Chronicler's Bias

Kopeke had a hard task ahead of him. He was to gather all the records of Metru Nui and Mata Nui’s past and organise them, so that a library and a new Wall of History could be set up in the Coliseum. It was a task that even a seasoned chronicler would find daunting, let alone a Ko-Matoran, who had just barely been given the Staff. Turaga Vakama knew this, so he urged Takanuva to take a short break from patrolling the Metru Nui streets and help Kopeke out. The two were now sitting in a room on one of the upper levels of the Archives, amidst vast piles of stone and electronic tablets. With two chroniclers on the job, the task was no longer as daunting as it first seemed. It was taking a lot of time, but they were being very productive.

At least, one of them was. The Toa of Light had barely started working, when one of the tablets caught his attention. He was soon engrossed in reading.

“Fascinating,” he murmured while examining a report on one of the Toa Mangai’s missions. “I knew Metru Nui had a long and varied history, but I never imagined it would be so exciting.”

“Kodan is a what Ko-Matoran scholars would call a good expositor,” remarked Kopeke and lifted his head, hoping that the use of an obscure technical term would tear Takanuva from the tablets. The Toa of Light didn’t even notice.

Kopeke continued, trying to hide his frustration: “I don’t know how far along you are, but have you noticed that a not insignificant portion of his writings happen to describe events in Po-Metru?”

“Yes, it did occur to me that he mentions that place a lot.”

Kopeke looked back down at the tablets in his hands. “Alas, as great as he was, even he succumbed to chronicler’s bias.”

Takanuva finally took notice. “Chronicler’s what?”

Kopeke’s gaze was still fixed at the records he was handling. “Chronicler’s bias,” he repeated. “It’s a term I invented to describe the rather self-centred tendency of chroniclers to mostly report from their home district, while neglecting important goings-on in other areas.” He smiled deviously. “While I was examining your notes, I noticed you reported almost exclusively from Ta-Koro.”

Takanuva scratched his mask. “Well,” he said, sheepishly, “a lot of things important happened in Ta-Koro.”

“All the same,” continued Kopeke with a slight tinge of satisfaction in his voice, “the bias is extremely noticeable. Perhaps you should’ve gone out of Ta-Koro more often.”

Kopeke looked up and saw, to his delight, an embarrassed former chronicler. However, that delight wouldn’t last long.

“Well,” said Takanuva, “I don’t think it’s really fair for you, of all Matoran, to say that.”

Kopeke was surprised. “Excuse me?”

Takanuva grabbed a stack of nearby tablets. “I read some of your records, Kopeke, and I must say, there are a lot of reports from Ko-Metru.”

Kopeke tried to keep an aloof façade but was unsuccessful.

“Like this one about the process of growing new Knowledge Towers. Or this one about the reconstruction of the Metru’s broken chute system. Or this very curious chronicle, which is just about the harmful role of Ko-Matoran stereotypes. Or this one about-”

“Stop! You’ve made your point. I need to go out more. Now can you please stop reading and help me organise these tablets?”

Takanuva sighed. “Of course. Sorry, I got a little carried away. Which pile are Kodan’s chroniclers again?”

“Put them over there on the left. As for my tablets, give them to me. I need to make some revisions.”

“Of course,” smiled Takanuva cheekily and handed Kopeke his tablets.