Chute: the Transport Tubes of Metru Nui

A Chute was a pipe of liquid protodermisProtodermisThe engineered substance building the Matoran Universe, protodermis exists in countless refined states from mundane metal to diamond-hard crystal to the destruction-or-transformation force of energized form. held together by a magnetic field, one of the transport conduits that ran throughout Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive.. The Chutes carried MatoranMatoran UniverseA civilization of biomechanical beings living inside a colossal robot, destroyed when Teridax seized control., cargo and RahiRahiThe Rahi were the biomechanical wildlife of the Matoran Universe, built largely by the Brotherhood of Makuta, ranging from background fauna to engineered war beasts. across the city, and they were run by the Le-MatoranLe-MetruThe teal district where Le-Matoran managed everything that moved through Metru Nui, from chutes to airships. of Le-MetruLe-MetruThe teal district where Le-Matoran managed everything that moved through Metru Nui, from chutes to airships..

Function and hazards#

Each Chute held a flow of liquid protodermisProtodermisThe engineered substance building the Matoran Universe, protodermis exists in countless refined states from mundane metal to diamond-hard crystal to the destruction-or-transformation force of energized form. within a magnetic field, and that flow carried whatever entered it from one part of Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive. to another, whether MatoranMatoran UniverseA civilization of biomechanical beings living inside a colossal robot, destroyed when Teridax seized control., cargo or RahiRahiThe Rahi were the biomechanical wildlife of the Matoran Universe, built largely by the Brotherhood of Makuta, ranging from background fauna to engineered war beasts.. The system was not without danger. Occasionally the fields would fold in on themselves and form a force sphereForce SphereThe Metru Nui chute-system hazard in which a broken segment of magnetic field wrapped around itself, swept up debris, and imploded inside the transport network., a deadly sphere that travelled through the network until it eventually imploded, killing everything caught within it.

The Chutes were also used as hunting ground by the Chute LurkersChute LurkerChute Lurkers were a rare type of omnivorous Rahi that hunted inside the protodermis chutes of Metru Nui, anchoring at sharp corners to seize passing travelers before the Great Cataclysm drove them out., RahiRahiThe Rahi were the biomechanical wildlife of the Matoran Universe, built largely by the Brotherhood of Makuta, ranging from background fauna to engineered war beasts. that preyed on travellers moving through the tubes.

Boarding a Chute#

There were two ways to board a Chute. The recommended method was to use a chute station. These stations stood all over Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive., and at each one the flow slowed enough that boarding could be done safely.

The other method, known as Chute Jumping, was illegal, though it was still practised by some of the more daring MatoranMatoran UniverseA civilization of biomechanical beings living inside a colossal robot, destroyed when Teridax seized control.. Chute Jumping meant leaping onto a Chute during the split-seconds when the magnetic energy wavered, passing straight through the outer layer of force and into the flow inside. The practice was risky for two reasons. If the jump was mistimed, the jumper could strike the outer layer hard and fall away from the Chute to the ground far below. Even a successful entry carried the chance of colliding with cargo or other passengers already inside. VakamaVakamaA Ta-Metru maskmaker transformed into the Toa Metru of Fire, leader of his team through the Visorak war, and Turaga of Ta-Koro for a thousand years., NokamaNokamaNokama served as Toa Metru of Water, endured the Hordika mutation, and led Ga-Koro and later Ga-Metru as Turaga through three eras. and MatauMatauA former Le-Metru test driver who became a Toa Metru, Matau wielded air, illusion, and shape-shifting before sacrificing his Toa power to wake the sleeping Matoran. once boarded a Chute by jumping as they fled from NidhikiNidhikiOnce a guardian of Metru Nui, Nidhiki traded his Toa honor for Dark Hunter gold and paid the price. and KrekkaKrekkaA brutish but ineffective Dark Hunter with no powers or masks, Krekka was outmatched from his first moments in Metru Nui., and the attempt succeeded.

The Le-Matoran and the system#

The Chute network was the responsibility of the Le-MatoranLe-MetruThe teal district where Le-Matoran managed everything that moved through Metru Nui, from chutes to airships. of Le-MetruLe-MetruThe teal district where Le-Matoran managed everything that moved through Metru Nui, from chutes to airships., who ran and maintained it. They feared that reversing a Chute's flow could destabilise the entire city-wide system. That fear was put to the test when NidhikiNidhikiOnce a guardian of Metru Nui, Nidhiki traded his Toa honor for Dark Hunter gold and paid the price. once forced KonguKonguKongu commanded Le-Koro's Gukko Force before a strike from the Kanohi Ignika transformed him into a Toa of Air who later served among the Toa Mahri. to reverse a Chute, yet the act produced little if any lasting harm to the network.

The Chutes ceased operation after the devastation that the Great CataclysmThe Great CataclysmThe day Makuta Teridax put the Great Spirit to sleep, the Great Spirit Robot fell from the sky, Metru Nui flooded, and Voya Nui tore loose from the Southern Continent. brought to Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive., and they were left abandoned for good once the MatoranMatoran UniverseA civilization of biomechanical beings living inside a colossal robot, destroyed when Teridax seized control. evacuated the Matoran UniverseMatoran UniverseA civilization of biomechanical beings living inside a colossal robot, destroyed when Teridax seized control. for Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint..