant robot) may have been still required for them to be useable (without a time-consuming redesign), and he needed the Matoran to repair the city to some extent before the robot could wake back up (remember this was stated early on by Greg as one of the things that needed to happen before the Nuva could fulfill their destiny).

 

Therefore, to start anew, he had to have existing Matoran alive to repair the city. If he wiped them out then probably there would be nobody to help him get in power. (And this is where the deception of 2008 comes in, where the good guys think they're just awakening Mata Nui.)

 

 

It's easier and more cost-efficient to just wipe the memory of the current Matoran than to construct entirely new ones. Even then, Makuta wanted the Mask of Time to speed up the process of his plans

For the record, my above answer is meant mainly for after he realized this earlier plan had failed and finally thought of taking over the robot (while in the protocage). But yeah, it's even more so before that, when he thought shutting down Mata Nui was just to free him up to be a more traditional conquerer with no risk that the Great Spirit might pop in finally and zap him. He had even less chance of taking over just the machines because Mata Nui was still awake and probably something about his systems actively protects them (albeit I interpret that as not obvious to the Matoran).

 

 

we need some sort of delivery of the Matoran to their assigned locations, after all.

Yeah... that's called legs.

Edited July 19, 2013 by bonesiii

[NorikSigma]

I always thought they emerged from weird machines under Metru Nui or important islnds and people had to teach them how to do stuff. Not like Kindergarten, of course. Like the Ga-Metru Schools.

[SarracenianKaijin]

I always thought they emerged from weird machines under Metru Nui or important islnds and people had to teach them how to do stuff. Not like Kindergarten, of course. Like the Ga-Metru Schools.

Either that or like the prologue of that movie Robots with Robin Williams in it.

 

Maybe not exactly. Maybe more like the Looms of Doctor Who Expanded Universe.