X-Ray

I'm sorry boneseii, but I was under the impression that Toa are generally not allowed to kill at all. Of course, the whole "Toa Code" is rather vaguely defined. Just read this exchange between Kopaka and Pohatu from the first chapter of The Powers That Be:

“Could be,” nodded Pohatu. “He finds Karzahni, stabs him, and his enemy goes over the cliff into the canyon.”“If that’s true, he has violated the code of the Toa,” said Kopaka. “We have to bring him down.”

I beg your pardon, all of you, especially boneseii. I really should have been more clear about my point.What I'm trying to say is that Toa, who are supposed to be the equivalent of a police force, are generally prohibited from using lethal force, unlike a police force in real life.The OMN, on the other hand, is often portrayed in a negative light for its use of such force, and indeed, the simple measure of sending particularly nasty criminals to a prison (without trial, no less, but remember, no courts) is viewed as an extreme measure. Of course, the Pit would probably not be allowed to exist in the United States in the real world, and would be fraught with human rights abuse charges.But anyhow, my point is that it is completely absurd that this is the case at all. A rule against murder, yes, that is only common sense. But a rule against any killing of any sort for the nearest equivalent of a police force, that's where my issue is. And no, I don't believe that the OMN is so "darker and edgier" as to go about killing willy-nilly, no more than any modern law enforcement agency such as the FBI or the Department of Homeland Security does. By "demonized" I meant that they were often criticized in-story for this.

The Order of Mata Nui is an organization, as in organized. Whereas the Toa are a tradition, the only thing that's keeping them together is a mutual moral code. It's like comparing the FBI to the knights of the crusades.

Note: Edited for spelling and grammar mistakes by author.Fellow denizens of BZPower- after much thought, I think I may have found a logical explantion as to why the MU's good guys do not, or, in certain interpretations, heavily look down upon, killing.I believe that it all depends strictly upon the nature of the environment created by the Great Beings for the MU inhabitants to live in. Firstly, as we saw in The Many Deaths of Toa Tuyet, there does not appear to be an established system of law and punishment in even the most "civilized" parts of the MU, such as Metru Nui. There is certainly crime (such as smuggling and forgery), but the Vahki are in place there for internal threats, though they are mainly concerned with making the Matoran get back to work.Actually punishing caught criminals such as rouge Toa seems beyond the capacities of our heroes Lhikan and Nidhiki, who actually have to take time to deliberate Tuyet's punishment, as opposed to getting her a court date, through which a judgement and punishment would be imposed. But wait, I forgot; the MU does not have any courts of law.Since Metru Nui, and indeed, the entire MU, was designed as little more than a giant circuit board, it is easy to see why the GBs did not put into place some sort of crime and punishment system. The Toa are more about dealing with external threats, and the Vahki are about keeping the Matoran in line. In a way, Metru Nui is not unlike a socialist police state. The only reason it works is because the inhabitants do not need food, and the closest alternative is easily obtained at apparently no cost. Also, everyone effectively works for the government, seeing as how Metru Nui is essentially an oversized powerplant.But getting back to the main subject, because an automated world with automated inhabitants provides the only reasonable solution to the "if but men were angels" dilemma of all societies, the Great Beings did not see the need to establish a justice system, or at least a protocol for one, since there were no criminals- only hostile outsiders or aberrants. So, we see that at least in the beginning, it wasn't that Toa weren't allowed to kill; they simply didn't need to.However, as the Brotherhood of Makuta can attest, those of the MU were not all "angels", due to the sentience inducing "glitch" that eventually pervaded all of that realm's inhabitants (dear me, I sound like a GB writing a term paper). So, we see that somewhere along the very long line of MU history, when the possibility of having to kill someone came up, the concept of "There is no need to kill" transformed into one of the key tenants of the vaguely defined "Toa Code": "Do not kill." Thus, no courts of law, because infractions by Matoran could be easily "corrected" by Vahki, and anything else essentially constituted an act of war, and that's a whole different akilini game.In the courts of the real world, Tuyet would surely have received the death penalty or at least life in prison for treason, three counts of murder, property damage, theft, resisting arrest, and obstruction of justice, and I'm not even sure that's everything.This is exactly why the Order of Mata Nui was founded, and it also explains why the police, the neighborhood watch program, and the CIA have apparently switched places in this allegory (quick reference- Toa=NWS, should be Police; OMN=CIA, though essentially fills police role as well; Ta-Koro guard, Chronicler's Company, etc- Undetermined. Logically, the Chronicler's Co. would be a NWS and the TKG would be police, but it's never clearly defined as their main job is to call the Toa if they can't handle something), and why the OMN is constantly demonized for their allowance of killing and why the Toa are often seen as morons.So, in the end, the whole no-kill rule isn't about misguided honor or illogical policy- it's about an unforseen programming error. Thanks a lot GB's, you totally nerfed the super-police.Of course, it's only theory... X-Ray

The pacing of this story of yours is alright, but I'm rather confused on the characterization of Ardrinor. On the one hand, he is stated to be a "dreamer," a hard worker, and a not unhappy about his job. But on the other, he sees his boss get shot by the bandits he just decided to join up with, and he's like, "Oh well, too bad for him." Perhaps you could have made a better job of describing him as an impulsive sort, as well as "dreamy."My favorite character was Rovaius. He seemed like bionicleized version of Captain Barbossa from <i>Pirates of the Caribbean</i>. We didn't get much information on the other two males in your group, but they both seem interestnig. Your female, however, sounded more like an evil palette-swap of Kiina with a dash of Aurra Sing. Sorry, but that's just what I felt.All in all, I'd desribe this story as a prolouge to a bionicleized version of "The Hobbit Gone Bad"; What if Bilbo had joined up with some random biker gang? ...Oh wait, that's almost exactly what he did.Your writing style is excellent, and while this story has it's issues, it's not entirely bad. Remember, practice makes perfect! : )Sincerely, X-Ray

If only Marvel did a Bionicle cartoon... just saying. That would be awesome, but it will never happen.

There's a huge "if" factor here. It would only happen if BIONICLE returned.[...]Age ranges are the key here. Like most fans, I'd love to see a TV show with a long saga. A lot of highly acclaimed shows are of that style, after all. But LEGO would be concerned that the week-to-week nuances, foreshadowing, and storyline would be lost amongst their younger viewers, and losing viewership means potentially losing sales as well, so LEGO probably just wouldn't risk that happening.

There are lots of interesting stories behind the chajillion Dark Hunters that are rotting back stage. Conjurer, a guy with delusions of grandeur and supposed "magical" powers? Shadow Stealer, a disgruntled Hand of Artakha member working for Shadowed One, currently on his way to confront TSO for some reason? And Mimic, a Dark Hunter hoping to track down a long-lost companion? There's loads of great stories here, which Mr. Farshtey could put an excellent spin on. X-Ray

In the novelization of Bionicle: Mask of Light, it states that Jaller's body was entombed in a Suva-shaped grave. It is possible, however, that Jaller was privileged to be entombed because of his status as a hero among the Matoran, and Captain of the Ta-Koro guard, no less. X-Ray

Here, allow me to help clear things up.In Makuta's Guide to the Universe, Teridax specifically writes on page 56:

I even enlisted [Matoro's] help in a ridiculous scheme to harvest the fragments of the Nui Stone from remains of the late Toa Tuyet - a marvelous diversion, if I do say so myself.

Do you mean get new names or introduce new characters with the new names that he already has? Either way, I don't think it will be a big problem.

Dear me, where do we start?The answer, I'm afraid, falls into the realm of opinion- a realm which Plato once described as a sort of neutral zone between knowledge and ignorance. Personally, I would have loved see Antroz to be used a lot more, what with his "rough sense of honor" and all, I'm partial to Nocturn's interesting origin (does he feel guilt about what he did? Does he miss his home? Does he know if any deaths resulted in his destructive actions?), and I am still waiting for stories concerning the Dark Hunters Conjurer and Shadow Stealer. Because truly, there are a LOT of such "wasted" characters, and don't think that I'd be able to objectively identify the most "wasted character."But I might be able to help just why there seem to be so many.Due to BIONICLE's nature (or former nature) as a story driven by merchandise, its otherwise interesting premise with bountiful amounts of storytelling potential is also, by nature, polluted by more characters than poor Mr. Farshtey can be expected to reasonably handle in a satisfying way. This has unfortunately lead to him being forced to kill off all of the Karda Nui Makuta, Karzahni, Trem Krom, Spiriah, Nidhiki, Krekka, Anicent, Sidorak, Tridax, Lhikan, and Nocturn, all characters with interesting backgrounds and potential, and to marginlize other interesting characters such as Hydraxon, Lesovikk, Sarda, Mazeka, Light-Teridax, Helryx, Brutaka, Axonn, Umbra, the Piraka, Trinuma, Johmak, Jerbraz, Tobduk, Roodaka, the Barraki, the Shadowed One, and most of the Toa Hagah (yeah, I know they got that serial, but...). At the same time, however, Mr. Farshtey is not helping himself by constantly adding new or formerly "dead" characters to the mix and killing off several interesting one which could easily have been kept, such as Ancient, Nocturn or Spiriah even.I understand that a lot of time had been spent on several of these characters, it's just that not a whole lot of direction has been given to their individual character development. Take TSO for instance. He's a calculating, ruthless killer who rules over an organization of other ruthless killers. Yes, and...? Just why is he the way he is? What led him to be able to kill someone as close to him as Ancient without a second thought? Answering these questions alone would work wonders for TSO.A good example of good character development, believe it or not, are the Great Disk Matoran. Granted, they only show up in two books, and none of them save Akhmou ever came back, but all these characters have very distinct personalites and motivations, and I daresay they are quite possibly the most relatable BIONICLE characters ever created. Nuhrii mentored our hero Vakama and wants to be great. Orkahm is dutiful and meticulous, an exception to the stereotype of Le-Matoran, wanting to get his job done and mind his own business (think Jaller as a factory worker). Vhisola really wants to please Nokama, which makes sense seeing as how a teacher/mentor relationship is apparently the only other relationship available to MU inhabitants other than sibling/comrade/co-worker (though seriously? Nokama has never been to her house? Really?). Ehrye is eager and ambitious as well as chatty and maybe impatient, kind of an icier version of Takua. Tehutti is a somewhat arrogant colleague of Whenua and fame-monger, but also a workaholic. And Ahkmou just wants to be number one at something, and to be recognized for it. Ahkmou in particular is a quite tragic character, first with the "always second best" routine, then bribed/blackmailed by Dark Hunters, and then exploited by Teridax, who turned him toward the path of evil, but is still responsible for many of his own decisions. We even know that he likes rock climbing as a hobby! They're all somewhat flawed characters, but are seen as heroic (well, except Akhmou) in that they assist the Toa Metru, and at the end of their story, seem to be changing for the better.If only we had a few more characters like that. The key to developing character, however, is to put them in situations which demand them to make decisions which reflect their personal motivations, opinions, fears, beliefs, etc.I also find it remarkable that Mr. Farshtey managed to make six barely significant characters the most relatable ever desgined in Bionicle, ever. What I mean is that these figures are the regular people. It's like you're working at your job, and are then grabbed by some big guy in armor with these crazy powers, who you happen to know in some degree, to go on some bizzare trip. Would you run away the first chance you got? This all goes to show that Matoran, like humans, are far from perfect, but all have the potential to do great things and to be great people.That said, I still miss Antroz. I hope that my post has been helpful.Sincerely, X-Ray

As much as I regret that my story was not selected, I enthusiatically congratulate the victors. In hindsight, I see now that my story was but a thinly-veild attempt to promote a few of my pet characters. Oh well. Let's see what's coming along next... X-Ray

A truly excellent piece of work, Paleo. It is small, but powerful. Only, I would like to ask why you chose to give your Matoran a number as opposed to a name. I understand that it may be to give your story an Orwellian perspective (though this is only a generalization; I've never actually read 1984 by George Orwell), it has been established that even the earliest of the MU species had names (e.g., Takua, the first Matoran ever built). But all in all, this is a fascinating and well told take on the personhood of Matoran, and also has mix of poigance in it. Perhaps Takua was not always Takua. Perhaps Tuyet was not always Tuyet. Perhaps this scene takes place during the contruction of Metru Nui, in the earliest years of the MU. Continue to write. If this is but your first story, then I wonder what your last will be like?Sincerely, X-Ray

Visorak 1: There goes Mike from accounting. Poor guy.Visorak 2: Does anyone else think that this "Literal Termination" policy is getting out of hand? I mean, seriouly, we've gotta get a union or something.

Interesting...

_{In 2001 this would have been a good idea, but it's 2011 almost 2012, it's time for Hero Sactory to shine. Altho I'm not against the idea od some sort of cross over, or HF being related to Bionicle in some way.}

Well, think about it like this: If the Star Trek fans back in the day hadn't clamored for the show's return, then I don't suppose they'd have what they eventually got (granted, the latest movie may have ret-conned everything, but that's a whole different ballgame). Not only that, but according to good ol' GregF, TLG is still carrying Bionicle around "in their back pocket," as I believe he put it, meaning that TLG hasn't totally given up on Bionicle.To put it simply, if we hang in there, it could happen. X-Ray

If the money can miraculously be retrieved, then yes, I would like a Bionicle TV show That being said, you may want to re-think the romance thing - I remember my reaction as a little kid to Huki and Maku almost kissing in that infamous Flash episode - I almost, er, let go of my lunch.

Hello, hello, it is I, X-Ray. I am here to inquire about what all of you think of the idea of Bionicle being adapted as an animated television show.Imagine each story year adapted to a season of the show. If they could take a cue from the Bionicle: Next Generation people, the potential creators of this hypothetical series could use experience and good judgement to iron out the continuity kinks and nit-picks which have forever plagued the main story of BIONICLE, not to mention trimming down the HUGE supporting cast.It would require a crack team of writers, possibly bringing back Cathy Hapka to work with Greg Farshtey, and possibly that Bob Thompson fellow. And at the risk of sounding melodramatic, perhaps this is a job for... Joss Whedon! Hey, I can dream, can't I? And while we're at it, let's get the folks from Batman: The Animated Series. Anyhow, we would definitely want David Molina back as the director; he was the one who was able to accomplish the sense of mystery and grandeur that the original movie trilogy had. And it would need an animation team on the level of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but hopefully a much better voice cast. And, beyond any shadow of a doubt, we would want Nathan Fillion on music. Definitely.And, if we're a little lucky, the story could be changed around a bit to include... maybe I shouldn't say it... things which are not normally present in the main story romance among the MU inhabitants. And a slight alteration to the "Toa do not kill ANYBODY" rule. I mean, on the logic that the Toa are superpowered police officers/soldiers, why shouldn't they be allowed to use lethal force when justifiable?This could lead to a whole host of good things, like expanding upon just what the Toa do in their off-time, or the time between the movies and books, and the web serials, not to mention the the handful of fan favorites, such as good ol' Vezon.Other things that I would like them to change in the story would be:* Get the time gaps shortened. I mean, seriously, 1,000 years? Let's take it down to, say, 25.* It would probably be a good idea to tone down the general darkness(/creepiness?) of the later story years. Just saying.It would also be a good a idea to devote a few episodes to developing each individual Toa as they go. As mentioned above, the number of supporting characters should be trimmed. On the other hand, the villains need to be handled... differently. In the story, there are generally one or two big bads and their hordes of minions. This results in more characterization being given to the villains because time doesn't have to be wasted expanding each and every one of the little bad guys, which are usually hordes of mindless Rahi (sympathetic characterization opportunity!), Bohrok (tragic character opportunity!), Rahkshi (might want to spend more time justifying how they totally owned the Toa, i.e. They were used to fighting dumb opponents, hadn't been in a really big fight in a a while, etc), Visorak (ugh), etc. On the other hand, some villains, like say, SIDORAK, should be handled differently to either make the audience love to hate them, or like them for not being hatable (that's not a word).Anyhow, there are tons of unexplored ideas here, and I would like to hear the ideas of my fellow BZP members on them. Please reply! 8)Sincerely, X-Ray

Hmmm... Now this, spyder ryder, has promise.I know that I gave a rather scathing review of the comedy before the forums were re-tooled, but I think you've re-awakened the goofy, foppish wit which made your original chapters so endearing.But now, I have one- eh, two questions:1.) Where exactly are the villains right now? Are they just standing around a bit white space?2.) When are you going to get yourself a profile picture? I mean, really.Ah, just kidding around with the second question. :PIn short, keep up the good work! The reboot is so far quite excellent!Sincerely, X-Ray

Thok: What? Oh, this is just an overhead shot. Don't worry, Hakann will be okay. I mean, you know what they say about studio lights being really hot.

Tahu's new body wash did clean his whole body, but it also caused him to get stuck in this pose. Tahu: Uh... help?

Hello, and welcome to the review topic for Bionicle: Infinities. The new topic for the actual epic won't be up for a little while, but you may read and review it from where it was formerly posted in the forum archive by clicking the link at the bottom of this post, and post your thoughtful reviews here. Rest assured, Bionicle: Infinities WILL return. Eventually. X-Ray http://www.bzpower.c...2

X-Ray: The ReturnIt was back. For real.X-Ray stood in the gates of BZPower, hesitant to enter. It had been several months since he had gazed upon the forums, and typed in a witty line for the Bionicle Caption Contest, but it was back.He saw the line of members coming and going. He saw that things were about back to normal. He saw that he had forgotten his password.After the brief hustle accompanied by forgetting your password, changing it, and resetting it, X-Ray entered BZPower.It was glorious.He looked down, as his body transformed into how he saw himself on the site; a fine suit with a white dress shirt, blue vest, and a silver tie. He adjusted the new-improved Akaku Nuva-style eyepiece built into the right side of his head, and regaled in the site.Members were going to and fro, with Black Six and SPIRIT and the other admins and mods whose names he forgot directing the new influx of traffic. Everything was new and shiny and clean. The entrance booth still needed polishing, but he thought it looked okay anyhow. Yes, it was all good and fixed. X-Ray gazed happily at this new BZP, fully prepared to go forth and write and post to his heart's content.And then his cellphone rang."Never gonna give you up!" shouted his ring tone, "Never gonna let you down! Never gonna turn around and-"X-Ray snatched the cellphone out of his... pocket, flipped it open, and said:"Hello?""X-Ray, is that you?""Kapurkar?" said X-Ray, relieved to hear the voice of a frequent reader of his comedies. "How did you get this num- ah, never mind that, I'm glad to hear from you, buddy! How are you?""Just fine, X," said Kapurkar. “Listen, I just thought I’d call to tell you- all of the stuff in the library is gone. You have to go to the old forum archive, get the link to your comedy, and repost your stuff.”X-Ray groaned. That sounded annoying. “Okay,” he said, “I’ll remember to do that. By the way, how’s Ja-”Suddenly, as X-Ray turned around a corner to enter the Bionicle Storyline & Theories forum, a huge flash of light engulfed him. A moment later, he was surrounded by the cold of cyberspace, with all of the activity of BZPower frozen around him, his avatar appearance stripped from his being. He then gazed with confusion and annoyance at a sort of screen sign which had popped up. It said: “Need an account? Sign in right now!”Confound this new server, thought X-Ray as he complied with the instructions, just what in Hapori Tohu’s name is wrong with it?The next minute, X-Ray abruptly dropped back into the Storyline & Theories forum, and everything was fine. That’s the third time that’s happened since I got here, he thought, brushing himself off. I’d better edit it out of the overly dramatic one-shot I plan to write about me coming back to BZP. It might even make a good meta-joke. He flipped his cell phone open, only to find that Kapurkar’s connection had been cut off. “Well, great,” he said to himself. He had Kapurkar’s number from the last call’s memory, but he still couldn’t reach the toa of transport.“Nuts,” X-Ray said to himself again. “Well, off to repost all of my comedies. And short stories. And epic.” And with that, the scholarly faux-toa-of-ice walked back down to the main hall, with nobody giving a hoot that this particularly clever being had returned to BZPower.“Hey X!” shouted Nobody from his bench just outside of the Library, “you’re back! WHOOO!”“Hi, Nobody!” said X-Ray, shaking the mild-mannered wraith’s hand. “How’s my favorite anthropomorphic running joke doing?”“Just fine,” said Nobody. “And yourself?”"Oh, good. Have you been taking care of yourself?""Oh, yeah. I joined an MMA club!""Mixed Martial Arts?""No, Mild Mannered Aviators! I'm flying for charity!""Uh... huh. Well, I-"And so, the writer and the wraith walked into the Library, fully prepared to engage in a new era of thread-bare wit and occasionally funny jokes, with a bit of serious, EPIC writing on the side. But mostly comedies.* * *...I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! I assure you all, I'll be re-posting all of my stuff soon, but first, let me just say that it's wonderful to *AHEM* "see" you all again! Hurray for the Comedies Forum! And hurray for BZPoweeeeeeeeeeeerrrr!...What? Oh, yes. X-Ray

Pardon me, but is there a limit to the number of topics we can re-post in the Library forum? Also, there appear to be fewer fonts available here... not to complain or anything. BZPower has returned! X-Ray (Wow, if feels good to write that again)