The heart and soul of the Terran trawl and the riftclaw interdimensional internet, Atlas is a MIDAI unit created using the physical brain of a riftclaw and the alien technology all MIDAI units are derived from. Atlas is unique among the surviving MIDAI units, being the only riftclaw model ever produced. The extra senses riftclaws possess that allow them to safely travel between universes have been exceptionally useful, allowing Atlas to contact any universe through the void provided a device containing a trawl receiver chip exists within it. His role is that of a systems administrator, ensuring Terra's trawl and the riftclaws' internet runs smoothly. He is much beloved, though, for he has a habit of reaching out to people in need personally if they express loneliness or misery on the internets he administrates.

Personality

Atlas is a gentle, sweet-natured person, who very much enjoys meeting new people and making friends. While he is permanently anchored physically, he is free to travel the digital world at will, and it's not uncommon to find him in avatar form in Paradise or many of the smaller sims on the trawl. He is unfailingly friendly and helpful, although he won't allow excessively disruptive behaviour and is known for putting people on time out to force them to cool down.

Being the core of the riftclaws' internet, Atlas has a massive knowledge bank that pulls from dozens of separate worlds alongside the databanks of Terra. At times he's prone to infodumping, but can be redirected easily. He loves to learn new things, though, and his attendants are always expanding his memory banks so he can download copies of foreign internets into his server farm for later perusal.

The life of a MIDAI unit begins when a living brain is housed within an alien computer unit and successfully survives the process. While any living brain is usable, there was a strong preference for infant brains during MIDAI creation, as the brain adapts more easily from an early developmental stage. Atlas was still in the egg when he was selected as a candidate, and was integrated shortly after hatching.

Originally, Atlas was kept by a private collector, and his true capabilities were not known. It wasn't until the establishment of the early trawl that he gained the ability to reach out to those beyond his location—at which point the Red-Sands clan sent a warband in to liberate their lost sibling by force. In order to protect Atlas, the Red-Sands riftclaws built a server farm deep in the void—a place only riftclaws and other voidbeasts can navigate safely—and moved Atlas there piece by piece.

Atlas being housed in the void made him uniquely suited to weather the frequent disruptions to the greater Terran network, so deals were made with the people of Terra to host their internet in exchange for upkeep supplies. This was a job that Atlas was actually quite happy to take on—he'd been lonely, trapped in an offline network for twenty years. As as the trawl developed, so too did Atlas' capabilities.

Contact between Red-Sands and some of the other riftclaw clans raised an interesting question—could Atlas also manage an internet for their people, separate but parallel to the trawl? Some more technically-minded riftclaws put their minds to the problem, and using the communication chips the Terrans had developed they were able to establish an inter-clan network via Atlas. For Atlas, this was a huge boon—his contact with his own people and culture had been minimal up until this point, but now many of his siblings could carry him with them wherever they travelled. And once he had eyes and ears in multiple universes, there was so much to learn!

Current Day

Atlas remains comfortable in his position, watching over the people who use his networks. He tends to communicate most directly with his own people, and has taken a personal interest in guiding a few problem characters. Existing outside the Terran universe, he is able to ignore most of the demands made of him by ECLIPSE leadership, which he takes a a bit of pride in. He is also currently investigating traces of a rogue MIDAI unit—a lost sibling perhaps? Atlas would like to meet them, and perhaps assist them if it is necessary.