The Awakening

"The Awakening" is not an official name.

The subject of this article has not been officially named. The term "The Awakening" either reflects how the subject has been referred to in-story or is an unofficial name popular among fans.

This article is about Velika giving inhabitants of the Matoran Universe true sapience. You may be looking for Mata Nui's Reawakening.

"No one advocated letting Toa, Matoran, etc. run free on Spherus Magna. They weren’t independent beings with a right to life and liberty, after all. They were tools to be used to keep the Mata Nui robot functioning... weren’t they?"
— Angonce's thoughts, The Yesterday Quest

The Awakening
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Event
Witnesses	Inhabitants of the Matoran Universe
Time	Less than 100,000 years ago
Actions	Inhabitants of the Matoran Universe elevated to true sapience
Significance	Major

The Awakening was an event in which Velika, a Great Being disguised as a Matoran, gave true sapience to the biomechanical inhabitants of the Matoran Universe.

History

The Matoran workers created by the Great Beings to maintain the Matoran Universe were not designed to be fully sapient. They operated on a highly sophisticated artificial intelligence, clever enough to contend with unexpected complications, but simple enough that they could not really be considered true beings. The Matoran operated under this state of being for some time, including the period in which the Toa Mata fought the Avohkah and the Av-Matoran finished their labors in Karda Nui. Some others, such as the Toa, possessed a greater measure of sapience, as it was necessary for them to effectively perform their duties.

Before the robot's launch, Velika transferred his consciousness into a Matoran body so as to better observe the workings of the Matoran Universe. Some time into the robot's journey, however, he caused a gradual elevation of the minds of all current and future Matoran to a level of true sapience.

As a result of this cognitive evolution, the biomechanical beings developed intricate cultures and languages. They also gained the capacity to feel and express emotions such as fear, happiness and anger, as well as complex variations thereof. However, Velika did not give Matoran Universe inhabitants the instincts required to reproduce, as they were unable to do so.

This event also caused some beings to act outside the expected parameters set by the Great Beings, and would, in time, lead to Makuta Teridax's usurpation of the Matoran Universe.