Throughout the Bionicle story, it is common for fantastical sci-fi objects to be treated as normal, since, in the Bionicle universe, they are.
However, there are some cases of common real-world objects finding their way into the story, where they are treated as rare, or perplexing. When this happens, Greg Farshtey always did a good job of presenting them through the character’s eyes in a way that makes them seem foreign to the reader. I have compiled some of these examples below:
So now, let’s look at the description of Tren Krom through this lens:
“He couldn’t get the image of Tren Krom out of his mind – a writhing, crimson mass of tentacles emerging from a gelatinous central core, with two dead yellow eyes that somehow followed every movement without ever moving themselves. At least, that was what he had seen at a glance – somehow, Brutaka knew to gaze for long at Tren Krom would be to invite madness.”
“Even when I [Mutran] look back now, I remember only a scarlet mass, a face that was not a face, tentacles lined with tiny, sharpened hooks, eyes that were little more than holes in a gelatinous skull, and that voice… oh, that voice made Makuta Teridax sound lilting and sweet.”
Upon first reading, this brings to mind a Jello-like creature. But, is it possible that this “red gelatin” is simply a “Bionicle description” of raw organic muscle?
Not only would fit with Greg’s previous descriptions of “normal” objects, but it would also bring a new aspect of “nightmarishness” to Tren Krom for the reader. Additionally, the “small white hooks” could be organic teeth, and the magical appearance of Tren Krom’s extra eye could be as simple as Tren Krom opening an eyelid; I don’t believe Matoran Universe physiology include eyelids, so characters would be unfamiliar with such an action.
But they wouldn’t be familiar with the material. Additionally, Tren Krom seems to be more of a “blob” of muscle, while the muscles in a Toa would have more defined shapes.
Finally, the muscles might not be identical-except-for-material; they share the same purpose, but we don’t know if they use the same “technology”.
Shoot, yeah. You’re right. I guess Tren Krom did just generate an eye. Or perhaps he just brought it to the surface of his body, and he was keeping it stored within.
I agree that the spikes on Tren Krom’s tentacles are more similar to the hooks on Giant squids and Colossal squids. I imagine that a lot of characters know about teeth, since a lot of rahi appear to have them.
The hooks of a colossal squids are made of chiton, so maybe that’s what the hooks on Tren Krom’s tentacles are made of? AFAIK, there is no mention of chiton, or things made of chiton in the story.
When the Toa of Stone caught up to him, he found Kopaka standing over what looked like a piece of scarlet gelatin. Pohatu glanced around and saw that similar objects covered the ground for hundreds of yards.
