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, wrecked in the Great Cataclysm and repaired when the city was restored. System was the main transport 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 web of tubes made 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 in shape by a magnetic sheath. It linked the six metru and moved MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. and cargo between districts. It was run by the Le-MatoranLe-MatoranGreen-powered Matoran obsessed with thrills and transport. They're basically Bionicle's daredevils., and its controls were housed in 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.. The system was badly damaged in 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 repaired when the city was restored. (BIONICLE: Metru Nui: City of Legends; BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated)

Function and design#

Each chute was a stream of magnetised 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 in place by an electromagnetic sheath, which made it flow at high speed. The field pulsed, weakening and strengthening every few seconds, so solid objects could pass through it at the right moment. Chutes ranged from small, single-Matoran tubes to huge cargo lines. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated; BIONICLE Adventures 1: Mystery of Metru Nui)

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. and stretched across the whole island, and they were thickest in Le-MetruLe-MetruThe teal district where Le-Matoran managed everything that moved through Metru Nui, from chutes to airships., the district that ran the network. (BIONICLE: Metru Nui: City of Legends; BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated)

Not all chutes were above ground. Old underwater chutes ran beneath the sea from Metru Nui to other places. Most had been abandoned long ago and were in poor repair, but they drew power from a source the Matoran never found and kept working even when the city's surface chutes lost power. Rahi, the Visorak horde among them, used these chutes to reach the city. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated; BIONICLE Adventures 9: Web of Shadows)

Chute stations and boarding#

The usual way into the system was a chute station. There the flow slowed and the magnetic field weakened enough for a MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. to pass through and climb in, or for cargo to be loaded and unloaded. Ladders led from ground level up to the boarding platforms. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated)

Stations were scattered across the city. Chute station 445 was the busiest in Po-MetruPo-MetruMetru Nui's Stone District, home to carvers whose work defined the city and site of an ancient conflict that threatened to divide it., because it linked to all the other districts, and it was there that 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. caught up with AhkmouAhkmouA Po-Matoran carver of Metru Nui, one of the six Great Disk holders, who betrayed his fellow Matoran to the Dark Hunters, served Makuta Teridax, and became a false Turaga during Teridax's reign. during the search for the Great Disks. (BIONICLE Adventures 1: Mystery of Metru Nui)

The alternative, chute diving, was illegal. It meant jumping into a chute outside a station, guessing when the field would be weak enough. A badly timed jump could land the Matoran on a hard field and knock them off. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated)

Le-Metru and the Moto-Hub#

The Moto-HubMoto HubThe vehicle factory at Metru Nui's center, where Le-Matoran built chutes and ground transports before the Great Cataclysm. at the heart of Le-MetruLe-MetruThe teal district where Le-Matoran managed everything that moved through Metru Nui, from chutes to airships. was home to the city's vehicle factories and to the controls of the chute system. Every vehicle design in Metru Nui was modelled, tested and approved or rejected there, and roughly half of the Le-MatoranLe-MatoranGreen-powered Matoran obsessed with thrills and transport. They're basically Bionicle's daredevils. worked in the building. (BIONICLE: Metru Nui: City of Legends)

The Moto-Hub also held several chute stations and a Test TrackTest TrackThe vehicle testing facility in Le-Metru where Matau crashed and received his Toa Stone, transforming his destiny. on its roof, where new vehicles were put through their paces. 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 a lot of time on the track before he became a Toa, and it was there that 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.'s 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. reached him. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated; BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui)

Order on the chutes, as everywhere in Metru Nui, was kept by the VahkiVahkiMetru Nui's mechanical law enforcement squads, designed to maintain rigid order but ultimately undermined by chaos beyond their programming., and they chased fugitives through the network when they had to. (BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui; BIONICLE 19: Enemies of Metru Nui)

Hazards of the network#

The best-known hazard was the force sphere. Now and then a flaw would make a piece of a chute's field break off and wrap around itself, forming a sphere of magnetic energy that raced through the chutes sucking in tools, junk, KanokaKanoka DisksThe protodermis disks of Metru Nui, used for sport, self-defence and machinery, carried by the Vahki, and melted down to forge Kanohi masks. disks and anything else in its path. The longer it lasted, the stronger it got, until the chute it was in collapsed and the sphere imploded, destroying everything inside. During the search for the Great Disks, 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. had to pull the Le-MetruLe-MetruThe teal district where Le-Matoran managed everything that moved through Metru Nui, from chutes to airships. Great Disk out of a force sphere, which he managed by whipping up a tornado inside it to push himself free. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated; BIONICLE Adventures 1: Mystery of Metru Nui; BIONICLE 17: Disks of Danger)

The chutes were also a hunting ground for the Chute LurkerChute 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., a 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 could 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 easily as air. Chute Lurkers anchored themselves at sharp corners, where an oncoming traveller had little warning, and grabbed whatever passed. Escape without outside help was rare. They left the chutes only after the Great Cataclysm damaged the network and cut off their food. (BIONICLE: Rahi Beasts; BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated)

Sabotage and reversal#

After MakutaMakuta (Species)Shadowy Antidermis beings and the Brotherhood's elite, Makuta commanded darkness and shaped the Matoran Universe's fate. TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna., disguised as TuragaTuragaFormer Toa who fulfilled their destiny and transformed into leaders. Turaga wield Noble Kanohi masks and weakened elemental powers, guiding their communities. DumeDumeDume is a Turaga of Fire and the former ruler of Metru Nui, distinguished by his red and black coloring and the Noble Kanohi Kiril, the Mask of Regeneration. As a member of the Turaga of Metru Nui, he wields a Staff of Office and commands a weakened mastery of Fire. He later resides on the reformed Spherus Magna., branded the Toa Metru impostors, 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 HuntersThe Dark HuntersA band of mercenaries and thieves founded on Odina by the Shadowed One and Ancient, hired out across the Matoran Universe, and left a battered ruin by the time Teridax ruled the universe. 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. burst into a chute control room and 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 the flow with the three Toa inside. The Toa got out by hooking Nokama's hydroblades onto one of the chute's metal supports and swinging to safety. (BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui; BIONICLE Adventures 4: Legends of Metru Nui)

Reversing a chute was something the workers feared, which is why Kongu had to be forced into it. (BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui; BIONICLE Adventures 4: Legends of Metru Nui)

Later the same three Toa were attacked by Vahki BordakhBordakhThe Vahki model assigned to Ga-Metru, the Bordakh patrolled the canals and schools of the academic district and carried Staffs of Loyalty that turned any Matoran they struck into a willing informant against their own friends.. 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. led the pursuers into a nearby chute, then spotted that a stretch of it ahead had been wrecked by Vahki 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.. He hooked his aero slicers onto one of the chute rings and stopped himself in time, while the Vahki shot out of the gap and crashed to the ground. (BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui; BIONICLE 19: Enemies of Metru Nui)

The Dark Hunters had already come close to killing two Toa elsewhere. In the Protodermis Reclamation Center in Ta-MetruTa-MetruThe fire district where Ta-Matoran perfected their craft and powered Metru Nui's industry for thousands of years., NidhikiNidhikiOnce a guardian of Metru Nui, Nidhiki traded his Toa honor for Dark Hunter gold and paid the price. forced 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. and 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. into a disposal shaft above the furnace, and Vakama saved them both by absorbing the fire and blasting it away. (BIONICLE Adventures 2: Trial by Fire)

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. damaged the chutes heavily, along with the rest of the city. The Chute Lurkers abandoned their hunting grounds and came out into the open, where 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. preyed on them. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated; BIONICLE: Rahi Beasts)

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 chute system was repaired along with everything else. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated)

Significance#

The Chute System shaped daily life in Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive.. It was the quickest way between the metru, and running it gave work to a big share of the Le-MatoranLe-MatoranGreen-powered Matoran obsessed with thrills and transport. They're basically Bionicle's daredevils.. (BIONICLE: Metru Nui: City of Legends; BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated)