Cataloging the Multiverse

[unknown456]

Hello fellow BZP-ers! Welcome to my first topic!

So, since this is my first topic, I figured that I'd do something that's fairly large and unnecessarily complicated .

 

So, as to preface this, I should note here that, as well as Bionicle, I'm a fan of Transformers, and in the Transformers universe/franchise, they have a certain way of naming/cataloging/labelling each universe, which I'll get to later.

 

So, after studying their system of labelling universes, I decided that their system could be applicable to Bionicle as well, since, well, 'Great Spirit Makuta Alternate Universe' is a bit of a mouthful, and could easily be replaced with something less... mouth filling(well, kind of anyways, you'll see).

 

Before I go any further though, I feel like I should note that the way I'm labelling each universe is about 95% completely based in how they(Transfomers writers) label universes, so I feel like I should mention the original creators of this system: Jim Sorenson, Trent Troop, and Greg Sepelak. Thank you!

 

So, now with the painfully awkward introduction( ) out of the way, let's actually learn the universes!
 

So, the universal labeling comes in three parts: universal cluster, numerical creation date, and the class of universe.

 

So, first of all, we start off with a universal cluster name (in other words, what continuity family it is). I've compiled a list of (mostly Latin) names below, to use for this part:

 

Primum (Latin for first)- this is the G1 Bionicle cluster/family

Deinde (Latin for next)- this is the G2 Bionicle cluster/family

Tertius (Latin for third)- this is the G3 Bionicle cluster/family (one day this will become relevant!)

 

But wait, there's more!

 

Caminus (Latin for forge)- this is the Hero Factory cluster/family

Canthus (Latin for wheel)- this is the RoboRiders cluster/family

Orbis (Latin for disk)- this is the Throwbots/Slizers cluster/family  

Qwadwahl (made up by me )- this refers to a strange little cluster where there are these fleshly little things called humans

 

So next, we need the numerical creation date numbers. These are taken from the real world creation date of the thing in question (I should note here that most the dates I've gotten come from the BZP main page, when BZP first covered the topic in question).

So, for example, let's take when Bionicle first came to America: July, 2001. So, in terms of the cataloging, it would go 701.0 (7=7th month of the year, i.e. July. 01= what year it was, 2001. .0 refers to an unknown date of release/publication.)

 

So now the third part: the universal class (otherwise known as, the type of media in which it was featured in) These are taken from the Greek alphabet:

Alpha: Animations (T.V. Show/Movie)

Beta: Online Stories/Story Serials

Gamma: Comic

Delta: Commercial

Epsilon: Exclusives (Toys, comics, story serial, etc...)

Zeta: Prose work (printed stuff that's not comics)

Eta: Audio Stories

Theta: Online Videos/Animations

Iota: Websites/online only stuff

Kappa: Games (video, board, etc...)

Lambda: Still images (such as battles in the centerfold of comics)

Rho: Sets

Sigma: Live Action/Performance

 

Please note that, although certain universes started in one type of media, it doesn't mean that it can include or exclude other forms of media as well.

 

So, now that we have all three parts to the universal steam designations, lets put it all together.

 

To help in understanding, here's an example: Primum 701.0 Gamma.  Primum refers to the G1 Bionicle continuity.  701.0 refers to when it was first released (specifically in America), July 2001, with unknown/inexact date of release.  Gamma means that it a comic.

 

(If you still don't understand what I'm on about, I don't blame you.  I can explain it better in the comments if you so wish it) 

 

So, now you know how the designations work out and what everything in it means, here's a list of the 'official' universes seen thus far:

 

Caminus (Hero Factory):

• Caminus 413.0 Zeta (Mirror World)
• Caminus 910.20 Alpha (the TV Series)

Canthus (RoboRiders):

• Canthus 100.0 Rho (an approximation of when the RoboRiders toys released)

Deinde (G2 Bionicle):

• Deinde 1014.9 Theta (the main G2 Bionicle storyline)

Oribs (Throwbots/Slizers):

• Orbis 199.0 A Rho (Approximation of the Throwbots storyline origin)
• Orbis 199.0 E Rho (Approximation of the Slizers storyline origin)

Primum (G1 Bionicle):

• Primum 108.14 Eta (Dark Mirror)
• Primum 109.26 Beta (Great Spirit Makuta)
• Primum 508.0 Epsilon (The Kingdom)
• Primum 509.27 Beta (Spherus Magna Alternate Universe)
• Primum 701.0 Gamma (Main G1 Bioinicle story we've loved for so long) (Could be Primum 101.0 Kappa instead)
• Primum 807.22 Eta (the Pit's dead Tuyet's universe)
• Prmium 1208.12 Beta (The Melding)

Qwadwahl (real world):

• Qwadwahl 701/1200.0 Sigma (Us! )

But, it doesn't end there folks! Due to the way that this universal system is set up, we could hypothetically determine the names of universes that aren't necessarily 'official', but must exist somewhere in the multiverse. So...

 

Caminus:

• Caminus 710.25 Epsilon (Hero Factory comics, Epsilon because the first comic was released at Comic Con)
• Caminus 810.5 Kappa (Mission: Von Nebula and its later incarnations)

Deinde:

• Deinde 115.1 Kappa (BIONICLE: Mask of Creation mobile game)
• Deinde 715.0 Lambda (Ambushed In The Forge)

 

Primum:

• Primum 102.0 Gamma (Bohrok Promo Comic)
• Primum 306.30 Kappa (Piraka Attack)
• Primum 310.26 Theta (BIONICLE Battle Videos)
• Primum 403.12 Sigma (BIONICLE Blaster Ride)
• Primum 906.4 Theta (Piraka Online Animations)
• Primum 906.20 Kappa (VNOG)
• Primum 1106.14 () Kappa (BIONICLE: Heroes) (Parenthesis= C-Console, M-Mobile, D-DS, G-Gameboy) 

 

Obviously, I could go on, but for some obvious and possibly not-so-obvious reasons, I'll stop here.

 

So, that's it pretty much. Nothing particularly new or groundbreaking here, just a silly little way to categorize your universes  Tell me what you think in the comments, and maybe even list a few universes yourself!

Edited September 6, 2015 by unknown456

[bonesiii]

I think that's all very clever and admirable and nobody's going to want to adopt it because it's probably way overthinking it, if that makes any sense. We already have a two-character way to categorize the main generations; G1, G2, G3 -- why have to type out fancy Latin words?? No offense, but I think that's rather counterproductive. And to say comics, we can say... well... comics. Etc. Realistically, this is probably the best approach, not expecting people to learn new advanced labels.

 

That said, not a bad idea for your own fun's sake regardless!

[unknown456]

Yeah, like I said, it wasn't anything ground breaking or new, just something different to do. And like I said in the very beginning, it was pretty much unnecessarily complicated. Glad you liked it either way though!

Edited September 6, 2015 by unknown456

[Votuko]

I don't follow Transformers, but I'm guessing they like to have different canons for comics, TV shows etc. seeing as that is one of the ways they identify a universe.

 

However, I'm not sure that approach is very helpful for BIONICLE, because all media released relates to (or attempts to relate to) one currently running canon. I wouldn't really class items that don't fit the main canon (eg. BIONICLE Heroes) as being part of a separate canon, because they are standalone items with no further depth. They are just non-canon.

 

What may be useful, however, is something in the name that identifies the type of universe within that generation's multiverse. For example: Main, Alternate, Pocket, Other. (But then you still need to add something like "Toa Empire" to make it clear which G1-Alternate you mean. )

[Petewa]

Schnazzy, uselessly complex and crazy pointless, but schnazzy all the same.

[Irrie]

I think that's all very clever and admirable and nobody's going to want to adopt it because it's probably way overthinking it, if that makes any sense. We already have a two-character way to categorize the main generations; G1, G2, G3 -- why have to type out fancy Latin words?? No offense, but I think that's rather counterproductive. And to say comics, we can say... well... comics. Etc. Realistically, this is probably the best approach, not expecting people to learn new advanced labels.

 

That said, not a bad idea for your own fun's sake regardless!

Generation 3? Can somebody tell me what this is, I've only heard of 1 and 2. 

[bonesiii]

Irrie, he was saying basically, if a G3 ever happens, what would we call it? And the answer can easily be "G3".

[Irrie]

Ah, I see. 

That's good, for a second I thought that I had completely fallen out of the loop of new story information. 

[kathy]

The Ko-Matoran in me is pleased.