G1 Mask of Creation: A failsafe?

[The 1st Shadow]

Something just dawned on me. We know that breaking the 3 Legendary masks results in the downfall of the MU in some way. BReaking the Vahi unravels time. Breaking the Ignika kills everyone, and the RS would replace them all, like a reset button. And the Mask of Creation? Breaking it... makes the MU beings lose their creative abilities.

 

But, what purpose does that ultimately serve?

 

The solution, I propose, is related to their gained sapience. the inhabitants of the MU were not meant to be much more than drones designed to serve specific purposes related to keeping the GSR operating. Gaining sapience could mean diverting from their course, and causing problems. They would develop emotions, passions, worldviews, individuality, cultures... All things that inspire (and in turn, are inspired by) creativity.

 

What does breaking the Mask of Creation have to do with that?

 

Simple. If breaking it removes MU beings' ability to be creative, could that mean it removes the things that make them creative? Such as, personalities?

 

In conclusion, breaking the Mask of Creation acts as a failsafe that would act as a reset button for all MU beings, restoring the "default factory settings" in case things ever deviated too far from their original design.

 

Thoughts on this?

[Pohatu: Uniter of Stone]

I don't know what I'm supposed to say. All the evidence points to back you up, so I can't argue that you are wrong.

[aldero]

Seems like a pretty solid basis to me. The Matoran were made to look after and do maintenance on the Great Spirit Robot, live in the Robot and be governed by a consistent flow of time. There is a Great Mask assigned to those three fundamental parts of an ideal Matoran worker. But what I would like to know is what it is a failsafe for. Is it a failsafe for the event of total domination by an outside being that renders them slaves to a different being? 

 

Was it failsafe in the event that the Matoran aren't working for Mata Nui?

[The 1st Shadow]

Seems like a pretty solid basis to me. The Matoran were made to look after and do maintenance on the Great Spirit Robot, live in the Robot and be governed by a consistent flow of time. There is a Great Mask assigned to those three fundamental parts of an ideal Matoran worker. But what I would like to know is what it is a failsafe for. Is it a failsafe for the event of total domination by an outside being that renders them slaves to a different being? 

 

Was it failsafe in the event that the Matoran aren't working for Mata Nui?

First off, not talking about just the Matoran. Vortixx and Skakdi and Makuta are included.

 

Second, the idea is that if they were to develop sapience, the GB's would have no idea how much of an impact that would have on the order of things. If they developed to a point where they began to bypass their programming, then the MoC would be able to reverse that development back to square 1, leaving everyone a drone-like maintenance worker again.

 

One thing I forgot to consider was the Ignika's countdown. Maybe the MoC had a similar function, but we never saw it come into play because, for the most part, the MU inhabitants were still on track.

[fishers64]

The whole point behind making the Matoran the way they are was so they could adapt to unforeseen problems (unlike the Baterra) without becoming too selfish and self-serving (like the Element Lords). Removing that creative ability doesn't strike me as a failsafe, more like a failure. 

[The 1st Shadow]

The whole point behind making the Matoran the way they are was so they could adapt to unforeseen problems (unlike the Baterra) without becoming too selfish and self-serving (like the Element Lords). Removing that creative ability doesn't strike me as a failsafe, more like a failure. 

I never said it would remove the ability to think and go through basic problem-solving. Obviously, there would be unforeseen events and the GB's would have included the capability to deal with it. But creating art and culture and things that made them more "alive" were not part of the original programming, as seen by Angonce's musings after the giant robot battle. He commented that the MU beings were never meant to go beyond their basic programming. If something happened to change that, the GBs had no idea what extent that could potentially go to. If it got too far, the failsafe would reset them back to that standard programming, which we know did not include things like personality and culture and art. 

 

Also, consider that "worker drones" aren't designed to become evil rulers and warlords, either. So, take that out of the equation, and you're down to minor accidents in the workplace.

[Ghidora131]

Well

 

This just means Artakha's even more lazy than before, as he could have reset the universe to stop Makuta

 

[The 1st Shadow]

Well

 

This just means Artakha's even more lazy than before, as he could have reset the universe to stop Makuta

 

 

Never said he KNEW about it.

[aldero]

 

Well

 

This just means Artakha's even more lazy than before, as he could have reset the universe to stop Makuta

 

 

Never said he KNEW about it.

 

 

But hey, that's just a theory... a Bionicle theory! Thanks for watching.

[Xboxtravis]

No the only reason to have a Gen 1 Mask of Creation was to make us realize that only 2 of the 3 legendary masks came in set form and that we needed to purchase the Mask of Creation when it was finally produced...

 

...Hence Ekimu coming to sell us the Gen 2 Mask of Creation. Good sales pitch Lego, good job.   Then to confuse things more, they told us the Mask of Creation was one of three NEW legendary masks which we would want to get all of... so here comes Umarak with his sales pitch for the Mask of Control in 2016!!

[The Editor]

 

Well

 

This just means Artakha's even more lazy than before, as he could have reset the universe to stop Makuta

 

 

Never said he KNEW about it.

 

 

I agree with everything here, but... This got me thinking. Why would the GBs give a failsafe to somebody who could potentially gain sentience and prevent you from using the failsafe? I mean, think about it. Let's say the inhabitants of the MU gained sentience - oh wait, they did. Artakha, wearing the mask that could end all that, could potentially be anywhere other than where you left him. He gained sentience, and that means he could just waltz off to another place in the MU, and you'd have to hunt him down to get him and break it. Basically, it'd be harder to get to the failsafe and kill all your drones' personalities.

 

If it really was a failsafe, I'd say the most logical thing to do would be to plonk it somewhere else on the robot that nobody else can get to, so it's always accessible to you (the GB) even in the event that all those nanobots you made gained independent thought and all.

[The 1st Shadow]

 

 

Well

 

This just means Artakha's even more lazy than before, as he could have reset the universe to stop Makuta

 

 

Never said he KNEW about it.

 

 

I agree with everything here, but... This got me thinking. Why would the GBs give a failsafe to somebody who could potentially gain sentience and prevent you from using the failsafe? I mean, think about it. Let's say the inhabitants of the MU gained sentience - oh wait, they did. Artakha, wearing the mask that could end all that, could potentially be anywhere other than where you left him. He gained sentience, and that means he could just waltz off to another place in the MU, and you'd have to hunt him down to get him and break it. Basically, it'd be harder to get to the failsafe and kill all your drones' personalities.

 

If it really was a failsafe, I'd say the most logical thing to do would be to plonk it somewhere else on the robot that nobody else can get to, so it's always accessible to you (the GB) even in the event that all those nanobots you made gained independent thought and all.

 

I considered that. In a later post, I suggested that it might work like the Ignika's countdown.

 

For example, we saw the Ignika start to turn silver and later to have touches of black, meaning the "Universal danger threat" was at X%.

 

The MoC could be the same. If the MU inhabitants stray too close to chaos (90-100%), the Mask would activate the failsafe, resetting everyone to the factory settings.

 

Again, The GBs would have put that in as a precaution. The Ignika doesn't need someone to activate the countdown, so why would the MoC? We've seen that breaking the Ignika would have the same result as its countdown, so if there is a failsafe function to the MoC, it could work the same way (activates at a point, or is broken).

 

The point of giving it to Artakha would be in that he'd keep it safe and put it to use. Because that kind of power is extremely useful, sapient or not, he'd understand that. And he was stationed on that one island, much like the Ignika was kept in a single portion of land. 

[Chip Wiseman]

This all makes far too much sense. Not sure I wanna play devil's advocate here, but I wonder what GregF's thoughts on the matter are?

[The Editor]

 

 

 

Well

 

This just means Artakha's even more lazy than before, as he could have reset the universe to stop Makuta

 

 

Never said he KNEW about it.

 

 

I agree with everything here, but... This got me thinking. Why would the GBs give a failsafe to somebody who could potentially gain sentience and prevent you from using the failsafe? I mean, think about it. Let's say the inhabitants of the MU gained sentience - oh wait, they did. Artakha, wearing the mask that could end all that, could potentially be anywhere other than where you left him. He gained sentience, and that means he could just waltz off to another place in the MU, and you'd have to hunt him down to get him and break it. Basically, it'd be harder to get to the failsafe and kill all your drones' personalities.

 

If it really was a failsafe, I'd say the most logical thing to do would be to plonk it somewhere else on the robot that nobody else can get to, so it's always accessible to you (the GB) even in the event that all those nanobots you made gained independent thought and all.

 

I considered that. In a later post, I suggested that it might work like the Ignika's countdown.

 

For example, we saw the Ignika start to turn silver and later to have touches of black, meaning the "Universal danger threat" was at X%.

 

The MoC could be the same. If the MU inhabitants stray too close to chaos (90-100%), the Mask would activate the failsafe, resetting everyone to the factory settings.

 

Again, The GBs would have put that in as a precaution. The Ignika doesn't need someone to activate the countdown, so why would the MoC? We've seen that breaking the Ignika would have the same result as its countdown, so if there is a failsafe function to the MoC, it could work the same way (activates at a point, or is broken).

 

The point of giving it to Artakha would be in that he'd keep it safe and put it to use. Because that kind of power is extremely useful, sapient or not, he'd understand that. And he was stationed on that one island, much like the Ignika was kept in a single portion of land. 

 

 

Ah, sorry I didn't notice the initial part. That makes more sense. But not giving it to Artakha.

 

That makes sense if we assume Artakha remains... well, the Artakha we know, when the glitch affecting the MU inhabitants hits the Mata Nui robot's systems. The thing is, a glitch that'd make everyone gain sapience wouldn't necessarily make Artakha gain a well-adjusted personality. What if he developed one resembling Vezon's? I'm pretty sure the GBs would've realised that putting the failsafe on a part of the robot that could glitch out like the other components the failsafe is supposed to protect.

 

 

This all makes far too much sense. Not sure I wanna play devil's advocate here, but I wonder what GregF's thoughts on the matter are?

 

... Also, do we really want to bother him with this?

[Chip Wiseman]

 

This all makes far too much sense. Not sure I wanna play devil's advocate here, but I wonder what GregF's thoughts on the matter are?

 

... Also, do we really want to bother him with this?

 

 

Hence why I brought up the idea very cautiously 

Still, it's a better question than a lot of the stuff that gets asked on his topic. At least MoC G1 has actual story significance, unlike say, the Kanohi of the unnamed ice Toa in Lhikan's team.

[Regitnui]

Let's think about it this way; What if the whole MU, up to the OoMN, didn't know about the MoCr's failsafe mechanism? They simply saw it as a unique and powerful mask. Hence why Karzahni and Artakha fought over it. Artakha isn't even aware that the tool he uses above all else could render everyone in the MU an automaton. Or perhaps Velika made the MoCr as part of the process that raised the MU to sapience. The brothers found it afterwards, when the recorded history of the mask begins.

[The 1st Shadow]

Let's think about it this way; What if the whole MU, up to the OoMN, didn't know about the MoCr's failsafe mechanism? They simply saw it as a unique and powerful mask. Hence why Karzahni and Artakha fought over it. Artakha isn't even aware that the tool he uses above all else could render everyone in the MU an automaton. Or perhaps Velika made the MoCr as part of the process that raised the MU to sapience. The brothers found it afterwards, when the recorded history of the mask begins.

Exactly. Not sure about the Velika bit. But it's true we don't know who within the Great Beings made the MoC... Perhaps Velika made it ahead of time, having already planned out his tampering mission, and the mask was his backup plan. Interesting thought.

[LewaLew]

I don't remember it ever being stated that the masks being destroyed was ever something the GBs planned for. The Ignika's countdown is completely different from its destruction. A completed countdown is a kill switch, while a destroyed Ignika results in an explosion of life energy, and therefore a bunch of inanimate objects made into living things.

[The 1st Shadow]

I don't remember it ever being stated that the masks being destroyed was ever something the GBs planned for. The Ignika's countdown is completely different from its destruction. A completed countdown is a kill switch, while a destroyed Ignika results in an explosion of life energy, and therefore a bunch of inanimate objects made into living things.

Masks being destroyed was not part of the plan, no.

 

I checked BS01, and, interestingly, it lacks any information on what destroying the Ignika would do. I recall it being confirmed that it would kill every living thing, achieving the same result as the countdown. Perhaps Fishers has a Greg quote for us?

[LewaLew]

I'm fairly certain GregF said it would be essentially the opposite of the countdown result, since destroying the mask causes it to violently unleash its power uncontrollably. So, if you smash the Vahi, time is irreparably warped, and if you destroy the Ignika, things that shouldn't be alive (e.g. rocks, armor, water) come to life, and some other things probably die, age slower/faster than normal, or other random life-based effects.

[Naota Takizawa]

If you destroy the mask of creation, the MU inhabitants will lose their creative ability and if that happens, they can't make everyday things like tools and if they can't make tools, then they can't do their jobs and if they can't do their jobs, then Mata Nui begins dying due to the lack of proper maintenance. There, question answered, topic closed.             

[The 1st Shadow]

If you destroy the mask of creation, the MU inhabitants will lose their creative ability and if that happens, they can't make everyday things like tools and if they can't make tools, then they can't do their jobs and if they can't do their jobs, then Mata Nui begins dying due to the lack of proper maintenance. There, question answered, topic closed.             

That sounds boring. I get that it's the canon description, but what does it mean? iPhones are "new" compared to landlines, for example. Does that mean "lose the ability to make things," or does it mean "incapable of imagination in regards to innovation?" If the former, then life in the MU would go on with everything that already existed, which anyone would probably be able to repair, since that's not building from scratch. But if it's the latter, then it means they'd still be able to make hammers and masks and such, but Mask Makers would be unable to experiment with mask designs and styles, and engineers would be stuck with making only basic transportation, rather than making things like that fancy moto-sled Matau crashed.

[fishers64]

I recall it being confirmed that it would kill every living thing, achieving the same result as the countdown. Perhaps Fishers has a Greg quote for us?

I never have any Greg quotes. 

 

7. If the Vahi or Ignika were destroyed, would it affect alternate dimensions like the DM dimension? 

 

7) Not directly, but if the Ignika drains all life from the universe, then the pocket dimensions would collapse too eventually.

 

That's all I could grab with a quick search. I'll try the more painful brain-draining version tomorrow.

[The Editor]

 

Let's think about it this way; What if the whole MU, up to the OoMN, didn't know about the MoCr's failsafe mechanism? They simply saw it as a unique and powerful mask. Hence why Karzahni and Artakha fought over it. Artakha isn't even aware that the tool he uses above all else could render everyone in the MU an automaton. Or perhaps Velika made the MoCr as part of the process that raised the MU to sapience. The brothers found it afterwards, when the recorded history of the mask begins.

Exactly. Not sure about the Velika bit. But it's true we don't know who within the Great Beings made the MoC... Perhaps Velika made it ahead of time, having already planned out his tampering mission, and the mask was his backup plan. Interesting thought.

 

 

Oh. From reading BS01, I thought the GBs gave Artakha the mask after watching him and Karzahni slug it out. But the wording there allows for what you guys said too, so... my bad :^P I guess I back this theory now.

[fishers64]

 

I recall it being confirmed that it would kill every living thing, achieving the same result as the countdown. Perhaps Fishers has a Greg quote for us?

I never have any Greg quotes. 

 

7. If the Vahi or Ignika were destroyed, would it affect alternate dimensions like the DM dimension? 

 

7) Not directly, but if the Ignika drains all life from the universe, then the pocket dimensions would collapse too eventually.

 

That's all I could grab with a quick search. I'll try the more painful brain-draining version tomorrow.

 

Or two weeks later. *is guilt-tripped*

 

 

 

4a) Destroy the mask of time, the universe timeline rips, tears and folds upon itself. Destroy the mask of life, and all life will cease to exist. But is there something else (besides Mata Nui, and it doesn't have to be a mask) that when destroyed, instead of just creating chaos with time or draining all life form the universe, will end the existence of the universe once and for all?

 

 

4a) Not that we know of, no

 

* * *

 

One error in question four: Greg has told myself (and another member) in PMs that if the mask of life was destroyed EVERYTHING would come alive... And it would all be hungry.

 

 

 

9) Would everything the Ignika has done be undone if it was destroyed?  

   

 

  9) I would say no. If it was destroyed, the force of Life would be unleashed on the universe, though, which would bring about a cataclysmic disaster.

Final bingo.

Edited November 22, 2015 by fishers64