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-MatoranGreen-powered Matoran obsessed with thrills and transport. They're basically Bionicle's daredevils. of Le-MetruLe-MetruThe teal district where Le-Matoran managed everything that moved through Metru Nui, from chutes to airships.. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated; BIONICLE: Metru Nui: City of Legends)

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 piece of a chute's magnetic field wrapped around itself, swept up loose objects, and imploded inside the transport network., a deadly sphere that travelled through the network until it eventually imploded, killing everything caught within it. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated; BIONICLE Adventures 1: Mystery of Metru Nui)

The Chutes were also used as hunting ground by the Chute LurkersChute LurkerChute Lurkers were amphibious, omnivorous Rahi that hunted inside the protodermis chutes of Metru Nui, anchoring at sharp corners to seize passing travellers 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 anchored themselves at sharp corners and grabbed travellers moving through the tubes. (BIONICLE: Rahi Beasts)

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 and the field weakened enough that boarding could be done safely. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated)

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 when the pulsing magnetic field was weak enough to pass through the outer layer and into the flow inside. If the jump was mistimed, the jumper could strike a hard field and be knocked off, falling to the ground below. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated)

The Le-Matoran and the system#

The Chute network was the responsibility of the Le-MatoranLe-MatoranGreen-powered Matoran obsessed with thrills and transport. They're basically Bionicle's daredevils. 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. Reversing a Chute's flow was something they wouldn't do willingly. When 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. fled the Coliseum by Chute, the Dark Hunters 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. forced the controller KonguKonguKongu captained Le-Koro's Gukko Force before lightning from the red star turned him into a Toa of Air, who later served among the Toa Mahri. to reverse it with the Toa inside, and the three escaped only by hooking Nokama's hydroblades onto a support and swinging clear. (BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui; BIONICLE: Metru Nui: City of Legends)

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. left the Chutes of Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive. heavily damaged, but they were repaired when the Staff of Artakha was used to restore the city. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated)