The Core Processor

The Core Processor was a vast, complex system of machinery under the ColiseumThe ColiseumCentral tower of Metru Nui, serving as government seat, akilini arena and, during Teridax's masquerade, the place from which the city's Matoran were rounded up into spheres. of 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 built as the place where Mata NuiMata NuiBuilt by the Great Beings to restore Spherus Magna, Mata Nui sustained an entire civilisation inside his body, was deposed by Teridax, and reclaimed his purpose as a mortal on Bara Magna.'s spirit would reside and from which he could maintain the universe. TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna. got there first when the Great Spirit was revived, used it to take over the Matoran UniverseMatoran UniverseA civilization of biomechanical beings living inside a colossal robot, destroyed when Teridax seized control., and was killed when it was smashed during the battle on Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna.. (Dwellers in Darkness; BIONICLE Legends 11: The Final Battle; BIONICLE Glatorian 7: Rebirth)

Design and original purpose#

The Core Processor was built along with the rest of the Matoran UniverseMatoran UniverseA civilization of biomechanical beings living inside a colossal robot, destroyed when Teridax seized control. by the Great BeingsThe Great BeingsScholar-inventors of Spherus Magna whose creations shaped the Matoran Universe and whose absence defined the conflicts that followed.. It was designed as the place where Mata NuiMata NuiBuilt by the Great Beings to restore Spherus Magna, Mata Nui sustained an entire civilisation inside his body, was deposed by Teridax, and reclaimed his purpose as a mortal on Bara Magna.'s spirit would reside and from which he could maintain the universe. As Brutaka put it, standing there was about as close to the mind of Mata Nui as anyone could get. (Dwellers in Darkness)

It lay deep beneath the ColiseumThe ColiseumCentral tower of Metru Nui, serving as government seat, akilini arena and, during Teridax's masquerade, the place from which the city's Matoran were rounded up into spheres., heavily defended against anyone with a physical body, with traps such as magnetised walls and chambers that flooded with molten protodermis. It had no defence against an intruder with no physical form. (Dwellers in Darkness)

Inside, in front of some of the machinery, lay the bodies of two dead GlatorianGlatorianTribal warriors of Spherus Magna who settled disputes through arena combat, until the Skrall conquest enslaved most of them., one of the jungle tribe and one of the fire tribe. The first visitors to see them realised they came from a different world. (Dwellers in Darkness)

The Great Cataclysm and the dormant millennium#

Mata Nui ruled the universe for a very long time until Teridax's actions caused 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 put the Great Spirit into a coma. (Dwellers in Darkness; BIONICLE Legends 11: The Final Battle)

A thousand years later, the cracking ground around the ColiseumThe ColiseumCentral tower of Metru Nui, serving as government seat, akilini arena and, during Teridax's masquerade, the place from which the city's Matoran were rounded up into spheres. was a sign that the Great Spirit's life was in danger. Mata Nui died, but was quickly brought back by MatoroMatoroA quiet Ko-Matoran translator who became a Toa Inika and then a Toa Mahri, Matoro gave his life with the Mask of Life to restore Mata Nui.'s use of the Kanohi IgnikaThe Mask of Life (Kanohi Ignika), explainedA failsafe forged by the Great Beings to recharge a god. It curses everyone who touches it, and by the end of Bionicle it had learned how to be a hero.. His spirit, though, had been separated from the core processor. (BIONICLE: World; Dwellers in Darkness; BIONICLE Legends 11: The Final Battle)

Discovery, access, and Teridax's takeover#

Before Mata Nui could return, TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna., whose body had become pure energy, slipped through the cracks under the Coliseum and reached the core processor, blocking the Great Spirit from re-entering. (Dwellers in Darkness; BIONICLE Legends 11: The Final Battle)

HelryxHelryx: the first Toa ever createdHelryx was the first Toa ever made, commissioned by the Great Beings on Artakha long before the Toa Mata. She founded and led the Order of Mata Nui. sent the Toa HagahToa HagahElite Toa teams appointed by the Brotherhood of Makuta to serve as personal guardians, later rebelling against their creators. after him, with ZaktanZaktanMutated Skakdi leader of the Piraka, formerly a Dark Hunter whose body was dissolved into a colony of Protodites by the Shadowed One and reformed with its consciousness intact. as their guide. After a clash with the Toa MahriToa Inika and Toa MahriSix ordinary Matoran transformed by lightning from the Red Star into heroes who ultimately revived the Great Spirit itself., the two teams found a way under the Coliseum without destroying it. Below, the Toa Hagah found a carving reading "Bara Magna" and then walked into a trap that pinned them magnetically to a wall as molten protodermis poured in. Makuta MiserixMiserixThe deposed Makuta leader clawed back from exile to hunt the brother who stole his throne. saved them, and together they pushed on into the main chamber. (Dwellers in Darkness)

Helryx and KeetonguKeetonguThe legendary Rahi who broke the Visorak siege and lived to prove he was worth the legend. arrived through a dimensional portal, followed moments later by AxonnAxonnAxonn served as an arbitrator under the Hand of Artakha and later as an Order of Mata Nui agent, guarding the Kanohi Ignika on Voya Nui for thousands of years. and BrutakaBrutakaBrutaka guarded the Kanohi Ignika on Voya Nui, betrayed the Order during the Piraka incursion, was mutated in the Pit, and later led the Order's strike team to free Miserix.. Teridax revealed himself, shot a beam at Zaktan, explained his plan and the purpose of the room, and then showed off his new powers: he trapped Miserix in an illusion, put the Toa Hagah into a trance and sent Axonn, Brutaka and Keetongu away to the southern islands, leaving Helryx his prisoner. (Dwellers in Darkness)

Shortly afterwards, the Toa NuvaToa Mata and Toa NuvaSix biomechanical heroes created by the Great Beings to awaken Mata Nui and defeat the Brotherhood, transformed once and tested across an entire age. woke Mata Nui in Karda NuiKarda NuiThe vast cavern at the core of the Matoran universe, home of the Av-Matoran's Sky Villages and the Codrex, and the site of the battle to awaken Mata Nui., and Teridax, sitting where the Great Spirit's spirit should have been, took control of the whole body. (BIONICLE Legends 11: The Final Battle)

The confrontation inside the processor#

Helryx decided to destroy the chamber with a water nova blast, sparing the worlds beyond the universe from Teridax. Before she could, Tren KromTren KromTren Krom maintained the Matoran Universe before Mata Nui's activation and spent the following hundred millennia fused to a cave on a remote island., occupying LewaLewaToa of Air, member of the Toa Mata and Toa Nuva, whose career was marked by repeated possession, body theft, and aerial campaigns from Le-Wahi to Karda Nui.'s body, arrived with KapuraKapuraKapura was a red Matoran of Fire who served as a member of the Ta-Koro Guard and formerly as part of the Chronicler's Company. A native of Metru Nui, he later worked as a Vat Controller there, wearing a powerless Ruru on Mata Nui and a powerless Pakari on Metru Nui, and ultimately settled on Bota Magna on Spherus Magna., HafuHafuHafu was a Po-Matoran Carver of Po-Koro, recognized as a Master Carver, who served in the Chronicler's Company and survived the Reign of Shadows. and TuyetTuyetA Toa of Water caught in the Order's machinations, Tuyet turned from peer-seeker to rebel-schemer.. Tren Krom freed Miserix and started using the equipment to send a message to Mata Nui. Axonn and Brutaka returned, and the group split down the middle: Helryx, Miserix and Axonn wanted to end Teridax's reign, while Tuyet, Tren Krom and Brutaka wanted the universe spared. (Reign of Shadows)

The fight that followed was cut short when ArtakhaArtakhaArtakha is the master craftsman of the Matoran Universe, ruler of a hidden island where the Toa Mata came into being and the Avohkii was forged. teleported into the room. He forced Tren Krom out of Lewa's body, letting Lewa's mind return, and refused to let them destroy the whole universe. Then Teridax told them all to leave and teleported them out of the core processor into space. (Reign of Shadows)

Destruction at Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna.#

The core processor met its end on Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna.. Mata Nui, now in the prototype robot the Great Beings had left there, fought Teridax in the Great Spirit Robot. As TahuTahu (2001)Tahu was the Toa Mata of Fire and leader of the team, from his first landing on Ta-Wahi Beach to the destruction of Teridax's Rahkshi army on Bara Magna with the Golden Armor. used the Golden ArmorThe Golden ArmorA glossary entry on the golden armor, the six-piece relic worn by Tahu on Bara Magna, and the 2015 reboot's six Golden Masks of Power it is often confused with. to wipe out Teridax's Rahkshi, Mata Nui pushed Teridax's head into the path of a falling fragment of Aqua MagnaAqua MagnaThe endless ocean where the Matoran Universe found refuge and Mata Nui made his final stand.. (BIONICLE Glatorian 7: Rebirth; BIONICLE: Journey's End)

The impact smashed the core processor and killed Teridax, ending his reign. (BIONICLE Glatorian 7: Rebirth; BIONICLE: Journey's End)

The core processor first appears in BIONICLE Legends 9: Shadows in the Sky, though most of what's known about it comes from Dwellers in Darkness and Reign of Shadows. (BIONICLE Legends 9: Shadows in the Sky; Dwellers in Darkness; Reign of Shadows)