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Headcanons

The purpose of headcanon is to add further worldbuilding to the BIONICLE universe, which Greg Farshtey saw much untapped potential in. These headcanons do not stray far from actual canon, and are well thought out and sourced.

Kanoka

While Farshtey admits to not having a pattern when coming up with kanoka combinations, he has implied the community could come up with one.

Primary Disks

Besides the elemental disks, there are only eight main Kanoka disk powers, which are opposites of each other. The pairings are:

• Weaken and Regeneration
  • The Kanohi Kiril can repair whatever the Kanohi Jutlin rots and vice versa, even protosteel. Initially, Farshtey denied the idea that the Jutlin is made from Weaken disks, but later accepted it. While it has been stated the Kiril and Regeneration disks do not work on living targets, Rahi Nui healed itself using the Regeneration power, and the Kiril can repair the inorganic parts of living targets, just as the Jutlin can rot them. Weaken disks can work on living targets. The effect of Weaken disks on objects is physically weakening or actually breaking them down (identical to the Jutlin), but the effect on living targets is tiredness. The Jutlin is described as "rotting" objects, although this only makes sense for organic materials, which the Jutlin cannot affect. Farshtey understands this but has elsewhere suggested the Jutlin can affect organics. While Farshtey has said the Jutlin can “weaken” things, which a mask made from Weaken disks would do, he has also said the Jutlin specifically rots, which is different from weakening. He was also unaware if a Mask of Weakening existed while the Jutlin did at the time.
• Enlarge and Shrink
• Teleport and Freeze
  • With Teleportation being instantaneous motion, this implies that the opposite is no motion at all. At first, this would make sense to be Stasis Fields, but the opposite of that is Stasis Field Negation, as used by Brutaka. While Freezing and Stasis Fields are not technically the same, they are still both forms of stasis, freezing motion but not time. If Toa of Ice are capable of cryogenic stasis, there is no reason Freezing Kanoka are not.
• Reconstitute at Random and Remove Poison
  • Given that a Mask of Poison is canonically possible, its opposite power would be Remove Poison. Both cannot affect non-living things, such as masks. A mask made from a Remove Poison disk would most likely be called the Mask of Purity because it ties into Purity being the opposite of Poison in MNOG II. Masks made from only one disk do not have to share the name of the disk, as shown by the Kualsi, Mask of Quick Travel, being made from a Teleport disk. However, a problem then arises, as the opposite Kanoka power of Remove Poison must be Reconstitute at Random. Reconstitute at Random can affect non-living targets.

This does not apply to the elemental disks (except for perhaps Light and Shadow).

In canon, some disks are said to be temporary (Reconstitute at Random), while others are presumably permanent (Regeneration and Weaken), and some have conflicting sources (Enlarge and Shrink, see section on Sundial). Other disks' powers are simply "one and done" (Teleport, Remove Poison, and Freeze; Regeneration and Weaken could also fit this category). In the story, it would seem that even some temporary powers appear or are implicitly assumed to be permanent, and the duration is flexible depending on what is needed for the narrative. Although there are still certain difficult incongruities between sources, it would make more sense to have all disks be "one and done." This is even true of composite disks. For example, a Shielding disk would neither be temporary or permanent, but rather stay active until hit enough times, at which point it would dissipate.

Translation and Incomprehension

The Mask of Incomprehension, being the opposite of the Rau, is made of the opposite disks, that being Reconstitute at Random and Shrink.

Levitation and Increase Weight

Increase Weight disks, being the opposite of Levitation, are made from Freeze and Regeneration.

Speed and Slowness

Slowness is not a canon mask or disk power, but it is a Kraata power, some of which are already masks. Also, just as airships use both Levitation and Increase Weight, ground vehicles use both Speed (which they already do canonically) and Slowness. Slowness would be made from Freeze and Remove Poison, the opposite of Speed.

Mutation

The Mask of Mutation is made from Reconstitute at Random disks, meaning the Mask of Mutation and the Mask of Reconstitution are one in the same. Both mutate living and nonliving targets over a distance. Neither work on the user. While Mutation has control over how the target is mutated, Reconstitution does not. However, the Reconstitution disk being random does not inherently imply that the mask is as well, just as the Teleport disk is random, but the Kualsi is not. Mutation is not considered immoral, but Reconstitution is. The reason Reconstitution is immoral might only be because it has no control over its effects, while Mutation does and so can be used for good. On the other hand, if Mutation were immoral instead, this would explain why only Makuta wore it. Mutation's effects are permanent, while Reconstitution's are not. However, a Noble Mask of Mutation is said to have a shorter duration, implying Mutation is not permanent either. This would also mean that, while Mutation can cure the effects of other mutagens, it would only be a temporary solution.

Power Quantitation

Some of the Makuta's powers are Elements, which can be directly compared to those of Toa and the Bohrok (Kal). For actual power level, Makuta, Bohrok, and Toa are equal, but a Makuta usually has more willpower than a Toa, and both have more than a Bohrok.

Hordika Venom

Farshtey has said Hordika Venom is not poison, meaning it cannot be cured by a Remove Poison disk, because it is not fatal, even though it is called poison several times, Visorak themselves are called "poisonous scourge", and poison is defined elsewhere as also just causing illness, not death. The case can be made that Hordika Venom is a mutagen, which Remove Poison can't cure.

Below is a table comparing Hordika Venom to various mutagens as well as Lerahk's poison:

Substance	Affects objects	Affects living beings	Causes physical effects	Causes psychological effects
Energized Protodermis	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Pit Mutagen	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Mask of Mutation	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Reconstitute at Random Kanoka	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Roodaka's Rhotuka	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Poison	No	Yes	No	Yes
Hordika Venom	No	Yes	Yes	Yes

While there are still contradictions among sources, more leads to Hordika Venom being a poison with mutagenic affects, meaning it, as well as venom from other Rahi, can also be cured by Remove Poison. One way to cure Hordika Venom is to remove it, which Remove Poison would do. Having Remove Poison disks be able to cure Hordika Venom does not fundamentally break the 2005 story, specifically the need for Keetongu as he still has the only possible cure. While Remove Poison disks would remove the venom and undo the psychological effect, it cannot undo the physical mutation, which is also why the Mask of Mutation would do the opposite, only countering the mutation and not actually remove the poison.

Antidermis and Viruses

Antidermis is a virus (the term 'virus' is used differently in BIONICLE than it is in real life) that every other virus is made from. They are simply variant 'strains' on the antidermis virus. This would explain why viruses are created and used solely by the Makuta and all Makuta know how to work with viruses, while other beings, even Artakha, did not. Viruses have also been compared to actual computer viruses, so using this analogy, antidermis is a computer virus that every other virus uses as their base code. However, with Makuta being experts in virus making, it is possible that they are able to create a virus that is so different from antidermis that it can even effect it, which is how a virus was used on Kraata to create Shadow Leeches.

To create a virus, Makuta first take antidermis from their essence, then in their labs change the antidermis virus into a new one by controlling its properties.

Farshtey has said that viruses and antidermis are not similar in nature, but this cannot be true as they are at least both living viruses in the form of energy.

Toa of Ice Shouldn't Be Able To Absorb

Any major BIONICLE lore enthusiast most likely knows the problem of “cold energy.” This is from the fact that Toa of Ice, like most other Toa, can absorb their element. For Ice, this would create a rise in temperature, but this is illogical.

Never in lore have we seen a Toa of Ice absorb their element, so the question of what would happen if they could is entirely hypothetical. Because of this, it is also possible that a Toa of Ice cannot absorb their element, and if so, this would not contradict the story in any major way. We have already seen Toa that cannot absorb their element, such as Gravity.

From what I have found, there are only three quotes from Farshtey that say a Toa of Ice can absorb their element and/or that it would result in raising the temperature. However, each quote has problems:

Quote 1

"What could a Toa Disk of Ice do besides freeze?"

"Make snow. Halt avalanches in their tracks. Drop the temperature, or absorb cold so that the temperature goes up."

While it still may be true for Toa of Ice, it cannot be true for a Toa Disk of Ice, since Greg has said elsewhere that Elemental masks (and by extension, Toa Disks) cannot absorb their element.

Quote 2

"As you've said many times, the laws of physics in the world of Bionicle differ greatly from the physics of our world. In Bionicle, we've seen that Toa of Fire can absorb (if only briefly), all of the heat in a room to plunge the temperature and freeze the area. While in our world, cold is the absence of heat (and the Toa of Fire example illustrates this is also the case in the Bionicle world). However, while we know not all Toa can absorb their element, I was wondering if Toa of Ice can "absorb the cold" (again, if only temporarily) in wherever they may be?"

"If this is the case, would this "absence of cold" cause heat to take its place, or would there be some other effect on the affected area, and if so, what?"

"I would say yes, a Toa of Ice could do that -- however, we know that cold is the absence of heat, the same way darkness is the absence of light, but I have never heard it stated the other way around."

"So what would happen to the temperature in an area if a Toa of Ice "absorbed" all of the cold?"

"No idea."

While Farshtey does confirm here that Toa of Ice can absorb their element, he does so with apprehension, citing that while cold is the absence of heat, it may not be that heat is the absence of cold. This is why he does not also confirm that absorbing Ice causes a rise in temperature.

However, the point about Shadow being the absence of Light doesn't necessarily hold in this context, since Farshtey confirmed elsewhere that Shadow can be absorbed. Shadow will be discussed further with the following quote.

Quote 3

"Does a toa of ice have the ability to "absorb" the "coldness" of a closed area in a similar way that Vakama absorbed the heat in the room while fighting the fire creature?"

"Yes"

"Is it safe to say that a toa does not actually "absorb" their element, but rather referse the process of creating it. Becuase I'm looking at the ice toa, and you can't absorb a lack of something"

"In Earth science, you cannot absorb the lack of something -- but Earth science does not apply in BIONICLE."

While Farshtey is not hesitant at all to confirm that Toa of Ice can absorb their element, it is not confirmed here that it would cause the temperature to rise (it is, at the very most, implied). There is another quote where he states Toa of Ice cannot make ice melt, which absorption would do if it raises the temperature. The only other alternative is that it continues to decrease the temperature, but this would create an unlimited reserve for Toa of Ice to absorb from. This very scenario was discussed about absorbing Shadow in another quote:

"It's a good question -- darkness is the absence of light, but light is not the absence of darkness -- if there is no light, and you absorb the darkness, then what you have left is a void. I don't think you can say it is unlimited source of power, because once he absorbs the darkness in the pit, what is it that's producing more darkness for him to absorb?"

However, from the precedent of absorbing Ice (and Vacuum, discussed later on), what should be expected from absorbing Shadow is the creation of Light, but what is apparently created is a void of neither. While this is consistent with moral Light and Shadow, it is difficult to imagine what a void would be if not darkness. If Shadow is simply the absence of Light, then nothing is needed to produce darkness if there is no light.

Concerning Ice, a later quote from the TTV Message Boards seems to go against the first three:

"It’s an interesting question on a number of levels. For example – when a Toa of Fire absorbs fire, he is essentially absorbing energy. But a Toa of Ice would not be absorbing anything, he would be CREATING energy. And is there a limit to how much energy he could create? When does it “stop” being cold? Would he only be able to absorb energy until the temperature reaches 32 F?"

The simplest solution, in my view, is that Toa of Ice cannot absorb their element whatsoever. Another solution could be that Toa of Ice can only absorb actual ice (frozen water and protodermis), not cold temperature. However, if they can absorb ice, there is no logical reason why they cannot absorb cold temperatures as well, just as Toa of Fire are able to absorb heat.

This is a very similar situation to Air and Vacuum, which is discussed in another quote:

"So the Relationship between Air and Vacuum is somewhat Simliar to Ice/Fire, with Fire toa able to absorb heat to Freeze something and the ice toa being able to Absorb Ice energy to Heat something. An Air toa can absorb Air to create a Vacuum?"

"Bingo"

"And a Makuta using Vacuum Abilities could Absorb Vacuum to create and Air attack??"

"Yes"

While Farshtey does confirm both that Toa of Ice can absorb their element and that it would raise the temperature, it is already assumed in the question, meaning it is founded upon the earlier answers, which have been shown to be faulty.

The question must be asked, however, if Ice and Shadow are merely absorptions of Fire and Light, respectively, why are they distinct Elements while Vacuum and Silence are sub-powers of Air and Sonics, respectively?

Pridak is a Member of Sidorak's Species

Many times, Greg denied the idea of the Barraki being members of species we've already seen before, but only a couple of times entertained that possibility. If it is possible, this is my reasoning:

It can be assumed that the Barraki's homelands are within their territories, based on the fact that Ehlek ruled his homeland of Zakaz and that each of the Barraki ruled over their own species. Pridak's territory included Xia, but he is not from Xia itself. Therefore, it would seem likely he is from somewhere around Xia. Xia formed an island chain with Zakaz and Stelt. Pridak cannot be from Zakaz, so Stelt is the only obvious choice. If he is from Stelt, it's more likely he's of Sidorak's species than Krekka's or Gladiator's, which were lower classes.

Although Pridak and Sidorak look wildly different, that's the point. Pridak considered his mutations such a curse because of how horrifying he looked. The drastic difference further demonstrates that. As for the size difference, it is entirely within the scope of Pit Mutagen. Although Greg did confirm that the Barraki were Toa sized before their mutations, the books say "they made Toa look like some kind of Rahi that crawled out from under a rock." This is description is difficult if they are only as tall as Toa.

There is also some similarity to Voporak's and Pridak's mutated forms, specifically that they both have a large head fin. This is possibly because their original forms also had some kind of head fin, and since Sidorak does not have one, this would be a variation within the species and possibly an upper subclass of the Steltian upper class, since Pridak would have been the leader of the species, and Voporak was Sidorak's original clan leader.

Greg did deny that any of the Barraki could be from Sidorak's species, but this wouldn't be the first time Greg has been consistently wrong (Visorak Venom not being a poison, Makuta only being able to shapeshift because of their armor, etc.), and the likelihood is, in my opinion, too great to be ignored.

Toa Hordika and Rhotuka

All six Toa Hordika lost their elemental powers, which only manifested as their Rhotuka. Savage, another Toa mutated by Hordika Venom, had only a Paralysis Rhotuka and no access to his Earth powers. While this appears to be a contradiction, one possibility is that Savage lost his elemental Rhotuka once he fully transformed, at which point his Rhotuka defaulted to the same power common among the Visorak breeds. The same would be true of the Toa Hordika had they not been cured, as well as beings of other species also mutated by the venom, such as the Hordika Dragons.

Naming Day Doesn't Exist

Naming Day as a concept was introduced solely to provide an in-unverse explanation for name changes due to the threat of Maori lawsuit. However, not all name changes were given this explanation. Some spelling changes were so minor that there was no point, even though Naming Day changes were also very minor. This also makes it more convoluted when characters that should have been referred to by their old names still used their Naming Day names, such as Pewku on Metru Nui, or Jaller when first waking up on Mata Nui. Even the word Matoran replacing Tohunga was initially given a Naming Day explanation, but this was later dropped. Out of simplicity and consistency, Naming Day doesn't exist, and any characters whose names changed were always referred to as such.

Sundial

The Sundial was shrunk by the Order of Mata Nui using a Shrink disk and given to Takanuva to locate the Codrex. With the contradiction on whether the effects of Shrink (and Enlarge) disks are permanent or temporary, this is a timeline to figure roughly how long the Sundial has been shrunk.

Terms

When discussing timeframes, Farshtey often uses vague terms. This is an attempt to quantify some of these.

• A couple of ( ): Unless specified otherwise, it is assumed this refers to literally a couple (i.e. two).
• A matter of ( ): Farshtey uses this synonymously with "a couple" but has also used it to refer to three.
• A few ( ): More than two, but less than four, so it must be three.

Timeline

In the three days between the Toa Inika descending the Cord and Matoro sacrificing himself, Lewa brings the sundial in its full size to Metru Nui. Because it took two to three days for the Toa Nuva to get to Voya Nui, it is assumed it took that long to go back to Metru Nui. From this, it is concluded that Lewa bringing the sundial back to Metru Nui is practically simultaneous with Matoro's death. This is also nearly simultaneous with the Toa Nuva being sent to Karda Nui. Almost immediately after, they decide to split up. One day after this, Icarax has already returned to Destral from attacking Takanuva with a shadow leech. After being attacked, Takanuva is given the sundial and sent on an indirect journey to Karda Nui. This means that the sundial was shrunk at most a day before it was given to Takanuva.

First, Takanuva is sent to the City of Silver pocket dimension. Since it is not stated otherwise, it is assumed the rate of time in the City of Silver is the same as the prime universe. Takanuva spends at least an hour there. Second, he is sent to The Kingdom universe. The rate of time in The Kingdom is not the same as the prime universe. It has been roughly three days since Matoro's sacrifice in the prime universe, but 10,000 years since Matoro failed in The Kingdom. Takanuva leaves The Kingdom three days after Matoro's sacrifice, meaning he spent almost no time there at all from the perspective of the prime universe. From Takanuva's perspective, he spends no more than a day or two there. How much time Takanuva spent exactly in the City of Silver or The Kingdom does not matter, as long as the combined amount of time is three days. Lastly, he is sent to the Toa Empire universe. The rate of time in the Empire universe is the same as the prime universe. Takanuva spends six days there. This is beceause Federation of Fear starts and ends the same time Dark Mirror does. The Federation of Fear take at least six days to complete their mission. Two hours after Takanuva arrived at Karda Nui, the sundial is still shrunk.

All this to say that the sundial, at a bare minimum, must've been shrunk for nine days and two hours, but likely has been shrunk longer. Even when hit with a Level 8 Shrink Disk (see section on power quantitation), Sentrakh was not shrunk for nearly that long. This suggests that the sundial supports the later CwGF answer, that the effects of Shrink and Enlarge disks are permanent.