Um… That’s the vahi… not a kakama…
Vahi can speed up and/or slow down based on (desperate attempts at) user control. A Kakama has one setting, which makes it significantly more manageable mentally. Think of the Kakama as a lesser Vahi; the masks even share some similar features in the cheek area. By the same token, a Kiril could be seen as a lesser mask of creation (the g1 one) and a Kualsi a lesser Olmak.
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On the other hand, power of these two masks could be thought in term of signal conduction of Kanohi. As I’ve said before, my understanding of this theory is Kanohi acts as interface that helps send the signal from the brain to the body, hence maskless Matoran loses control of their body and falls into a coma.
Kakama and Pikari then can be thought of as masks that are easier for the brain signal to pass through.
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Kakama simply transfers commands more quickly than normal, so that it allows wearer to react more quickly, and thus superspeed.
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Pikari has lower intrinsic resistance, allowing signals to pass through without any loss, so they remain strong when they reach the target muscle. This results in stronger muscle contraction, and thus superstrength.
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The Kakama doesn’t just make the user have a faster reaction time, it literally allows the user to run incredibly fast, like Mach speed.
And that pakari thing doesn’t make sense to me, it makes the signal get there faster, doesn’t mean the muscle is any stronger.
And like the Kakama the pakari does make the user MUCH stronger.
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If the Kakama and Pakari’s abilities only do signal enhancement, then that means that every Toa and Matoran would normally have a great amount of muscle strength that they are unable to use unless they at using one of those masks. That’s rather inefficient, but if that ‘clearance’ wasn’t there then those masks would have to push the muscle strands themselves well beyond their normal capabilities, which risks serious damage. More efficient signal conduction may well be part of what those masks do, but I can’t imagine that it alone could be responsible for the staggering power increase that they provide (and must provide to ‘compete’ with something like the Hau in power level).
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I would point out that every human has an incredible amount of strength that they can’t use unless they’re in a life threatening situation.
Personally, I don’t think that you should focus on a Kanohi being a part of toa/matoran biology. I would think of them less as being designed to affect the user in some way, be it amplifying signals, or injecting adrenalin, or what have you, and more that it just happens to work that way.
A little over a year ago, I made a topic called The Making of Kanoka and Kanohi (link: The Making of Kanoka and Kanohi) sorry, I’d make the topic name the link, but apparently there’s no way to do that in mobile mode… In which I explored how exactly Kampala and Kanohi are made and work.
The TL;DR of the topic is that Kanoka disks are made of a protodermis allot consisting of purified protodermis and the active element. Depending on what element is used determines the disks powers and when it is later made into a Kanohi, the multiple elements in addition to the protodermis are what gives the mask it’s power. For more information please read the aformeantioned topic.
My point is, instead of saying “this mask is designed to affect the body in this way to get this result.” Perhaps it is better to say that Kanohi as a whole work by running a current through the particular alloy that the mask is made of and that yields the resulting power (This also explains why you can have a kakama shaped like a hau).
I hope people were able to follow my meaning her and get the basic gist of what I’m saying, I would try and explain farther but I fear I would become repetitive without imparting any new information…
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Agreed; I think that the power of Kanohi comes from them producing complex, multi-elemental manifestations that affect the world around them more than they do the user’s body. Some of these power can make it appear as though some quality of the user’s body has been greatly enhanced, but the Kanohi only affects what the user touches, not what they are.
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This is pretty incredible; the sheer amount of detail paid to the organic and inorganic systems is crazy; just the muscular system is described hugely. If you really want to triple-check your work, I would contact Bonesiii and fishers64 on BZPower. They are absolute experts in this area of the canon.
Perhaps we should contact Google X and ask them if they could start building one.
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Based off MoL, they got 6 packs and skin.
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The Matoran or the Toa? Looking at the pictures of the Toa in Mask of Light, I don’t see any six packs…
Matoran
Yes, they are weird.
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Hm… it’s sculpted like a washboard yet doesn’t quite look like it’s a solid part of the body. Some kind of cover plate maybe?
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This is great. Love all the detail.
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I really like this explanation.I feel like the organic parts, mainly the muscles, would be made of like a fleshy plastic sorta material.
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I thoroughly enjoyed this - when I was a lot younger, I came up with some similar ideas. In fact, they’ve been laying on my desk to be combined into video form at some point or another - I’ll have to sit down and really dig into this later on, but there are several things I’d like to point out and address first:
This is really the only point that I have trouble believing. The first reason is that the structure of bones in the Matoran Universe is shown to change constantly. Disregarding the realignment of skeleton structure when one is turned into a Hordika, or transformed by Energized Protodernis (in some cases literally sprouting extra limbs), the Matoran are inherently built to have their bodies undergo a massive physical change when they become Toa. Additionally, there are countless other transformations (for instance, the Toa Hagah becoming Rahaga) that would necessitate that there be some organic component to the metallic skeletal structure in order to be reprogrammed.
My theory is that protodermis as we know it is a form of programmable smart metal, one that can not only contain data but also manipulate it. This program is not nessesarily akin to what we know as computers, it is the next level beyond that, much more similar to how a human brain thinks. In olden days, the closest thing we had to compare to a human brain was a clock (ergo phrases regarding “clockwork” to describe the brain), and protodermis would be to a computer program what a computer program is to a clock.
BS01 notes that Organic Protodermis is what makes up the tissue of all organic life in the Matoran Universe. My theory is that the bones are a subset of these, akin to normal Protodermis but more malleable than the metal Protodermis that forms the walls and structure of the buildings in the MU. This organic nature allows for the restructuring that the nuermous kinds of transformations impose on the skeletal structure of beings in the MU.
This smart metal can be reprogrammed using a combination of chemicals, or by combining different forms of liquid Protodermis into the desired effect. I believe that this is what is meant by the Makuta and their viruses (which don’t really make sense if you think about it? When’s the last time you saw a virus as a green liquid in a vat?) and the combination of these combine into a reaction of data - similar to a chemeical reaction, except wholly contained within the metal. This then combines into organic life (like Rahi, for example, which the Makuta were supposed to use the viruses to create).
Think of it as a metallic/technological version of CRISPR, which can seek out and change chemicals and the sequence of chemicals in your DNA. Imagine that this technology that can pick out specific cancer cells could target different functions - such as shutting down all movement, ejecting a conscious operating system from its hardware, or as the laymen would put it, casting a Great Spirit into a deep sleep?
All Protodermis can have a liquid or vaporous form, as the smart metal itself continues to evolve - see, the Makuta and how their consciousness still stayed even when they evolved and became vapor - possibly due to their constant exposure to different viruses and how that tampered with their DNA. The reason why Energized Protodermis is sentient is because it developed its own consciousness, similar to an evolving AI and lives on through the smart metal. It overrides the base structure (which you could refer to as code) of most organic beings. It can technically reform inorganic and organic metals (i.e. how the Toa Nuva got inorganic armor when they were transformed) by messing with the underlying structure of the metal.
That’s my working theory, anyways. I have no idea when my video would come out, so maybe you’ll get a kick out of it. I’ve stll got a lot of research to do before I could write a whole thing about it.
Perhaps some sort of low level plasmic discharge that breaks down the neutrients is used in the hands, and then that is passed through into the stomach/other organs? It would explain why they never need to use the restroom.
Magnets would attach the mask to their face - and I believe that, if my theory holds true, it would alter/bolster the phsyical abilities of the host by genetically modifying limbs, as well as using a personal reactor located within the mask (hence why it runs out of charge eventually).
I don’t know if that’s exactly how it works, because there was one point in time where Pohatu sped up his molecules to vibrate through a wall, and I don’t think he could have done that if time had a different perspective to him. The speed has to directly effect him and his molecules for that effect to happen.
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I don’t think they have skeletons as we think of them, just because they have a humanoid shape doesn’t mean their biology resembles our own, I think they’re biology is more akin to exoskeletons than endoskeletons, or more accurately, some combination of the two.
I do agree on their skeletal structure is most certainly made of protodermis, and I think you’re theory holds weight.
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Never, actually. Not even in Bionicle (if I remember correctly). I think the only time a virus actually was “shown” was when alternate Krika used that virus in powder form on Takanuva to give him the ability to fly.
Otherwise BS01 describes viruses as “composed of energy that is similar to Antidermis”
I personally think that “raw” viruses thus can usually only be “felt”, but not seen. They are simply energy that influences a being’s… “DNA” or whatever. Or creates this “DNA” in the Rahi creating process.
Since they’re so close to Antidermis this might also explain why only the Makuta (and Artakha) are capable of doing anything substantial with them/creating them.
Makuta aren’t made out of Protodermis, but of Antidermis (although BS01 says that Antidermis is a byproduct of Protodermis). As seen when the Piraka enslaved the Matoran of Voya Nui this Antidermis seems to have a strange effect on Protodermis-based life. Perhaps some kind of code incapability? Or some kind of override?
Since viruses seem to be pretty close to Antidermis there probably are only two ways they could influence the Makuta: a) not at all - which would make it impossible to use a virus to any effect on a Makuta’s substance (at which point you might speculate if the Shadowed Ones’s and Pridak’s plan to end Teridax’s reign might even have worked…?), or b) it affects them in a quite different way than Protodermis-based beings - for example it maybe caused their substance to become gaseous over time.
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I might be confused with seeing something in Makuta’s lair in Mask of Light? Regardless, what viruses are is so extremely vague in Bionicle that I’m not entire sure as to how else to describe it.
They might not, but especially for something humanoid, a skeletal structure is both necessary and efficient. There’s a reason why we don’t have any large bipedal invertebrate species walking about, and why invertebrates in general do not get too large (or just live in the ocean).
Having a skeletal structure is tantamount for designing a humanoid, bipedal species - we do it in real life when we design robots, and we know that the Great Beings designed the Matoran/Toa off the Agori and Glatorian, which are very similar to our biology - so it’s logical to think they’d reach the same conclusion. Additionally, there are many references to bones (“Makuta-bones!”) and spines (the Spine Slug), to the extent that it is very reasonable that they do indeed have a skeletal structure. I don’t see any logical reason as to why they wouldn’t.
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From that point it makes sense, I suppose it’s just from the molds we’ve gotten over the years they never looked like they had humanoid skeletons, and also I feel toa anatomy just being human-but with metal bits is disappointing.
Though like I said, I think they have a combination of exo and endo skeleton such as a spine, a skull, some bones in the limbs, but a carapace over the chest and parts of the limbs, they have a combination of pistons and muscles for motor functions, and their skeletal structure is metallic so it’s stronger than bone, it’s not that far fetched, remember that the great beings augmented the glatorians and agori to improve them, so obviously they thought they could improve on nature.
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I feel like the metal being armour is disappointing, I’d prefer it to be more like skin
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