The Chute System

The ChuteChute: the Transport Tubes of Metru NuiA Chute was a pipe of liquid protodermis held together by a magnetic field, used across Metru Nui to carry Matoran, cargo, and Rahi. The system was run by the Le-Matoran and ran throughout the city until the Great Cataclysm left it abandoned. System was the principal transit network of Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive., a city-wide grid of suspended pipes carrying purified 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. and held in shape by magnetic containment fields. It connected the six metru, moved MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. workers and cargo between districts, and was controlled from the Moto-HubMoto HubThe vehicle factory at Metru Nui's center, where Le-Matoran built chutes and ground transports before the Great Cataclysm. in Le-MetruLe-MetruThe teal district where Le-Matoran managed everything that moved through Metru Nui, from chutes to airships. by Le-MatoranLe-MatoranGreen-powered Matoran obsessed with thrills and transport. They're basically Bionicle's daredevils. operators trained in chute mechanics and chute speak. The network functioned as the visible circulatory system of the city for most of its operational history and ceased to operate after 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..

Function and design#

Each chute was a length of purified 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. suspended in the open air and held in cylindrical shape by a magnetic containment field generated along its length. The contained liquid moved through the pipe at high speed under continuous flow, carrying anything inside it from one end of the route to the other. Cargo, MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. passengers, and on occasion 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. all travelled inside the same medium, separated by spacing rather than by partition.

The chutes ran above the streets of Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive. on raised supports and were a dominant visual feature of Le-MetruLe-MetruThe teal district where Le-Matoran managed everything that moved through Metru Nui, from chutes to airships., the district from which the network was administered. From a distance the metru appeared as a tangle of looping pipes interwoven with cables, with a green cable bearing a red stripe acting as the reliable guide back to a control centre for anyone lost in the surrounding infrastructure.

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. for the chutes was purified in Ga-MetruGa-MetruGa-Metru is a district of Metru Nui, home to the Ga-Matoran and the Bordakh., where the substance was processed from its silver unrefined form into the clear state used in transit, Kanoka manufacture, and tool production. The purified material was then routed through the network and recirculated under the management of the Le-MatoranLe-MatoranGreen-powered Matoran obsessed with thrills and transport. They're basically Bionicle's daredevils. operators.

Chute stations and boarding#

The recommended way of entering the system was through a chute station. Stations were distributed across the city, with a documented installation referred to in MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. civic records as ChuteChute: the Transport Tubes of Metru NuiA Chute was a pipe of liquid protodermis held together by a magnetic field, used across Metru Nui to carry Matoran, cargo, and Rahi. The system was run by the Le-Matoran and ran throughout the city until the Great Cataclysm left it abandoned. Station 445 among many others. At a station the flow within the chute slowed to a speed at which a MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. could step or jump into the medium safely. A chute attendant was on duty to direct passengers, monitor traffic, and answer routine queries about destinations and connections.

The station system supported the workings of the city by allowing controlled boarding from inside enclosed structures, with predictable connections between metru. NujuNujuNuju served as a Ko-Metru seer, Toa Metru of Ice, and Turaga of Ko-Koro who spoke only in bird calls translated by Matoro. made use of a chute station during his investigation of EhryeEhryeEhrye was a Ko-Matoran errand-runner of the Knowledge Towers, one of the six finders of a Great Disk, and a survivor of every era from Metru Nui through Spherus Magna.'s disappearance, speaking with the attendant about a passenger who had been seen boarding a chute toward a Knowledge TowerKnowledge TowerThe crystalline spires of Ko-Metru that housed memory crystals, sheltered the district's Scholars, and stored much of the city's accumulated knowledge. in Ko-MetruKo-MetruKo-Metru was Metru Nui's frozen intellectual quarter, home to the scholarly Ko-Matoran race.. The exchange, recorded in Mystery of Metru NuiThe Awakening of the Toa Metru and the Search for the Great DisksThe formation of the Toa Metru in the Great Temple, the recovery of the six Great Kanoka Disks, and the destruction of the King Root that ended the Morbuzakh crisis in Metru Nui., demonstrates the way the stations functioned as both transit nodes and observation points in the routine life of the city.

The alternative method, chute jumping, was illegal. It involved leaping at a moving chute during the brief fraction of a second in which the magnetic field wavered, allowing a body to pass through the outer layer of force and into the moving medium. The technique demanded precise timing. A mistimed jump risked the practitioner striking the outer wall of the chute and falling to the ground below. A successful entry still risked collision with cargo or with passengers already inside. The technique was attempted, successfully, by 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. during their escape 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..

Le-Metru and the Moto-Hub#

Le-MetruLe-MetruThe teal district where Le-Matoran managed everything that moved through Metru Nui, from chutes to airships. housed the control centre of the entire network. The Moto-HubMoto HubThe vehicle factory at Metru Nui's center, where Le-Matoran built chutes and ground transports before the Great Cataclysm., located at the heart of the district, served as the site of vehicle manufacturing factories and as the central administrative and control facility for the Chute System. Roughly half of the Le-MatoranLe-MatoranGreen-powered Matoran obsessed with thrills and transport. They're basically Bionicle's daredevils. population worked at the Moto-Hub itself, and the wider chute and transport sector employed close to three quarters of all Le-MatoranLe-MatoranGreen-powered Matoran obsessed with thrills and transport. They're basically Bionicle's daredevils. in the city.

The Moto-Hub also produced chutes, ground vehicles, and air vehicles, with ground vehicles tested on an attached Test TrackTest TrackThe vehicle testing facility in Le-Metru where Matau crashed and received his Toa Stone, transforming his destiny.. 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. was assigned to the Moto-Hub as a chute controller, working at the consoles that managed flow direction and station scheduling across the network. 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. spent much of his off-duty time at the same facility and was test-driving a bike-like transport on the Test TrackTest TrackThe vehicle testing facility in Le-Metru where Matau crashed and received his Toa Stone, transforming his destiny. when Toa MangaiToa MangaiThe defenders of Metru Nui before the Toa Metru arrived, a team that fell to betrayal and relentless war. LhikanLhikanToa of Fire, leader of the Toa Mangai, and the last Toa of Metru Nui, who surrendered his Toa Power to create the Toa Metru and died defending Vakama. gave him a Toa StoneToa StonesSmall stones charged with a portion of a Toa's power, used to awaken the dormant Toa Power within a destined Matoran and elevate them into a Toa..

Order across Le-MetruLe-MetruThe teal district where Le-Matoran managed everything that moved through Metru Nui, from chutes to airships. and its transit installations was kept by the VahkiVahkiMetru Nui's mechanical law enforcement squads, designed to maintain rigid order but ultimately undermined by chaos beyond their programming. VorzakhVorzakhThe Vahki model assigned to Le-Metru, the Vorzakh patrolled the chute network and transportation hubs of the air district and carried Staffs of Erasing that wiped a Matoran's higher cognitive functions and left the victim a walking shambler., the order-keeping units assigned to the district. The VorzakhVorzakhThe Vahki model assigned to Le-Metru, the Vorzakh patrolled the chute network and transportation hubs of the air district and carried Staffs of Erasing that wiped a Matoran's higher cognitive functions and left the victim a walking shambler. patrolled the chutes themselves on occasion, using the stations as access points and the flow as a pursuit medium when chasing fugitives through the network.

Hazards of the network#

The dominant hazard endemic to the network was the force sphere. A force sphere was a section of chute whose magnetic field had collapsed and folded in on itself, producing a self-sustaining magnetic mass that travelled along the inside of the affected line. The sphere drew in anything it passed, grew in strength with each accumulation, and would eventually destroy the section of chute it occupied through implosion. MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. caught inside a force sphere had no recorded means of escape. The Le-MetruLe-MetruThe teal district where Le-Matoran managed everything that moved through Metru Nui, from chutes to airships. Great KanokaKanoka DisksThe protodermis throwing disks of Metru Nui, used in Akilini sport, in Matoran self-defence, in Vahki weaponry, in mask-making, and as the signature armament of the Toa Metru. Disk lodged in a force sphere, and its recovery formed one of the tasks set for 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. during the Toa MetruToa Metru and Toa HordikaSix Matoran elevated by Lhikan to save their city, mutated by Visorak venom, and restored in time to deliver the population to safety.'s search for the six Great Disks.

The interior of the chutes was also a hunting ground for the Chute LurkerChute 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., a rare omnivorous 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. able to breathe 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. as readily as air. Chute Lurkers anchored themselves at sharp corners with their arms, where an approaching passenger had little warning, and grabbed MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body., smaller 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., or loose objects as they passed. Escape from a Chute LurkerChute 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.'s grip without external intervention was rare. The species preferred not to leave the interior of the network and abandoned it only after the Great Cataclysm damaged the chutes to the point where prey no longer travelled through.

Cargo collision was the third recurring hazard. Because cargo and passengers shared the same medium, a misjudged boarding, an unscheduled reversal of flow, or a deliberate sabotage could produce impacts inside the chute that the system itself could not prevent.

Sabotage and reversal#

The most consequential interference with the network during its operational life occurred when 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., acting for the Dark HuntersThe Dark HuntersA mercenary organization founded on Odina by The Shadowed One and Ancient, contracted across the Matoran Universe for assassination and theft, and ultimately reduced to a battered remnant by the fall of the universe itself., entered the central control station and coerced 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. into reversing the flow while the fugitive Toa MetruMetruIn the Matoran language a metru was a single district of Metru Nui; the city was divided into six such districts, one for each element, and the term covered both the place and the elemental community that lived in it. were inside the network. The reversal sent 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. careening out of control along the affected line. NokamaNokamaNokama served as Toa Metru of Water, endured the Hordika mutation, and led Ga-Koro and later Ga-Metru as Turaga through three eras. dug her hydroblades into the inner wall of the chute to anchor the group, the three Toa linked together, 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. cut an exit through the bottom of the chute with one of his aero slicers. The escape proved a turning point for 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., who discovered during the subsequent fall that he could glide using the aero slicers as wings. The sequence is recorded in Legends of Metru NuiLegends of Metru NuiLhikan's capture by Nidhiki and Krekka, the awakening of the six Toa Metru, the discovery that Turaga Dume had been replaced by Teridax, the Coliseum betrayal, and the duel above the Silver Sea that ended with the city sealed and the Matoran asleep. and in BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru NuiLegends of Metru NuiThe chronicle of how Toa Mangai Lhikan passed his power to six Matoran, how Metru Nui fell to Teridax, and how Toa Vakama forged the Kanohi Vahi..

The reversal validated a longstanding concern of the Le-MatoranLe-MatoranGreen-powered Matoran obsessed with thrills and transport. They're basically Bionicle's daredevils. operators. The chute controllers had long held that reversing flow across the central network risked destabilising the entire system. The single recorded reversal under NidhikiNidhikiOnce a guardian of Metru Nui, Nidhiki traded his Toa honor for Dark Hunter gold and paid the price.'s coercion appeared to cause little or no lasting damage to the wider grid, but the operators' general policy against the practice remained.

VahkiVahkiMetru Nui's mechanical law enforcement squads, designed to maintain rigid order but ultimately undermined by chaos beyond their programming. VorzakhVorzakhThe Vahki model assigned to Le-Metru, the Vorzakh patrolled the chute network and transportation hubs of the air district and carried Staffs of Erasing that wiped a Matoran's higher cognitive functions and left the victim a walking shambler. squads inflicted localised damage on the network during pursuit operations. In one engagement with 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., a VorzakhVorzakhThe Vahki model assigned to Le-Metru, the Vorzakh patrolled the chute network and transportation hubs of the air district and carried Staffs of Erasing that wiped a Matoran's higher cognitive functions and left the victim a walking shambler. squad destroyed a section of chute in order to capture him, an action recorded in BIONICLE 19: Enemies of Metru NuiSurrender or Run: The Vahki Chase Across Metru NuiThe Vahki sweep that scattered the Toa Metru after their failed audience at the Coliseum, the Bordakh's use of the Staff of Loyalty on Nokama, and Vakama's discovery that a Kanoka launcher could double as a flight tool.. 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. anchored himself to the ceiling of the chute with his tools and survived as the pursuing VahkiVahkiMetru Nui's mechanical law enforcement squads, designed to maintain rigid order but ultimately undermined by chaos beyond their programming. fell out of the breached section. The exchange illustrated how the VahkiVahkiMetru Nui's mechanical law enforcement squads, designed to maintain rigid order but ultimately undermined by chaos beyond their programming. treated network damage as an acceptable cost of enforcement.

A separate near-fatal incident involved OnewaOnewaOnewa served as Toa Metru of Stone, led Po-Koro through the Dark Time, and constructed the Metru Nui statue honoring the fallen Toa Mahri Matoro. and 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., whom NidhikiNidhikiOnce a guardian of Metru Nui, Nidhiki traded his Toa honor for Dark Hunter gold and paid the price. caught in a chute routed toward the furnaces of the Protodermis Reclamation YardProtodermis Reclamation YardThe Ta-Metru lot where broken Kanohi were held before being melted down at the adjacent Protodermis Reclamation Furnace, watched over by the Ta-Matoran Kalama. in Ta-MetruTa-MetruThe fire district where Ta-Matoran perfected their craft and powered Metru Nui's industry for thousands of years.. 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. absorbed the heat of the furnace and released it as a beam through the roof of the building, allowing the pair to escape destruction.

Decline after the Great Cataclysm#

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. devastated the city above and ended the operating life of the network. With sections of chute torn open, magnetic generators offline, and the Moto-HubMoto HubThe vehicle factory at Metru Nui's center, where Le-Matoran built chutes and ground transports before the Great Cataclysm. badly damaged, continuous transit through the system was no longer possible. The Chute Lurkers abandoned their hunting grounds and emerged into the city above, where they became targets of the VisorakVisorak (Rahi)Spider-like Rahi employed by the Brotherhood of Makuta whose name meant 'Stealers of Life' and whose swarms threatened the Matoran Universe. during the subsequent occupation. The Le-MatoranLe-MatoranGreen-powered Matoran obsessed with thrills and transport. They're basically Bionicle's daredevils. controllers, like the rest of the city's population, had been removed to Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years. before the disaster and were not present to maintain the equipment in any case.

When the Staff of ArtakhaThe Staff of ArtakhaA restoration artifact forged by Artakha himself, used by Helryx to reverse the environmental damage of the Great Cataclysm. was used to restore Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive., the Moto-HubMoto HubThe vehicle factory at Metru Nui's center, where Le-Matoran built chutes and ground transports before the Great Cataclysm. and broader structure of Le-MetruLe-MetruThe teal district where Le-Matoran managed everything that moved through Metru Nui, from chutes to airships. were rebuilt. The full operational chute network, however, was not returned to the central role it had previously occupied. By the time the Matoran UniverseMatoran UniverseA civilization of biomechanical beings living inside a colossal robot, destroyed when Teridax seized control. was abandoned and the surviving population resettled on Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint., the Chute System no longer functioned as a city-wide transit medium. The chutes that remained in Le-MetruLe-MetruThe teal district where Le-Matoran managed everything that moved through Metru Nui, from chutes to airships. stood as residual infrastructure of a city the MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. no longer needed to traverse.

Significance#

The Chute System defined daily movement in Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive. at the height of the city's operation. Employment in chute control and adjacent transport work accounted for the majority of the Le-MatoranLe-MatoranGreen-powered Matoran obsessed with thrills and transport. They're basically Bionicle's daredevils. population, and the network was the principal means by which goods from one metru reached another. Its operation, like that of the VahkiVahkiMetru Nui's mechanical law enforcement squads, designed to maintain rigid order but ultimately undermined by chaos beyond their programming. order-keepers and the AkiliniAkiliniAkilini was the principal sport of Metru Nui, played with Kanoka disks on the arena floor of the Coliseum and serving as both civic spectacle and the means by which the worth of a freshly forged disk was tested before mask-making. calendar, was a routine assumption of civic life rather than a feature noted by those who used it.

The network's decline followed the same pattern as the rest of the city. It was a piece of infrastructure built to a scale that assumed continuous occupation, continuous maintenance, and a population large enough to justify both. When 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. and the subsequent dispersal removed those conditions, the chutes ceased to operate, and no successor system replaced them within the surviving timeline of the Matoran UniverseMatoran UniverseA civilization of biomechanical beings living inside a colossal robot, destroyed when Teridax seized control..