The Knowledge Towers

The Knowledge Towers were the dominant architectural feature of Ko-MetruKo-MetruKo-Metru was Metru Nui's frozen intellectual quarter, home to the scholarly Ko-Matoran race., the quiet district of Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive.. They were crystalline structures grown from seeded knowledge crystals, and they housed the Ko-MatoranKo-MatoranIce Matoran who were quiet scholars and star-watchers, built to survive the frozen peaks of Ko-Wahi. scholars and seers who studied the future on behalf of the city. The complex of towers stood at the heart of Ko-MetruKo-MetruKo-Metru was Metru Nui's frozen intellectual quarter, home to the scholarly Ko-Matoran race. and rose so high that ice often gathered along their upper surfaces. The towers functioned as offices, libraries, and observation posts in roughly equal measure, and the work performed inside them was considered central to the long-term planning of the Matoran UniverseMatoran UniverseA civilization of biomechanical beings living inside a colossal robot, destroyed when Teridax seized control..

Crystalline construction#

Each 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. began as a single knowledge crystal roughly the size of a MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body.'s hand. The crystal was placed into one of the cradles set into the district and grew at a rapid pace until it stood alongside the other towers in the complex. The result was a tall, faceted spire of crystalline 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. that could be entered and used as a working space without further finishing. The towers therefore reflected the priorities of Ko-MetruKo-MetruKo-Metru was Metru Nui's frozen intellectual quarter, home to the scholarly Ko-Matoran race. directly: nothing was added to soften the material, and the cold of the upper levels was treated as part of the working environment rather than a defect of it.

The towers stood so high that their rooftops were often sheathed in ice. The cold, the silence, and the verticality of the complex combined to produce a working atmosphere that suited the Ko-MatoranKo-MatoranIce Matoran who were quiet scholars and star-watchers, built to survive the frozen peaks of Ko-Wahi., whose natural resistance to extreme temperature made them well adapted to the upper chambers. The presence of permanent ice on the highest towers later proved significant when one of the Great Disks was recovered from inside an icicle hanging from one of those summits.

Memory crystals were the principal recording medium within the towers. Data was committed to a crystal by physical contact with a scholar, but the operation had to be triggered by the will of that scholar, which prevented accidental imprinting. The crystals were stored in arrangements that allowed retrieval by the scholar who had recorded them and by those granted access to a particular line of work. The same crystalline medium that formed the towers themselves also formed the records held within them, and the line between architecture and archive was correspondingly thin.

The work of the scholars#

The Ko-MatoranKo-MatoranIce Matoran who were quiet scholars and star-watchers, built to survive the frozen peaks of Ko-Wahi. of Ko-MetruKo-MetruKo-Metru was Metru Nui's frozen intellectual quarter, home to the scholarly Ko-Matoran race. were scholars and seers. Their work was the analysis of observation and the projection of likely futures, undertaken on behalf of the city and ultimately on behalf of the Matoran UniverseMatoran UniverseA civilization of biomechanical beings living inside a colossal robot, destroyed when Teridax seized control.. They were quiet to the point of being antisocial, spent long periods lost in thought, and considered the principle of Destiny central to their vocation. The Knowledge Towers gave the scholars the elevation, silence, and material to support that work over the long timescales it required.

Apprentices and errand runners moved between the towers carrying tablets, recorded crystals, and verbal messages. 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., an apprentice errand runner before his transformation, served the scholars and apprentices in the towers and was permitted to read certain tablets in the course of his duties. It was from one such tablet that he learned the location of the Ko-MetruKo-MetruKo-Metru was Metru Nui's frozen intellectual quarter, home to the scholarly Ko-Matoran race. Great Disk, knowledge that he later attempted to sell to the Po-MatoranPo-MatoranThe Stone-element Matoran of Po-Metru and Po-Koro, carvers and quarry workers, the most athletic of the Matoran types and the population behind the Kohlii and Akilini circuits. AhkmouAhkmouA Po-Matoran carver of Metru Nui, one of the six Great Disk holders, who collaborated with Makuta Teridax and later imposed false Turaga rule during Teridax's reign.. The arrangement of access within the towers therefore depended on trust and on the routine compartmentalisation of records, both of which could be subverted by an apprentice with motive.

SilenceSilence: the Soundless Dark HunterSilence was a Dark Hunter and a gift to the organization from Roodaka, whose Rhotuka was held responsible for his appearance. He generated a field that deadened all sound around him, making him an abductor who could take targets from the most heavily guarded places without a scream being heard. was enforced by the KeerakhKeerakhThe Vahki model assigned to Ko-Metru, the Keerakh enforced silence in the Knowledge Towers and subdued lawbreakers with staffs that scrambled a Matoran's sense of time and place., the VahkiVahkiMetru Nui's mechanical law enforcement squads, designed to maintain rigid order but ultimately undermined by chaos beyond their programming. model assigned to Ko-MetruKo-MetruKo-Metru was Metru Nui's frozen intellectual quarter, home to the scholarly Ko-Matoran race.. Disturbance of the silence within the towers was treated as cause for the KeerakhKeerakhThe Vahki model assigned to Ko-Metru, the Keerakh enforced silence in the Knowledge Towers and subdued lawbreakers with staffs that scrambled a Matoran's sense of time and place. to investigate, which gave the scholarly atmosphere of the district a coercive backstop. The principle was that prediction required uninterrupted thought, and the VahkiVahkiMetru Nui's mechanical law enforcement squads, designed to maintain rigid order but ultimately undermined by chaos beyond their programming. were used to guarantee the working conditions on which that thought depended.

Native fauna and infestation#

The crystalline upper reaches of the towers attracted 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 exploited the cold and the elevation. Ice Bats nested in the towers in destructive numbers, and a frenzied swarm could destroy considerable quantities of recorded information in a single passage through a working chamber. AirshipAirshipAirships were flying cargo vessels used across the Matoran Universe, based in Metru Nui at the Le-Metru Moto Hub and flown by skilled Le-Matoran pilots using Kanoka and pressurized protodermis for lift and thrust. pilots were known to avoid flying over Ko-MetruKo-MetruKo-Metru was Metru Nui's frozen intellectual quarter, home to the scholarly Ko-Matoran race. when the bats were active, which limited cargo movement above the district during the affected periods.

Crystal Climbers lived atop the towers in small, tight-knit groups, having learned that excessive nesting in one place would cause the tower beneath them to cave in. They preyed on the Ice Bats and were difficult to remove once established in a productive hunting area, which led to their classification as pests despite the service they performed against the bat population. The Frost Beetles, by contrast, attempted to force their way into the towers to consume the memory crystals stored inside. The Onu-MatoranOnu-MatoranEarth-wielding Matoran of the deep who adapted to darkness and built the Matoran Universe's defensive cavalry. researcher 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. advanced a theory that the Frost Beetles absorbed the contents of the crystals they ate and shared the resulting information through a hive arrangement, although the theory was never formally confirmed.

The presence of these 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. shaped the routine of the towers as much as the scholars did. Containment of the bats, prevention of beetle infestation, and tolerance of the climbers all factored into the daily working life of the district, and the KeerakhKeerakhThe Vahki model assigned to Ko-Metru, the Keerakh enforced silence in the Knowledge Towers and subdued lawbreakers with staffs that scrambled a Matoran's sense of time and place. were on occasion called on to address 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. intrusions as well as breaches of silence.

The Great Disk and the Toa Metru#

The towers played a central role in 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 Toa of IceToa of IceThe warrior role for guardians of the Ice element, typically drawn from Ko-Matoran, with the option to ascend to Turaga status., 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., and the Toa of EarthToa of EarthToa of Earth were quiet but exceptional guardians, suited to operating in subterranean darkness where other Toa would fail., WhenuaWhenuaToa Metru of Earth and later Turaga of Onu-Koro, formerly an Onu-Metru archivist whose career in the Archives shaped his role across the rescue of Metru Nui and the long residency on Mata Nui., travelled to Ko-MetruKo-MetruKo-Metru was Metru Nui's frozen intellectual quarter, home to the scholarly Ko-Matoran race. to recover the Ko-MetruKo-MetruKo-Metru was Metru Nui's frozen intellectual quarter, home to the scholarly Ko-Matoran race. Great Disk. The disk had been concealed inside an icicle hanging from one of the highest Knowledge Towers, and the location had been recorded on a tablet that 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. had read in the course of his apprentice work.

The recovery required WhenuaWhenuaToa Metru of Earth and later Turaga of Onu-Koro, formerly an Onu-Metru archivist whose career in the Archives shaped his role across the rescue of Metru Nui and the long residency on Mata Nui. to tunnel through a road below the towers as a diversion, drawing a KeerakhKeerakhThe Vahki model assigned to Ko-Metru, the Keerakh enforced silence in the Knowledge Towers and subdued lawbreakers with staffs that scrambled a Matoran's sense of time and place. squad away from the scene. With the patrol committed elsewhere, 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. climbed the tower and freed the disk from the icicle. The action, recorded in Trial by FireThe Quest for the Great Disks and the Burning of the King RootThe Toa Metru's hunt for the six Great Kanoka Disks across the districts of Metru Nui and their assault on the Morbuzakh's central core in the Great Furnace of Ta-Metru., demonstrated both the height of the upper tower levels and the practicality of using the lower district as a distraction zone while operating above it. 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. had himself received his Toa StoneToa StoneA stone imbued with Toa Power that transforms a destined Matoran into a Toa. within the Knowledge Towers earlier in the same crisis, and his familiarity with the complex was decisive in the operation.

Cataclysm and restoration#

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. toppled many of the great Knowledge Towers along with much of the rest of the city. The crystalline construction that had allowed the towers to be grown so rapidly also made them vulnerable to the shockwave that struck 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 moment of TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna.'s initial defeat. With the VahkiVahkiMetru Nui's mechanical law enforcement squads, designed to maintain rigid order but ultimately undermined by chaos beyond their programming. destroyed and the scholars evacuated or lost, the surviving towers fell into disuse and were colonised by the same 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 had previously been controlled within them. Crystal Climbers settled permanently in the ruins and later migrated to Mount IhuMount IhuA snow-capped peak in Ko-Wahi where Kopaka sought his first mask and Nuju honored his mentor. on the island above when the population resettled on the surface.

The Staff of ArtakhaArtakhaArtakha was the master craftsman of the Matoran Universe, ruler of a hidden island, and the forger of the Toa Mata, the Avohkii, and the Kraahkan. was eventually 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., and Ko-MetruKo-MetruKo-Metru was Metru Nui's frozen intellectual quarter, home to the scholarly Ko-Matoran race. was slowly rebuilt as the MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. returned to the city. The Knowledge Towers were reconstructed in the course of that work, although the scholarly population of the district was much reduced compared to its original size. When the Matoran UniverseMatoran UniverseA civilization of biomechanical beings living inside a colossal robot, destroyed when Teridax seized control. collapsed and the surviving population fled to the surface of Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint., the towers were abandoned for the final time. The memory crystals they had held, and the predictions recorded within them, were left in the empty district along with the rest of the Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive. infrastructure.