~kh

Well, I certainly chose the best time to check back up here. I've always admired your handiwork in pencil shading and the atmosphere you're able to pull off with them. The added color is also a welcome addition.

Agreed. Both Understanding Comics and Making Comics (same author) are great books and definitely among what I would consider essential. They're also fun to read because hey, comics about comics! I wanted to drop in real quick to say I absolutely love those books. Seriously, I'd consider them a literal must have for anyone that's wanting to make comics. They're an essential part of any library. A lot of books about comics show you the same thing: here's how you draw, here's how you draw in perspective, here's how you draw in a panel. They don't really teach you a lot about storytelling in comics, which is pretty important. Another book I would definitely recommend if you're interested in writing for comics (and that I've recently added to my own comics library) is Words for Pictures by Brian Michael Bendis. Bendis writes a lot of great stuff - Ultimate Spider-Man, Avengers, Alias - he's doing a run on the X-Men (All New and Uncanny) that I adore. He's a got a lot of great dialogue strength and his book is all about how to write for comics, giving information from artists, writers and editors about stuff you don't usually get in other "How To" books.

Are there Chimoru R Agori made?

Oh, wow. Thanks for making me such a big part of your ending, Gav. I haven't checked up this place in a while, but I was surprised when I read your last few strips that I had such a big role to play in it. You know, I've been thinking of getting back into the game just for a bit. Maybe an ending. I dunno. But it was a great ride along the way. One thing I'm looking forward to is using the ramifications from this series, and how it'll effect my character if I ever come back. If you ever see this, hit me up; I might need some of your resources to use in the future. We've had some great times, buddy. But things have to come to a end sometime, I guess. Look at where we've come. Here's to the future.

First to post EDIT: Aw man, that was the only one that I really, really liked.

This is pretty hilarious in hindsight. Greg's comment might just be referring to mini comics for the LEGO Magazine for 2015 (which he's an editor of)...but then it doesn't really make sense to say "Issue 1", so I dunno. It's worth noting that beforehand, he was asked about handling the story and said he had not been contacted nor heard of anyone doing it. Sounds like a confirmation that nothing is happening, but on the other hand, he got the job for writing Bionicle in the first place because they hadn't decided on any writer until the last minute and he was the only one that had written up a script for it. I'm assuming they're either doing some comics for Ninjago (maybe a more public push for it for the movie that's being made) or whatever the new constraction line for 2015 is (Bionicle or not). That would probably be why they refer to it as Issue 1. Alternatively, this could be a rebranding for the LEGO Magazine, with a new Issue 1. It's been a long while since it changed from Lego Maniac Maganzine... Or he could just mean Issue 1 of 2015, as in the first issue of the year. Very possibly, but generally people tend to refer to things like that as "the first issue of 2015", not nessesarily "Issue 1". Issue 1 generally implies something new, and when you've been editing something for that long, chances are you just have it in your head that it's been going on for a while. But hey, maybe you're right and it is just a slip of the tongue. Still possible.

This is pretty hilarious in hindsight. Greg's comment might just be referring to mini comics for the LEGO Magazine for 2015 (which he's an editor of)...but then it doesn't really make sense to say "Issue 1", so I dunno. It's worth noting that beforehand, he was asked about handling the story and said he had not been contacted nor heard of anyone doing it. Sounds like a confirmation that nothing is happening, but on the other hand, he got the job for writing Bionicle in the first place because they hadn't decided on any writer until the last minute and he was the only one that had written up a script for it. I'm assuming they're either doing some comics for Ninjago (maybe a more public push for it for the movie that's being made) or whatever the new constraction line for 2015 is (Bionicle or not). That would probably be why they refer to it as Issue 1. Alternatively, this could be a rebranding for the LEGO Magazine, with a new Issue 1. It's been a long while since it changed from Lego Maniac Maganzine...

Here's the things you need to be aware of: 1. Some companies are really stingy about money exchanging hands for fan projects like this. Square Enix would be a very popular and topical example. I realize that you aren't "making a profit", persay, but you also have to realize that exchanging money for any kind of work like this is already enterring a very grey area, one that LEGO lawyers might see prudent to stop now. 2. Logos are also a big deal. Here's the thing: LEGO is legally obligated to protect their trademark. It's not really a matter of choice in a lot of cases. For one, that logo represents their brand. Bearing that logo is like having an official seal of quality from the company itself, and this is a product they do not have any control over. Secondly, if they were to let this slide, it is also possible that in a future lawsuit, someone can point to this case as being a time when LEGO did not in fact enforce its trademark. This kind of thing sets presidence, and can be used to erode a company's hold on their trademark altogether. Obviously, LEGO does not want that to happen, and that is easily the type of thing that leads to a C&D. Companies usually tend to let fanstuff fly because they just generate goodwill among the fans for the company. BUT, when money starts changing hands, you start getting into very very grey legal waters, especially when you start using official branding and trademarks from another person to "sell" your product. Like I said, I realize that, in theory, you aren't actually making any money. But it's the fact that someone is giving you money for something with the LEGO seals and logos on it at all in exchange for a product that isn't entirely your own that's going to fault you here. Even though you're just breaking even, that's still an money transaction that's being made. You've nicely sidestepped the CD-Rom issue by just providing a blank disc, but suffice to say that disc cover could be very troublesome. (Also probably not the wisest idea to use the ERSB logos for something like this too; RP kind of implies that this game has been sent to the board. It's another branding/trademark thing. I doubt you'd get the same type of attention from them as you would LEGO, but that's something to be aware of).

Hey guys! I was just looking over some old stuff I had done, any I realized that I both never actually finished this or got to the replies! While the story might take a bit to finish, I wanted to reply; I seriously do appreciate every reply. Well, I will say that I think that violence is a natural part of wars, and this story is all about the impact of war. I don't think you can tell that kind of story without including some level of violence. But graphic violence for graphic's sake certainly isn't what I'm hoping to go for, although there is admitedly only so far you can go with text. A big part of this was bringing back the "brothers" dynamic that Makuta and Mata Nui had at the very beginning. By the end, it made no real sense why they were called brothers, since they had absolutely no relation and since Mata Nui had technically created Makuta it was more of a "father-son" dynamic. I completely get what you're saying with the disguised Great Being, because I was pretty iffy when that was released myself. But on the flipside, Kapura's weird abilties also had to be explained somehow. I have warmed up to the concept considerably seeing as how it does solve a mystery that's been around since the literal beginning of the franchise in 2001. The same can't be said for when it was revealed to be Velika, though; I felt that that was rather flimsy. Thank you! The mystery of the Great Beings is a little integrital to a lot of Bionicle lore. Not that it always needs to stay that way, mind you, but for where I'm going with the story, I think revealing their "true forms" might be a bit too much fanservice that takes away from the mystery. Mysteries generally need some type of resolution, but that's suited more to a continuation farther than what I'm planning to do with this.That being said, they are described as being humanoid, so I figure I can still use them as characters without actively describing what they look like. Looking back, letting the reader know that Kapura was a Great Being should have been a priority of mine. If/when I rewrite some of this, I'll be sure to change them. Thank you, and I'm very sorry there wasn't much to follow. =P That's an interesting take on Makuta, but I don't get the vibe from him that he's the type of person that viewed everything as a game. I think he saw the universe for what it was: something to be used and to empower him to do bigger and greater things. He's not doing this just for the challenge, he's doing this for respect (that's why he was so jealous of Mata Nui in the beginning). That being said, I don't believe that the Kohlii game showed his manipulative side at all. Makuta is a sharp and cunning mastermind, but he also has no experience with Kohlii. I don't think it's very in-character for him to try and bait Takanuva with something that he's not absolutely sure he would win. You could try to say that it was to manipulate Takanuva's emotions back into a time where he failed, but why would he choose the Kohlii match? This was supposed to be a reveal into the story, but idk if I'll get everything done so I'll spoil it here: Makuta, in my redesign of the story, appears to Takanuva as Jaller. This form of him makes the most sense in story: it is extraordinarily recent and still haunting Takanuva, it's his best friend who literally died to save him, and it's an example of Makuta's might as Makuta's servants are ones that killed him. Makuta has already had presidence for appearing as a Matoran (with a Hau, no less, at the ending of MNOG), and this form enables him to constantly taunt Takua with perhaps his greatest failure. I'm not sure about you, but the death of my best friend about ten minutes ago would probably haunt me more than just screwing up a shot on a sport about a week ago. I see your problems with the pacing, though. That's good and I should probably fix that when I go back in for a rewrite. I will say that this story is just as much about Makuta as it is Mata Nui and the Toa, and that there is a lot more stuff that went on in the past that should set up where all these characters are going, so if I ever did finish this, hopefully the pacing might make more sense. But I appreciate the criticism. I know it seems like I'm trying to deflect it, but you've brought up a lot of good points and I just wanted to share why I did with them what I did. (Takua being the first Matoran is something I thought a little meh too but hey it didn't really harm anything so) Makuta is being made for the actual robot universe that would eventually become Mata Nui. And I hope I continue too =P Sorry to dash your hopes and dreams so far [/mesonak] I'm planning on it, but I've had just about a billion projects to work on since here and then. I have some extra chapters written up on some document somewhere, it just needs some editing and fleshing out at parts to make it work...one day! Thank you! That could have been a hit or miss with a bunch of people, so I'm glad it worked out for you. Kapura is not bad, but he has made a lot of mistakes, some to help others and some just because he was selfish and didn't think of the consequences. I think he's a character that really wants to think he's done the right thing but can't shake the feeling that he hasn't. Writing exclusively good characters and bad characters often lead to making everything about them bad or good, and I feel like writing stuff like that ends up more like you're trying to make some sort of aesop or social commentary. Not that those types of stories are inheritly bad, but they end up being heavy handed. So he's neither, and both at the same time. Anyhow, sorry that it's taken so long for me to respond! I actually really do hope to finish this. I've got this and another "idea" in the works, but I tend to plot stuff out more than I actually write stuff out. The stuff I plan I personally really like, though =P.

Oh, hey, apparently you guys offed me while I was gone at RTX? You're all an cool dudes, all of you.

Well, we aren't the source, so you should totally take everything we say with skepticism. We certainly do. But we do also have reason to believe that there is more truth to it than meets the eye.

13. Unluckiest number might work in my favor.

So this post is over a month old, but I was browsing through this topic and decided to reply with some clarification (even though this doesn't appear to be a COMMON misconception, never hurts to clear stuff up). BASICALLY, here's the deal. TTV made a video regarding a new constraction line that will be debuting in 2015; the source was Asger Johansen's LinkedIn page, which was discovered by a member on Eurobricks. Asger Johansen works at Advance, and had the line about a 2015 constraction line displayed on his "Future projects" section. That's it. There's literally no more substance to it than that. Pretty much all we can conclude from it is that it will be a PROPER constraction theme and not an offshoot like the Superhero/Chima Ultrabuilds. There's nothing to indicate that it is BIONICLE other than wishful thinking, unfortunately (at least at this moment in time). -Mesonak To be fair, we did entitle the video "Bionicle returning 2015?". Yes, it was a view grab, and even though we explained that it wasn't anything to point to that in the actual video, the title was made to grab as many people as possible. We should be ashamed, I know. I realize it wasn't professional, so next time we'll be sure to act more like an actual news source and title the video "12 Things That May Point To Bionicle's Return (Number 5 Might Surprise You)".

I have extreme doubts about the authenticity of Max Jesus. Is he supposed to Mexican? Middle Eastern? Why is he named Max Jesus? Where did he get his doctorate from? Was it an honorary doctorate? If he has a doctorate, why isn't he teaching at a university and taking a low salary police job? If the cereal bowl can transcend time and space, why does Max Jesus care about crime at all? Does he actually count as being qualified for this contest? Does just having a humanoid head actually make him humanoid? Shouldn't he have limbs? Is the cereal bowl controlled by his mind since he doesn't have any limbs? Does mind control actually count as piloting? Isn't that like saying your brain "pilots" your body? I dunno, I'm quickly losing faith in Dr. Max Jesus.

I'm not a fan of heavy metal, personally. There are a few songs that could fit the franchise, but I'm not completely sold on it being the main genre for it. I'm a fan of soundtracks more than I am a fan of music with lyrics, so my personal pick is Daniel Korb. He's the resident composer at Supergiant Games, who produced Bastion and Transistor. Bastion was my first introduction to his work, and it's really like nothing I've heard before. It's the perfect blend of electronica/ambience and a kind of acoustic folk country sound (Firefly/Firefilk, I guess?), and he makes them sound great together (examples here, here and here, also Build That Wall because why not?). I've only just started listening to Transistor, which is a more classical sci-fi adventure, but I think his talent for mixing two different styles of music and still retaining the feel for both would absolutely rock the tribal-robot fusion that Bionicle is. Seriously, I would throw all sorts of money to see him on that kind of project. As for another pick, Trent Reznor. Trent has rock/industrial/post-industrial roots, but he also does some great electronic/ambiance kind of work when he and Atticus Ross collaborate on movie scores. The Social Network and The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo were both fantastic and I think they fit the mood well. Also, I always have been and probably always will be a fan of Hans Zimmer. I know some people say that he's stagnated with his "cinematic sound" being the majority of his newer compositions, but I don't care. Time always gets me. Every single time. Pun not intended. He'd do some pretty awesome stuff with Bionicle. I'd love to see some classic themes remixed with his orchestral style.

I'll have to take your word for it, since the majority of their site is unavailable to unregistered guests and so far all I've seen of their plans to develop the story and create new sets are promises and ambition—virtually nothing of substance. If Bionicle REALLY came back, it certainly wouldn't dwell on marginally-relevant characters and plotlines like Solis Magna seems to be doing so far, what with its hopes to continue the serials. It'd be creating new stories with new characters, designed from the ground up with sets in mind. Solis Magna and other attempts I've seen at "Bionicle continuations" only seem to recognize a portion of what made Bionicle great, and that doesn't include the amount of innovation and creativity that went into taking the theme in entirely new directions year after year. In other words, they are at both too ambitious (setting goals that are nowhere near being achieved, that require a huge number of dedicated, like-minded fans to pull off) and not ambitious enough (limiting their scope to what basically amounts to fanservice, and not innovating the way Bionicle itself did). That's exactly what my opinion is of the project too large, and revival projects in general. Thinking too big and too small is exactly the kind of rut that so many of these projects fall into. Additionally, creativity seems to be stunted for a lot of them; there's too much of a willingness to stay generic that never elevates any project above mildly interesting fanfiction.

All the Game Grumps and RWBY events are a given. The DEATH BATTLE and Improvisor panels also sound cool, and I have to see the RTAA and industry panels (343 and Bungie). Naturally, I've planned out more than I may be able to attend, but all the ones I just mentioned are my highest priority. It's really a shame that so many I want to go to are airing at the same time. RWBY is an absolute must for me, and the industry ones are also a high priority. I'm also interested in the "How To Get 'Em Hooked" panel, because Chris Claremont is hosting that one and he's the guy that made the X-Men you actually cared about. I'm also psyched that the RWBY Cast and Crew will be doing live commentary on a live viewing of Volume One, so I might be there for that. Other than that, it'll have to come and go.

Oh, are you going to RTX too? That'll be pretty cool, I didn't know anyone from BZP would be attending either. What panels are you planning to go to?

Oh, nice! I love RoosterTeeth, and I'm pretty psyched to meet the cast and crew at RTX this year. Barbera always struck me as a chill person. Where was this at?

But none of those qualities make him any more imposing as opposed to generic. Scaring, manipulating and killing are all expected traits of a villain. Arguably, it's the execution or actor performance that makes them worthwhile. "No remorse while killing" can be said of a lot of villains, but only a few can pull off the gravitas that make them really deserving of the "best fictional villain" title. Teridax's execution just isn't that well done. I can't see him topping any actual "Top Villains List" when compared to all of the actual greats.

Mutations happen mostly the same way they would in "real life". The code that's replicated in the nanobots gets twisted just a little bit, and it changes the way something ends up. (not sure what you mean by that last part, though; I thought it was naturally assumed that they were different?) I mean like Pit mutagen. Or EP. (It seemed like you were calling them the same kind of nanites.) Oh, that's a good point! I didn't think about that first off, but I would assume that the EP generates a chemical reaction that radically changes the code/nanite makeup as well as turn solid protodermis back into liquid protodermis. So like, a horrible mutation would be like the EP turning everything back into liquid protodermis, then screwing around with the code or the nanite order, and then having them go through the same "hardening" process except this time with whatever horrible mutation they ended up with. Alternatively, it just screws the code/nanites up so much they just don't turn back again and the subject disintegrates (which is like, what, 90% of contact with EP?) Same thing with the Pit, it just does something to alter the code. If you wanted to go more in-depth, you could say that the Pit gives off specific chemicals that the OS realizes is a good substitute for oxygen, so it quickly alters the makeup to prevent the subject from drowning. But after everything's said and done, the new system completely depends on these chemicals so when people exit the pit they can no longer go back to breathing air. Also, sorry about the confusion. For clarification protodermis is basically just memory metal, liquid protodermis is liquid memory metal, organic protodermis is virus/nanobot fused metal, viruses are mist-ooze "container" for generic nanobots, and antidermis is an actual conscious spread out over nanobots in virus material (BS01 says that antidermis and viruses are really similar to each other, so...)

Mutations happen mostly the same way they would in "real life". The code that's replicated in the nanobots gets twisted just a little bit, and it changes the way something ends up. (not sure what you mean by that last part, though; I thought it was naturally assumed that they were different?)

I originally wrote this for this topic about how the Makuta evolved, but per direction of bonesiii I've decided to expound/put everything into an actual topic for more discussion. (Disclaimer: I'm not an expert on either biology or computers and I apologize for any terrible abuse of terminology/concepts that might follow) So there's been a theory I've been bouncing around in my head recently and it has to do with Matoran biology. Specifically, it has to do with the general rule that Matoran are 20% organic and 80% mechanical. Now, in our own bodies, we have these things called cells that do stuff like regulate growth, circulate oxygen, deliver energy, fight off infections, etc. But Matoran can't have cells that do all of those functions, because if they did, they would be much more than 20% organic. They have to have something else that can serve those kinds of functions. I personally propose that those things are nanobots. (Nanobots, for those who don't know, are basically just really, really small robots, generally about the size of a nanometer) BS01's page on protodermis lists variations of protodermis. Solid protodermis is the durable metal that makes most of the armor/tools/structures of the Matoran Universe at large. Liquid protodermis is, well, the liquid form of solid protodermis. But then you have this weird thing called organic protodermis, which isn't really given a way of formation outside from the fact that it just makes up the organic tissue of protodermis. So here's what I propose. The special property of protodermis, and the reason why the Great Beings chose to use it to make everything, is twofold: one, it can exist in both a solid, liquid and "organic" form. The other is that it is in fact a "memory metal", something that can be quickly assembled into a solid form by passing an specific electrical current through it (or it could also be a chemical release, either one works here). The nanobots are what pass as cells in MU Biology. They're often contained in things like viruses, because the misty-ooze-thing that viruses are make it easy for the nanobots to instantly communicate/transfer data in their primative state. While each nanobot (like our cells) contain all of the available data that's needed to create a lifeform, when the viruses are fused with things like liquid protodermis (the process that Makuta use to create Rahi), what they do is arrange themselves in the proper formation and then use the electrochemical-reaction to harden the protodermis. Of course, since there's so many nanobots and since they're so small, they're able to create really minutely complex systems out of the hardened protodermis. They're also able to make different levels of hardened protodermis, create passages to send nanobots in and out to deliver energy/oxygen and whatever else is needed to keep Matoran functioning. On top of that, they also fuse the virus-misty-ooze with the protodermis in order to create organic protodermis, which is also assembled into organs and the like. The nanobots that fused with the organic protodermis in the brain then take direct operating control of the system, and the new lifeform is born. Additionally, because organic protodermis is, well, organic, they can use the regrowing tissue to generate new nanobots in case any of them get depleted. Now you have the distinction between solid, liquid, and organic protodermis. So here's the deal with the Makuta, though. See, the code in the OS that governs the whole of the Matoran Universe is specifically built to learn. It gave everybody personalities after only a few years of social interaction, after all. So the Makuta's OS are also learning, but they're also learning with experiences that only the Makuta deal with. Well, the Makuta's job is to work with viruses to create Rahi. So the OS deals with specifically learning and observing the Makuta work with viruses for a pretty long time (thousands of years, in fact!) and slowly it gets this idea. See, the Great Beings made the Matoran Universe Inhabitants work the way they do because they themselves were organic and they built off what they know. But this advanced OS, which has spent the past several thousands of years working with viruses, gets this idea that, hey, why don't they advanced their consciousness into the entirety of the nanobot system? Instead of having the brain run the show and regulate the maintenance of everything, why not just direct everything into working everything in parallel? So their brains decide to do this, but they need to be able to transfer data instantly to all of the nanobots at the same time. Well, they couldn't degrade the solid protodermis in the armor, because that requires intense heat and could also compromise the system. But they could degrade back the organic protodermis and get back the virus-like misty ooze that allowed them to transfer data instantly back when they were viruses. So they take apart the organs and turn them back into the virus form, (which is why Bitil suddenly realize that he couldn't move his muscles), and this in turn becomes Antidermis, which is how the Makuta "evolved" over time from biomechanical beings to pure Antidermis. It also explains why Antidermis has always to be contained, 1. If they spread out too much and the Antidermis dissipates, the nanobots are not able to communicate and lose function and 2. since there is no more organic protodermis, they cannot produce new nanobots and instead are limited to the amount they have right then and there. Bonus: since the Antidermis is one "conciousness", when inserted into a foreign biology they end up continuing their original function, that is, degrade the organs and turn them into Antidermis. So they end up shutting down the brain functions that control things like reasoning and personality, except the foreign body realizes what they're doing and end up fighting against them. While in this state, however, the foreign body is susceptible to commands and orders, since those functions that normally fight against them are shut down. This is how shooting Zamor Spheres made of Antidermis ended up "enslaving" the Voya Nui Matoran. Bonus bonus: this also explains what it means to have "specific" viruses made, such as the one Teridax used to take down Mata Nui. The nanobots in that specific virus were programmed to take down all of the operating functions in the Mata Nui robot. tl;dr of theory notes: 1. Nanobots are the "cells" of MU Biology 2. Viruses are a "misty-ooze" that contains the nanobots and they both fuse in liquid protodermis to form organic protodermis tissue 3. Protodermis is a "programmable" (loose term!) memory metal, which can assume a certain solid form from liquid if enough nanobots are spread around and release certain electric (or chemical, not sure which works best) signals 4. Virus makeup also allows the nanobots to transfer data instantly 5. The OS/AI for the Makuta thought that it would run much more efficiently if all the nanobots just instantly communicated with each other, so it degraded all of the organic protodermis tissue into virus form (which is how they evolved into Antidermis) 6. Nanobots also are what caused the Great Cataclysm tl;dr tl;dr 1. Nanobots are kind of freaking awesome Again, not a computer expert nor a biology expert, nor have I actually spent time looking in other Matoran biology topics. I'm sure someone has had an idea like this before, but this is the best I could come close to explaining it. If you have any ideas/discussion, I'd love to hear it, and I'll be updating this page with more suggestions as they come along. Thanks.

I forgot about Adrian Viedt. I remember when I first read Watchmen as part of my 80s comics run...I was completely blown away by how great that character was. Teridax, on the other hand, really isn't much to write home about.

I had my own little fan theories about MU biology, but here's what I would assume. Our own body has many organic parts that regulate our systems. Specifically, things like red blood cells and white blood cells and all that other good stuff. Now, we know that as a general rule, Matoran are 80% mechanical and 20% organic, but that relation has some serious implications. For instance, much of our body is organic cell makeup, but Matoran obviously don't have cells, else they'd be a lot more than just 20% organic. So what has to regulate the Matoran system / fight off infections / deliver oxygen/energy to tissues/systems? Nanobots, of course. Now, one thing that's never made sense to me is how Makuta "mix viruses together to make Rahi". I can't exactly envision that. BS01 states that viruses are energy based organisms that Makuta add to Liquid Protodermis, but even then that's not exactly clear on how those things are made. But it's important, because it also states that viruses are really similar to Antidermis, which is what the Makuta evolved into. Here's my theory. Nanobots are kind of the "cells" of our biomechanical universe. They have the information encoded on them to generate all kinds of programs. Viruses, the ones that the Makuta mixed together, are energy based collections of nanobots that are programmed to react in different ways with each other. Protodermis is a memory metal, able to conduct into a shape by electrical currents by the nanobots. Using a combination of motor specific movement and geolocation, the nanobots are able to arrange themselves into the proper order to solidify Liquid Protodermis into Solid Protodermis, but in 1. a specific shape 2. with the ability to transport the nanobots within new organism itself. A group of them are able to link together and fuse in a way as to form some sort of semi-organic tissue (aka organic protodermis) that forms the organs, which then supplies and is regulated by the rest of the body system. So the nanobots order themselves into organic protodermis, but the base code that runs them, the "OS" if you will, is always continuously evolving because it's made to learn. The organism itself is a living, learning product. And all of the operating code is up in the brain, which one of the fused organic protodermis organs, but somewhere along the line, after observing so many viruses being combined the program comes to this idea: why can't they just stay a virus forever? Why can't it just spread the "consciousness" of the OS by making everything run in parallel? See, the GBs made them just to keep everything in the brain because they were organic and that's how they worked, and it made sense to develop from what they know. But the code, which has been learning since it gave everyone personalities, decides that it's not going to work like how organics work. Instead, they figure out that they can spread the consciousness across all of these nanobots and progress into a parallel processing architecture (dude, random tech buzzwords! Now you know it's getting serious!) So the nanobots want to make every one of them work at the same time instead of focusing on other stuff at the same time, but they've got to have a way to instantly transfer data, because the way it works now they're just not able to do that efficiently enough. But back in virus form, they were able to use the makeup of whatever-the-virus-was-made-of to transfer data pretty instantly. So they need that form back, but they can't degrade solid protodermis because that requires heat and could damage the system. Instead, they start breaking down the organic protodermis and they recess all the organs and break them up into this kind of misty ooze deal. Now they've evolved past that nasty organic stage and, since they don't have to worry about oxygen transfer or tissue regulation, is much more efficient as a result! Bonus: the nanobots, since they're the same networked conscious, naturally work to shut down the organic protodermis with any other system they get into. Now, it takes a good amount of time to do so, but one of the first things they have to do is shut down the reasoning/personality process in the brain while they "back it up" in order to transfer it to everywhere else. That's the reason why the Piraka were able to shoot Matoran with Antidermis to enslave them, because the nanobots basically shut the reasoning part of their brain down. (Makuta didn't get their brains shut down/turned into zombie slaves because their brains willingly started the process; nanobots "infecting" another organism have to find another way to "hack" into the brains). Before you ask, no, I'm barely knowledgeable on computers as-is and I'm pretty sure that I've used some of the terms just horrifically wrong in my attempt to sound complicated. And I haven't looked into this topic/see other Matoran biology topics, so I'm pretty sure that someone's come up with this idea before and I'm not trying to steal it or whatever. But I think it has merit? Dunno. Feel free to tear it apart, it's just something I thought about while in class today.