Metru Nui Ministry of Tourism

Metru Nui Ministry of Tourism
Website
Type	Official promotion site
Managers	Unknown

Metru Nui Ministry of Tourism was the website companion of the Metru Nui Guide. The website was available through the online Kanoka Club on BIONICLE.com, using a Kanoka Code that could be found in the book. The code could also be found in the collector book Unmasked 2. It was used during the 2004 storyline to further explain locations in Metru Nui, as well as being a promotion for BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui. It was later taken offline.

The Site

The front page of the Ministry of Tourism site displayed a general collection of information about Metru Nui, including a weather forecast, the current date, details about Metru Nui's population and prefixes, and links to the various parts of the site. The website itself was shaped like a newspaper/brochure and featured several "Advertisements" without links, simply for added effect. The other pages were arranged in a similar manner, each with information about a certain feature of the city, such as education.

Sights & Activities

The "Sights & Activities" section showcased a list of activities and sightsees of Metru Nui. This section stated that the Great Furnace was closed for renovation after the Toa Metru's battle with the Morbuzakh. It also explained that there were tours of the Coliseum available to those interested, which occured once a week. It also said that the tours would no longer take visitors to Dume's chambers or the storage areas. It finished with saying that the Akilini fields were temporarily closed due to the damage done by the Toa Metru.

Knowledge Towers

The site provided a description of what Knowledge Towers are, and what they were used for. The writer suggested that just marveling at their architecture is grand, and is all one can do, as no visitors are allowed inside the towers, excluding Scholars and seers.

It went on to say that the Towers were only open for visitors on Naming Days, where ceremonies were held to honor certain Matoran. During this time, visitors were free to see grand astronomical events from the Towers.

Sculpture Fields

One of the most popular attractions on Metru Nui, visitors loved to see the various sculptures that Po-Matoran were hard at work building. With the permission of Turaga Dume, the visitors could even view the entire building process. The paragraph explained how the Po-Matoran loved to show others their work, but there was more to the metru than just looking at statues all day. Visitors could also take tours relating to the carvers of Po-Metru.

Of the two tours available, the first allowed the visitors to see a block of Protodermis be carved into a carving, and on Naming Day, a Matoran. In the second tour, visitors could witness the arrival of parts from Ta-Metru and conversion into useful items, such as furniture.

Great Temple

At the spiritual center of the city, once Vahki Bordakh allowed the visitor to enter, they could see the marvelous interior and wondrous ancient hallways, and, if lucky, the art of Protodermis being purified. However, no one was allowed to come close to the Toa Suva, due to various thefts that happened before Toa Lhikan's disappearance (in reality, Toa Lhikan committed these thefts, in order to obtain the Toa Metru's Toa Stones).

Protodermis Falls

This Matoran-made wonder attracted many visitors. The Boat Tours, operated by Macku, also started at this location. Swimming was allowed at this location, but was not recommended, since the Vahki Bordakh were not very supportive of this action.

Archives

Open to the public everyday, visitors were allowed to view any of the exhibits on the top five floors. In these exhibits, there were examples of Matoran art, Rahi in Stasis Tubes, ancient Matoran tools and carvings, and much more. Tours were recommended, as it was easy to get lost in the Archives, and they were very informative. Sub-level access was restricted to Archivists, due to the danger in those exhibits.

In the current week, there was a Rahi Sculptures exhibition, along with the 'Art of Mask-Making', on floors 2 and 4, respectively.

Moto-Hub

Visitors could get an unlimited Chute Pass, which allowed them to see the inner workings of the Chute System.

Sporting Events

The "Sporting Events" section showcased a list of sports played in Metru Nui. These include Akilini, Disk Racing, and Kanoka Toss. Each bio outlined how each game was played, and some of the potential dangers which may result from the game, such as Kanoka Toss. The page also had a section near the top with facts about Metru Nui sports. These included the fact that in Akilini games, a team was only allowed to use disks from their own Metru, due to the fact that Po-Metru disks are considered the best and that everyone wants to use them in their games. The second fact stated that the disks belonging to the winning Akilini team were immediately transported to Ta-Metru after the game. They were then made into Kanohi Masks, a great honor for an Akilini player.

Higher Education

The "Higher Education" section featured the Ga-Metru Schools. Here, it outlined the information regarding the Matoran graduates and general information about the schools and facilities. It explained the good reputation of schools and how they graduated dozens of Students every year, along with the option of taking a tour of the schools and their classrooms, and even sitting in on a lecture during class. However, it was also mentioned that science labs existed as well, where students conducted experiments, but they are off-limits and patrolled by Vahki. In addition, in the upper right hand corner, there was information regarding the sale of Rahi, stating that no citizen was allowed to purchase a Rahi greater than .5 bio in size and that it was illegal to keep a Rahi of .5 bio or larger in a private residence.

The Matoran Underworld

Along with the aforementioned sections, there was also a section about the crimes that Matoran committed: Smuggling, Theft, Disk Dueling, and Forgery. Vahki dealt with these troublemakers on a daily basis. Under smuggling, it gave examples of what would be smuggled, mentioned that smuggling rings do exist and then went on to explain that Vahki Bordakh are the best at breaking up these rings. It ended with the explanation of what their powers do to lawbreakers, as a warning.

The section on theft explained how theft happened and then followed up with what Matoran do to keep away theives. It also explained that due to the enormous chute system, theft had increased in the city and gave an example of it.

The next section explained why disk dueling was highly dangerous and illegal, why it happened, and that Vahki would immediately respond to whoever was caught disk dueling.

Finally, it explained forgery, and told the reader why forgery had to be stopped (forged disks had no powers, and Matoran who unsuspectingly bought these disks actually had no protection against Rahi).

Maps

This section included maps of Metru Nui and the Chutes. In the upper right hand corner, it also included information about the different types of transportation which could be used in Metru Nui, such as Chutes or Ussal Carts, and various reasons why one would wish to use them. It also stated that unless authorized by a supervisor, there should have been no transportation via Airship.

Smart Travel Tips

In this section, it gave additional info about what to do, what was closed down, and that 3 "Toa" were at large. Should they be seen, their whereabouts were to be be reported immediately.

Trivia

• The chute map on this website is based on real-world maps of the London Underground.
• The organization exists in canon, to help visiting traders.

See also

• BIONICLE: Metru Nui - City of Legends

External links

• Metru Nui Ministry of Tourism, December 22, 2005 (archive)