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Recently, I was looking at another topic on this here forum ( ), which dealt with deceased Matoran. A lot of that debate deals in Matoran scavenging parts off their dead, which would apply if the Matoran Universe is a closed circle of matter and energy. If that were the case, I would imagine that said parts would have to be reused or recycled in some manner. But there is actually evidence to the contrary. I propose that the Matoran Universe is NOT a closed circle of matter and energy. There is actually energy inputs into this system. These inputs come in the form of protodermis, found on the planets that Mata Nui was visiting. These planetary deposits would, theoretically speaking, been placed there by the Great Beings prior to Mata Nui's departure of Spherus Magna. Why would the robot need inputs? The second law of thermodynamics seems to apply in Bionicle, seeing as the Matoran have to accept energy inputs. And the robot has to have heating systems, seeing as it is traveling through space with living beings inside it. While the robot does have an extermely thick hull to prevent such energy loss, we are talking about the difference between the temperature suitable for life and that of space, which is freezing cold (understatement). Multiplied by the robot's rather large surface area, this would translate to a small, if signifigant, amount of energy being lost over time. Greg has confirmed the existance of heating and ventilation systems, which would require energy to use, energy that might not be easily reabsorbed. (Not to mention the system of artificial gravity)I could also argue that the MU robot would likely need some sort of system to move when the robot is in space (to change direction). This would likely involve projecting energy into space. The Red Star might help with this process, but even it has to get its energy from somewhere ( who knows where). I think there was a reference to Makuta, while in command of the MU, using "rockets" to get from Aqua Magna to Bara Magna, but that could simply be a reference to him using the Red Star, so I'm not going to go overboard with that. The entropy by its own is likely good enough reason. Also, it would not be too far out of line for the Great Beings to try to influence where their creation should go; they might have given him a certain amount of free reign, but they wouldn't have wanted the MU to run amok like their other creations ( which would be a major league disaster that could destroy multiple planets; Makuta=Exhibit A). It would also conveniently explain why the GBs did not interfere major league (alternate GBs in the other universe are an exception here) in the big battle between the two giant robots, because even if Makuta won, he would be unable to do universe wrecking damage because his energy would run down. But, logically speaking, this energy loss would be rather small, especially when Mata Nui was on a planet (optimum temprature and air already there, especially on Aqua Magna), which meant that Makuta had enough energy to power up the robot when he did. (Passage between Mata Nui and Metru Nui= energy saving ventilation shafts?) Logically, energy reactors in the MU (fuel) would be protodermis, since everything in the MU (last I checked) is made of protodermis. And the sophisticated sensors of the MU would likely pick up such deposits. ***Enter Zaktan, and that quote from Legacy of Evil. What confuses me is to why proto mining would be hazerdous; or even a death sentence in the MU. If proto is composing everything in the MU, then why is mining hazerdous? Inside the MU, I would imagine it as a strip mining operation to harvest the proto that's right beneath your feet. There were caves in Po-Metru; but those were made by Matoran. This "real proto mining" was deemed too hazerdous for Matoran, so much that they hired ill-tempered people like Zaktan to do it. The term "mining" refers to the extraction of one mineral from another; the only other time we see the term used is in Mata Nui, which is not in the MU. I propose that a certain number of individuals, like Zaktan and other Skakdi, who were considered expendable, were sent outside the MU when the robot landed on a planet with a protodermis deposit on it, which would occur, albeit infrequently. This would be "mined" from the surrounding areas. Said deposits would be placed underground in the first place to avoid the detection of the native inhabitants, but they might still have an interest in the mining operation. Said mining would likely occur in tunnel-mining fashion in order to quickly get what the robot needed with a minimum of attention (strip mines are pretty obvious!) The beings who did this mining would likely have to shield themselves from the natives, not to mention the possible tunnel collapse...hence the powerful beings and the danger involved. Even more important, and dangerous, would be the knowledge involved; possible exposure to aliens and learning that they are invaders; carrying of proto to fuel chambers, and just plain flat knowing that they move in and out of a universe that moves would be knowledge that nobody wants in the wrong hands. The easiest way to prevent that knowledge from being spread? Kill them all. Somehow, Zaktan slipped through the crack. Or maybe he was reserved enough, possibly horrified enough that he wouldn't talk; they just shoved a death threat in his face and shoved him on his way. (That, and I think TSO rescued him for some reason - there's evidence that some of the other Piraka, likely Reidak and Avak, were involved or at least familiar) Maybe Zaktan didn't fully get it until he read Makuta's plan on the walls of the fortress. There was obviously joy in that moment; I think the mystery behind the horrors he had seen haunted him for years, and its resolution changed him from the retisent and creepy to the proud; he knew something everyone else did not, and that quickly went to his head. So go and like Mata Nui examine my theory, and consider the holes bigger than Zaktan that art present there. -
I'm kinda sad to see S&T die down, and all those grand theory topics about the nature of the MU and such now vanished only into the memories of older members. So I figured I'd pick one of the great unanswered mysteries, see what evidence I could find concerning it, and see where that led me. (Kapura's as much of a mystery as ever, but I don't mind).What exactly protodermis is has been something no one is exactly sure of, because it's so irregular. Most people chalk it up to magic but I, being a science fiction fan, have decided to collate everything we know about protodermis, put into the context of normal science, and then see if anyone here who has a better knowledge of the interaction between real elements can help me figure out exactly what might match those known properties.To clarify, I'm referring to the GB-created stuff, not natural EP.Let's start with the basics. [*]Protodermis is a molecule, not an elemental atom. Evidence to this effect is the fact that the GBs invented protodermis instead of discovering it. (I vaguley remember something about a Greg quote, but until I see the exact wording of it I'm not going to bring that into this.)[*]Protodermis either bonds easily with other molecules or it can assimilate atoms into its molecular structure (as evidenced by its incredibly variant forms that it can take, along with references to "purifying" protodermis in Ga-Metru). I lean toward the first, as assimilation would make the molecule really no longer protodermis, and the process of breaking the molecule to reassemble pure protodermis would be incredibly difficult, even at the level of tech we saw in Metru Nui.[*]There is, in fact, one "true" (or "pure," so to speak) form of proto, because it's processed into pure proto in Ga-Metru.[*]It is very hard to oxidize. Mata Nui's Great Spirit body was seen to have made it through a thousand-year sleep without rusting, instead being covered in mud.Now, I think that we can extrapolate a few things about the pure and impure states of proto. [*]At least one form of impure protodermis has a very low melting point, as we have seen liquid protodermis in Ga-Metru, where (not coincidentally, I think) impure proto is gathered to be purified. It acts exactly like water, and Water Toa can influence it. I suspect that this means that the impure proto found in Ga-Metru is bonded with H2O molecules. I think this means that the frozen proto seen in Ko-Metru is impure as well.[*]Pure protodermis has a very high melting temperature, as evidenced by the lava-like protodermis that we can see in Ta-Metru. It has been stated that pure proto is what Ta-Metru processes to make disks and masks, and therefore it is likely that the stuff that is seen there is pure proto. BS01 suggests that this might actually be the plasma state of protodermis, but I have seen no evidence for that and it doesn't (to my knowledge) really act like plasma, so I disagree with that theory.[*]"Raw" protodermis, I suspect, is also impure protodermis, but bonded with something that has a melting point higher than that of liquid proto, such as dirt. This is because BS01 delineates between raw proto and pure proto, which implies that raw proto is impure. However, it doesn't imitate water like liquid proto does, and therefore is likely bonded to another molecule. Bonesiii said that he recalls something about raw being more impure than liquid proto. If this is, in fact, true, it seems likely that pure protodermis can bond together with solid materials more easily than with liquids, but not to the point of making it unlikely to see liquid proto.So, what's in a protodermis molecule? [*]Iron. We can say this for fairly certain because an Iron Toa can create and use solid protodermis, as well as natural wrought iron.[*]An unknown element with a high melting point. See my reasoning about molten protodermis for this.[*]An unknown factor which causes natural crystal lattices in protodermis. This is what results in lightstones and their close cousin, heatstones. This form of proto also seems to be very conducive to storing energy.It is possible that Iron is merely another element which is bonded to proto, but BS01 says that Iron Toa can maniulate pure proto. That being said, I'm willing to cede the point if I'm disproved.There are two other forms of protodermis that need to be addressed. One is protosteel, and the other is organic protodermis.Protosteel is likely a form of impure protodermis with a higher-than-normal amount of carbon and iron (and possibly other things like titanium), causing a much more resilient form of proto.Organic protodermis is fairly simple to explain: it's just organic cells built of of protodermis molecules instead of their real-world counterparts.Energized protodermis, being entirely divorced from normal protodermis, I have little idea about. Bonesiii suggests that the Great Beings failed to mimick an "energized" form of protodermis which gave them artificial proto instead of EP, and the modification of proto beings that EP seems capable of doing is simple the energy in EP being converted into extra mass to modify the subject.
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