I’m talking about general consensus/belief more than personal. Sure, a deluded person could convince their self that a rock was made of iron or something along those lines, but most people would tell you that it’s a rock. I meant the conceptual viewpoint more as an opposition to a purely scientific view than an individual interpretation. Like where the concept of elemental powers comes from: back in the day, people thought that the ‘elements’ of fire, water, earth, and air composed everything in existence. It’s the same reason that ice is separate from water, and shadow from light.
This would make sense. Either that, or they were meant to have control over their domain as to better rule it. You never consider whether it makes sense to have iron, earth, rock, and sand when all of them are intended to be in their own corner doing their own thing.
Good point. This planet does have an EP core.
As far as Chemistry is concerned: maybe the water on SM is actually a mixture of Water and EP, diluted to the point where it doesn’t transform/destroy anyone who drinks it.
The other elements, I dunno. But it’s a start.
Slightly disturbing side theory: what if the water is actually transforming/destroying the SM inhabitants, but in ways too minor to be noticed? If you lived to be old enough, though, you might begin to notice the effects… Oh Mata Nui, Surel, the oldest living character, is all broken and twisted. How much of it was old battle wounds…?
That would make sense if the great beings were dictating specific power sets to a point, but then you’d have to question why they’d want to do so in a way that’s so far from elegant when compared with nature. There’s no way they didn’t know how chemicals actually work, being excellent scientists themselves…
Although I suppose they may have done it from a stance of “eh, this seems like it’d be a cool power set, who cares if it doesn’t make much sense”. Or perhaps the more utilitarian usage as I mentioned earlier.
Heh. Now that I think about it, the former would actually be kinda meta.
WAIT.
MUTAGEN. What if the pit mutagen is that trace amount of EP? Wouldn’t it make sense for a creature that’s destined to live underwater to be transformed into something that can breathe water? And if it’s more like a solution, that would explain why mutation occurs more quickly in the deeps; Protodermis content is higher!
Was reading BS01, and was crushed when I realized there’s an alternate explanation for Mutagen:
"The Pit Mutagen was a substance created by the combination of salt water from the Aqua Magna ocean with energy radiation emitted from sources within the Matoran Universe. "
Then I read some more
“The Pit Mutagen is diluted from a form of energy radiation naturally emitted by energy sources, such as the Codrex. The energy itself is invisible, and is ordinarily harmless. However, combined with the Black Water of Aqua Magna, the energy formed a mutagenic substance.”
So, the energy itself is harmless, but mixing with salt water turns it into a mutagenic compound? That makes no sense. Unless said salt water already had a known mutagen in it, and the energy from the MU increased its effects…
Then, finally, I saw this
“but undid weakening alterations made to [The Mahri Nui Matoran] by Karzahni.”
This has bothered me ever since 07. This substance which mutates literally everything else at random just so happened to mutate the Matoran of Mahri Nui into their original forms? That has never made sense. Unless it’s simply turning them back into the forms they’re supposed to have in the first place.
Regarding Iron, do we have any sources that state that Iron elementalists can control raw deposits? If not, I would propose that they can only control refined metals, not just rocks with high iron content.
I can’t think of any specific examples, although admittedly I haven’t read the '09 graphic novels.
That’s possible, but then it wouldn’t make sense if the powers are fundamental rather than granted. Still, if we’re right on the whole elements are just specific powersets thing, then I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the case; you’d find a lot more straight up metal in a giant robot than in the real world. If the elemental lords were the GBs’ way of testing powers for the sake of future projects it could make sense for something like that to be the case.
Either way, I don’t know that there’s anything for or against that thought. Would be a good way to cross Iron out of the equation though.
In that case, is Iron even important to this discussion? If no one on SM got iron powers, then there’s no reason to try and discern where the line between it and the others is.
Understood. But this topic is discussing the boundries between the various ground elements on Spherus Magna. Unless there was an iron-user on the planet, what said user could and couldn’t control doesn’t matter. (pun not intended, and only sorta there)
hi everybody, hope you dont mind me joining the discussion. wouldn´t it make sense that the powers they have to control a specific element are based on how of the main compont of the specific thing they control is in the substance they are controlling?
for example:
protodermis+silica(thats what sand is made up of the most)+ all the other stuff thats in sand
so a sand EL would be able to control sand and all other sand like material as long as silica and protodermis are the main chemical composition.
sorry for bad english if there is any, not my native language.