Post by Chris on Mar 15, 2017 18:26:02 GMT
Since we already have a BIONICLE Brick Theory video, I've decided to shove mine back a bit and try something different. Here's my newest script to try and explain the origins of Chima and everything in the series.
Brick Theory: Chima Rose From A Post Apocalyptic Wasteland
Alright, so let's address the mammoth mech in the room. Let’s talk Chima. I know a lot of us think of Legends Of Chima as a sore spot in Lego’s history but if you can get past the super campy first season and give it a chance, there’s a fair amount of mythology and character development. It’s a pretty good story about brotherhood, nobility, and hope in times of hopelessness. But there’s something odd about the origin story of Chima’s tribes, an origin story that isn’t very satisfying. I'm Chris with The Brick Theorists, and today, we're going to go back and figure out where Chima came from!
(intro plays)
Background:
Naturally, there’s gonna be spoilers on pretty much all of Legends Of Chima. If you haven’t watched the series and don’t want it spoiled, pause the video, go watch the 900 plus minutes of the series and come back here. Don’t worry, I’ll wait.
Alright, so let’s recap. Laval’s father Lagravis describes the origin of Chima as “the great story” in Season 1 Episode 2. According to Lagravis, Chima was filled with wild, non-sentient animals when suddenly a massive eruption brought Mt. Cavora into the air and caused it to start draining Chi. The lions describe the event as “a spark from above and an earthquake below,” and the Legends Of Chima Wiki notes that the animal head carvings were already there, forged by the Phoenix Tribe long ago. (http://legolegendsofchima.wikia.com/wiki/Mount_Cavora) In fact, the Phoenix Tribe, Tormak, and even Li’Ella have memories of the world before Chima truly formed.
But of course, even the Phoenix Tribe has to have an origin. The Outland Tribes (Scorpions, Spiders, and Bats) became sentient after Laval accidentally dropped some chi into the gorge. You done goofed, kid! This sounds like a redux of the Great Story, so we can use some induction to assume that every tribe in Chima was mutated by the Chi, begging the question: what is chi?
Let’s Make Some Chi:
The Legends Of Chima Wiki describes chi as a “powerful natural resource that flows through the Sacred Waters of Chima, giving life and energy to much of the kingdom. It contains the raw power of nature, compressed into an orb.” (http://legolegendsofchima.wikia.com/wiki/Chi) Of course, can we really prove Chi as a natural, natural resource? It only comes from one source in all of Chima and its effects are anything but natural. In fact, in Episode 37, Fluminox hints that Chi may have been a mistake due to his failure with the Great Illumination. Therefore, we can assume chi to be synthesizable, as you can’t describe any phenomenon as a mistake without assuming an intelligence to blame. That’s an interesting note that leads to my theory.
Theory: Chi is an ancient form of digital nanotechnology. Wikipedia defines nanotechnology as “manipulation of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanotechnology) That sounds a lot like Chi. The wiki defines its qualities and effects. There are various types, all derivations of Chi orbs. Here's a list of the basic things we know that Chi can do:
We also see “golden” Chi orbs, very powerful orbs that … can terraform? Now there is our main clue! Note Lagravis’ explanation. (Season 1 episode 2: the chi chooses a track to keep the tourny fair). Chi seems to store information.
In digital circuitry, there is a basic circuit called a D Flip Flop that can store digital information - a 1 or a 0. String a bunch of D Flip Flops together and you can have store big amounts of information. Imagine Chi as something similar - a substance that can store energy and information. Put a bunch of Chi together and you can store a bunch of energy and information. Put too much Chi together and you have far too much energy to contain in one batch - it has to spread out or the energy output will be far too much for one simple pool.
Reading The Code:
What if Chi has the information to transform living organisms, perhaps by editing their genetic code? This would allow for the animals in Chima to develop into smarter and stronger beings. This would also allow for large, concentrated amounts of it to transform organic material however it wanted, like the Speedorz courses. Nanotechnology would allow the Chi to be broken up into drops, but we know that Chi droplets are fragmented and unnatural. You can’t use a piece of a computer that is not linked to the rest of the computer system or everything it affects blows to pieces. So to use Chi correctly, the Lions just need to let it collect into the appropriate orbs and plug it in just like that.
Pre-Chima:
But where does the information come from? There has to be an intelligence behind the message, an intelligence that precedes every animal in Chima.
Let’s ask a more sociological question: why does Chima look so … human … er … minifig? There's no reason for a bunch of animals to naturally or magically transform from four legged creatures to two legged creatures. In fact, two legged systems consume a lot of energy and require sensitive balance senses to keep the being from falling over constantly.
It’s almost as if Chi was programmed with a minifigure-like aspect to it. This same Chi would also affect the minds of its hosts, giving them concepts like cars, swords, planes, motorcycles, etc. Again, it would not be natural for a bunch of quadrupedal animals to make bipedal technologies. Four legged animals have no reason to ride motorcycles!
Additionally, the animals have a concept of language. They speak, all with varying tones and voices of course, but they speak! This is unique considering it’s the same language across all species over a course of several thousand years. Languages naturally change and evolve over time when people add new words and phrases and meanings, yet somehow Chima-ese … oh I'm gonna get so much grief for that … hasn't evolved at all, so much that the ancient hunter tribes speak perfectly with the modern tribes and the older phoenix tribe. Dare I say, the language is programmed?
My Own Great Story:
We've drafted up some key observations about Chi. From what we've discussed:
Now let's get into my own Great Story. My theory: that Chi is an ancient technology created by a minifigure society that quickly doomed itself to extinction. There are a lot of different ways this could have gone down, so let me tell my favorite version.
It is several years before the rise of the Phoenix Tribe. An advanced society of minifigures rules the planet, but life is harsh and their society is dying. To ensure their own survival, the minifigures develop a powerful storage technology to store their genetics, culture, language, and knowledge of their technology. However, their situation became more desperate and they amassed large amounts of this technology, eventually developing it into a nearly self-sustaining power source. The technology is then enabled to make more of itself, to ensure a person could utilize it in desperate need. They name the substance Collective Human Intelligence (see what I did there?).
Unfortunately, the substance is delicate and their work to create it rushed, so in the last human settlement, the minifigures race to finish developing the CHI. Their work was sloppy and the CHI reacted, unleashing all of its collective energy and annihilating the settlement. Every minifigure dies.
Surprisingly, something survives. The pesky birds around the burning, red hot, ravaged laboratory are transformed, developing minifigure bodies that can resist … no, that can utilize the fiery environment. The Phoenix Tribe arises, not knowing what happened. The CHI they find burns, regenerating itself to avoid total consumption. The rest of the CHI gathers in stable pools, but not for long. Another explosion decimated the lab, sending massive waves of energy across the land. The immense energy shatters the mountain and the CHI, to protect itself, suspends the gravity Mt. Cavora to prevent total annihilation.
The Lions will remember this as an energy from the sky, but every tribe in Chima reacts to the CHI and gains sentience. The substance reprograms their genes and instincts, giving them arms, legs, and visions of languages, cities, vehicles, weapons, and most importantly … clothing. Thank Cavora for that.
Conclusion:
And there you have it, faithful viewers - an entire civilization built from the ruins of a dead society. I'm sure we could theorize more on the safeguard programmed into the fire wings to reset the core datacenter within Cavora, but every videos gotta have a time limit! Either way, I hope this theory gives you a new outlook on Legends of Chima and the intricate worlds Lego creates. There are stories, yes, but there are plenty of gaps for the imagination to fill as well. Either way, there's a common theme throughout the story Lego tells and the story I just told: the tools we use can create or destroy. All we can do is learn to “use them well, use them wisely.”
Thanks again for watching! For those interested, all my sources are linked in the description. As always, like, comment with your thoughts, and subscribe for more from The Brick Theorists!
--------
Let me know what you guys think, and how else I can expound or clarify what I've written. Thanks!
Brick Theory: Chima Rose From A Post Apocalyptic Wasteland
Alright, so let's address the mammoth mech in the room. Let’s talk Chima. I know a lot of us think of Legends Of Chima as a sore spot in Lego’s history but if you can get past the super campy first season and give it a chance, there’s a fair amount of mythology and character development. It’s a pretty good story about brotherhood, nobility, and hope in times of hopelessness. But there’s something odd about the origin story of Chima’s tribes, an origin story that isn’t very satisfying. I'm Chris with The Brick Theorists, and today, we're going to go back and figure out where Chima came from!
(intro plays)
Background:
Naturally, there’s gonna be spoilers on pretty much all of Legends Of Chima. If you haven’t watched the series and don’t want it spoiled, pause the video, go watch the 900 plus minutes of the series and come back here. Don’t worry, I’ll wait.
Alright, so let’s recap. Laval’s father Lagravis describes the origin of Chima as “the great story” in Season 1 Episode 2. According to Lagravis, Chima was filled with wild, non-sentient animals when suddenly a massive eruption brought Mt. Cavora into the air and caused it to start draining Chi. The lions describe the event as “a spark from above and an earthquake below,” and the Legends Of Chima Wiki notes that the animal head carvings were already there, forged by the Phoenix Tribe long ago. (http://legolegendsofchima.wikia.com/wiki/Mount_Cavora) In fact, the Phoenix Tribe, Tormak, and even Li’Ella have memories of the world before Chima truly formed.
But of course, even the Phoenix Tribe has to have an origin. The Outland Tribes (Scorpions, Spiders, and Bats) became sentient after Laval accidentally dropped some chi into the gorge. You done goofed, kid! This sounds like a redux of the Great Story, so we can use some induction to assume that every tribe in Chima was mutated by the Chi, begging the question: what is chi?
Let’s Make Some Chi:
The Legends Of Chima Wiki describes chi as a “powerful natural resource that flows through the Sacred Waters of Chima, giving life and energy to much of the kingdom. It contains the raw power of nature, compressed into an orb.” (http://legolegendsofchima.wikia.com/wiki/Chi) Of course, can we really prove Chi as a natural, natural resource? It only comes from one source in all of Chima and its effects are anything but natural. In fact, in Episode 37, Fluminox hints that Chi may have been a mistake due to his failure with the Great Illumination. Therefore, we can assume chi to be synthesizable, as you can’t describe any phenomenon as a mistake without assuming an intelligence to blame. That’s an interesting note that leads to my theory.
Theory: Chi is an ancient form of digital nanotechnology. Wikipedia defines nanotechnology as “manipulation of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanotechnology) That sounds a lot like Chi. The wiki defines its qualities and effects. There are various types, all derivations of Chi orbs. Here's a list of the basic things we know that Chi can do:
- It can be plugged into weapons, equipment, vehicles, etc.
- It increases a person’s strength, speed, stamina, and instincts
- Balance is necessary to the balance of Chi, otherwise Chi will rip apart
- Chi must be used eventually - it cannot just remain in the pool
We also see “golden” Chi orbs, very powerful orbs that … can terraform? Now there is our main clue! Note Lagravis’ explanation. (Season 1 episode 2: the chi chooses a track to keep the tourny fair). Chi seems to store information.
In digital circuitry, there is a basic circuit called a D Flip Flop that can store digital information - a 1 or a 0. String a bunch of D Flip Flops together and you can have store big amounts of information. Imagine Chi as something similar - a substance that can store energy and information. Put a bunch of Chi together and you can store a bunch of energy and information. Put too much Chi together and you have far too much energy to contain in one batch - it has to spread out or the energy output will be far too much for one simple pool.
Reading The Code:
What if Chi has the information to transform living organisms, perhaps by editing their genetic code? This would allow for the animals in Chima to develop into smarter and stronger beings. This would also allow for large, concentrated amounts of it to transform organic material however it wanted, like the Speedorz courses. Nanotechnology would allow the Chi to be broken up into drops, but we know that Chi droplets are fragmented and unnatural. You can’t use a piece of a computer that is not linked to the rest of the computer system or everything it affects blows to pieces. So to use Chi correctly, the Lions just need to let it collect into the appropriate orbs and plug it in just like that.
Pre-Chima:
But where does the information come from? There has to be an intelligence behind the message, an intelligence that precedes every animal in Chima.
Let’s ask a more sociological question: why does Chima look so … human … er … minifig? There's no reason for a bunch of animals to naturally or magically transform from four legged creatures to two legged creatures. In fact, two legged systems consume a lot of energy and require sensitive balance senses to keep the being from falling over constantly.
It’s almost as if Chi was programmed with a minifigure-like aspect to it. This same Chi would also affect the minds of its hosts, giving them concepts like cars, swords, planes, motorcycles, etc. Again, it would not be natural for a bunch of quadrupedal animals to make bipedal technologies. Four legged animals have no reason to ride motorcycles!
Additionally, the animals have a concept of language. They speak, all with varying tones and voices of course, but they speak! This is unique considering it’s the same language across all species over a course of several thousand years. Languages naturally change and evolve over time when people add new words and phrases and meanings, yet somehow Chima-ese … oh I'm gonna get so much grief for that … hasn't evolved at all, so much that the ancient hunter tribes speak perfectly with the modern tribes and the older phoenix tribe. Dare I say, the language is programmed?
My Own Great Story:
We've drafted up some key observations about Chi. From what we've discussed:
- Chi is not natural
- Chi can store information and energy
- Chi has genetic information resembling that of a minifigure
- Chi can program instinctual behaviors
Now let's get into my own Great Story. My theory: that Chi is an ancient technology created by a minifigure society that quickly doomed itself to extinction. There are a lot of different ways this could have gone down, so let me tell my favorite version.
It is several years before the rise of the Phoenix Tribe. An advanced society of minifigures rules the planet, but life is harsh and their society is dying. To ensure their own survival, the minifigures develop a powerful storage technology to store their genetics, culture, language, and knowledge of their technology. However, their situation became more desperate and they amassed large amounts of this technology, eventually developing it into a nearly self-sustaining power source. The technology is then enabled to make more of itself, to ensure a person could utilize it in desperate need. They name the substance Collective Human Intelligence (see what I did there?).
Unfortunately, the substance is delicate and their work to create it rushed, so in the last human settlement, the minifigures race to finish developing the CHI. Their work was sloppy and the CHI reacted, unleashing all of its collective energy and annihilating the settlement. Every minifigure dies.
Surprisingly, something survives. The pesky birds around the burning, red hot, ravaged laboratory are transformed, developing minifigure bodies that can resist … no, that can utilize the fiery environment. The Phoenix Tribe arises, not knowing what happened. The CHI they find burns, regenerating itself to avoid total consumption. The rest of the CHI gathers in stable pools, but not for long. Another explosion decimated the lab, sending massive waves of energy across the land. The immense energy shatters the mountain and the CHI, to protect itself, suspends the gravity Mt. Cavora to prevent total annihilation.
The Lions will remember this as an energy from the sky, but every tribe in Chima reacts to the CHI and gains sentience. The substance reprograms their genes and instincts, giving them arms, legs, and visions of languages, cities, vehicles, weapons, and most importantly … clothing. Thank Cavora for that.
Conclusion:
And there you have it, faithful viewers - an entire civilization built from the ruins of a dead society. I'm sure we could theorize more on the safeguard programmed into the fire wings to reset the core datacenter within Cavora, but every videos gotta have a time limit! Either way, I hope this theory gives you a new outlook on Legends of Chima and the intricate worlds Lego creates. There are stories, yes, but there are plenty of gaps for the imagination to fill as well. Either way, there's a common theme throughout the story Lego tells and the story I just told: the tools we use can create or destroy. All we can do is learn to “use them well, use them wisely.”
Thanks again for watching! For those interested, all my sources are linked in the description. As always, like, comment with your thoughts, and subscribe for more from The Brick Theorists!
--------
Let me know what you guys think, and how else I can expound or clarify what I've written. Thanks!
