Protodermis Labs

The 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. Labs were a research facility located in Ga-MetruGa-MetruGa-Metru is a district of Metru Nui, home to the Ga-Matoran and the Bordakh., the city of learning within Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive.. Ga-MatoranGa-MatoranThe Water-element Matoran of Ga-Metru and Ga-Koro, exclusively female, who taught the schools of Metru Nui and crewed the boats and bridges of the Mata Nui coast. scholars working at the labs studied the properties of 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 it was within their walls that the now-canonical rule governing energized protodermisEnergized ProtodermisA sentient substance that could remake or annihilate any being that touched it. One of the Matoran Universe's most lethal hazards. was first documented: the substance would transform a being if transformation was its destiny, and would kill it otherwise.

Position Within Ga-MetruGa-MetruGa-Metru is a district of Metru Nui, home to the Ga-Matoran and the Bordakh.#

The 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. Labs were one of Ga-MetruGa-MetruGa-Metru is a district of Metru Nui, home to the Ga-Matoran and the Bordakh.'s listed locations, alongside the Great TempleGreat TempleThe Great Temple is a structure situated in Ga-Metru, Metru Nui, associated with the Ga-Matoran and the Bordakh. It formerly fell under the influence of Teridax, though it currently holds no such power., VhisolaVhisolaVhisola was a Ga-Matoran student of Nokama, one of the six finders of a Great Disk, whose research deduced the location of the Morbuzakh King Root.'s home, NokamaNokamaNokama served as Toa Metru of Water, endured the Hordika mutation, and led Ga-Koro and later Ga-Metru as Turaga through three eras.'s Classroom, the Ga-MetruGa-MetruGa-Metru is a district of Metru Nui, home to the Ga-Matoran and the Bordakh. Docks, Protodermis FallsProtodermis FallsThe waterfall of liquid Protodermis in Ga-Metru, central to the water district's purification work and bound to the fate of the substance that flowed through Metru Nui., the Matoran Recharge CenterMatoran Recharge CenterA Metru Nui feeding station where Matoran absorbed energy once yearly, destroyed in the Great Cataclysm and repaired long after., and the Fountains of WisdomFountains of WisdomThe contemplative fountains of Ga-Metru, sites of Matoran reflection that were broken in the Great Cataclysm and restored a thousand years later by the Staff of Artakha.. Their placement in the metru of learning matched the scholarly culture of the district, which sustained Turaga NokamaNokamaNokama served as Toa Metru of Water, endured the Hordika mutation, and led Ga-Koro and later Ga-Metru as Turaga through three eras.'s earlier career as a teacher and supported the broader academic life of Ga-MetruGa-MetruGa-Metru is a district of Metru Nui, home to the Ga-Matoran and the Bordakh..

The labs functioned as a focused research site. The Ga-MatoranGa-MatoranThe Water-element Matoran of Ga-Metru and Ga-Koro, exclusively female, who taught the schools of Metru Nui and crewed the boats and bridges of the Mata Nui coast. assigned to them ran experiments on protodermis and documented results, building the body of knowledge that later experimenters would draw upon.

The Destiny Rule#

The energized-protodermis rule was the most significant finding to come out of the labs. The substance transformed any being whose destiny was to be transformed, and killed any other being it contacted in sufficient quantity. The rule shaped subsequent understanding of 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. across the Matoran UniverseMatoran UniverseA civilization of biomechanical beings living inside a colossal robot, destroyed when Teridax seized control..

The clearest demonstration came during the transformation of the Toa MataWho are the Toa Mata?Six warriors built to order by Artakha, stored in canisters, dropped into the ocean. This is the origin story of Bionicle's heroes and why their first week of work was entirely amnesiac. into 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.. After the Toa sealed the BahragBahragCahdok and Gahdok were the twin queens of the Bohrok, sealed in a Protodermis cage by the Toa Mata and later released to finish their cleansing of Mata Nui. in solid protodermis, the ground beneath them sank, plunging the six into tubes of energized protodermis. All six emerged transformed and intact, confirming under the lab's documented rule that each had been destined for the change.

A counterpoint appeared during the 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.'s journey through hostile territory, when 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. was struck by a drop of energized protodermis. He neither transformed nor died. The exposure was consistent with the lab's documented rule: a drop did not constitute full immersion, and the substance's transformative effect required sustained contact with a destined recipient. Later Order of Mata NuiThe Order of Mata NuiThe covert organization founded by Helryx to serve the Great Spirit directly, operating in concealment from a fortress on Daxia and waging the open war against the Brotherhood of Makuta that decided the fate of the universe. clarifications reinforced the destiny clause without contradicting the original finding.

Ga-MatoranGa-MatoranThe Water-element Matoran of Ga-Metru and Ga-Koro, exclusively female, who taught the schools of Metru Nui and crewed the boats and bridges of the Mata Nui coast. Scholarship and VhisolaVhisolaVhisola was a Ga-Matoran student of Nokama, one of the six finders of a Great Disk, whose research deduced the location of the Morbuzakh King Root.#

The decision to site the labs in Ga-MetruGa-MetruGa-Metru is a district of Metru Nui, home to the Ga-Matoran and the Bordakh. reflected the district's role as the city's centre of learning. VhisolaVhisolaVhisola was a Ga-Matoran student of Nokama, one of the six finders of a Great Disk, whose research deduced the location of the Morbuzakh King Root., the Ga-MatoranGa-MatoranThe Water-element Matoran of Ga-Metru and Ga-Koro, exclusively female, who taught the schools of Metru Nui and crewed the boats and bridges of the Mata Nui coast. whose home was a listed Ga-MetruGa-MetruGa-Metru is a district of Metru Nui, home to the Ga-Matoran and the Bordakh. location, was one of the six MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. who knew the location of a Great DiskThe Great DisksThe six legendary Kanoka of Metru Nui, one hidden in each district, recovered by the Toa Metru during the Morbuzakh crisis and later fused into the Kanohi Vahi.. She had a documented close attachment to 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 resided within the same intellectual district as the 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. Labs, though no record placed her inside the facility as a researcher.

Implications for the Brotherhood of MakutaMakuta (Species)Shadowy Antidermis beings and the Brotherhood's elite, Makuta commanded darkness and shaped the Matoran Universe's fate.#

The destiny rule first surfaced by Ga-MatoranGa-MatoranThe Water-element Matoran of Ga-Metru and Ga-Koro, exclusively female, who taught the schools of Metru Nui and crewed the boats and bridges of the Mata Nui coast. scholarship later formed the basis for the Brotherhood of MakutaThe Brotherhood of MakutaAn organization of Makuta created by Mata Nui to police his universe and build Rahi, later seized by Teridax and turned into the instrument of the Plan that overthrew the Great Spirit.'s experimental programmes. The RahkshiRahkshiArmor suits powered by parasitic Kraata, Rahkshi were Teridax's most effective soldiers and among Bionicle's most visually iconic early enemies.-creation processes documented in The Mutran ChroniclesThe Mutran Chronicles: The Brotherhood Experimentalist's Account of Visorak, Rahkshi, and the PlanThe serial record left by the Makuta Mutran of the Brotherhood's transition from Rahi-makers to conspirators, including the experiments that produced the shadow leeches and the campaigns that exposed the Visorak and Rahkshi to the universe., as well as the various transformations the Brotherhood engineered, were built on protodermis principles originally surfaced in Ga-MetruGa-MetruGa-Metru is a district of Metru Nui, home to the Ga-Matoran and the Bordakh.. The MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. scientists who had first published the rule were not credited in subsequent Brotherhood records.

The 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. Labs accordingly represent an early instance in which MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. research, conducted for academic purposes, was repurposed by the Brotherhood for destructive ends. The Brotherhood did not discover the destiny rule. It weaponized one already on the books.

After the Great Cataclysm#

Like the rest of Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive., Ga-MetruGa-MetruGa-Metru is a district of Metru Nui, home to the Ga-Matoran and the Bordakh. was 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.. It was repaired 1,001 years later by 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. during the operation undertaken by the Toa NuvaToa NuvaThe form the Toa Mata took after stepping into the Energized Protodermis beneath the Bahrag, with new masks, new tools, and the elemental scale to fight Karda Nui., and reinhabited by its former population. Once Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint. was reformed, Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive. was abandoned again as the MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. population relocated to the reconstituted surface world.

The 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. Labs, as one of the listed Ga-MetruGa-MetruGa-Metru is a district of Metru Nui, home to the Ga-Matoran and the Bordakh. locations, would have shared in both the repair and the eventual abandonment. The substance the labs had studied continued to shape events long after the facility itself fell silent.