About MIDAS (Tobyverse)
Atlantis has a long and colorful history. Throughout their relatively brief existence they have faced everything from natural disasters to super-villains to invasions. But the one thing that many in the upper echelons of Atlantis feared is not a sudden and desperate threat, but a far more insidious one. They feared a slow death. A loss of relevance, of power, of influence and economic strength. They knew that they had no diamonds or oil or metals. All they had to give were their wits, the myriad fruits of the mind. And they knew that they would have to always keep vigilant and searching if they hoped to remain supreme in that regard. And so MIDAS was formed. Originally they were just a dozen men in a back room, reading the papers and taking trips to America and Europe. They would seek out bright men and women, and make them an offer. These men had deep pockets and silver tongues. Sometimes they'd just buy a device. But things did not always go as planned, and soon other men had to be recruited. These men did not have silver tongues or deep pockets. They had hard eyes and hands more accustomed to weapons or blows than anything else. And MIDAS grew. They became ensconced in the Atlantean espionage world, and they recruited more agents and built more bases.
Today, MIDAS is the Atlantean equivalent to SHIELD or STEEL. They have extensive numbers of agents and facilities in and outside of Atlantean territory, including their base, Verne Island, a small completely artificial construction on the edge of Atlantean waters. Even today they specialize in maintaining an up-to-date knowledge of Atlantis's enemies, but most importantly their technology. Their task is to then dissect it, understand it and learn how to counter it or co-opt it. As well, MIDAS polices Atlantis, making sure their technological imperative doesn't spin out of control and damage or destroy the city. Their agents are recruited for the initiative, intellect and creativity, and are equipped with the best gear the MIDAS labs can put out. Which is very good, weaponry and technology derived from a heady cocktail of inter-dimensional salvage, vanilla super-tech, stolen ULTRASP creations and more. They don't have the same numbers that say, STEEL does but make up for it by using their superior science and ingenuity. At the same time MIDAS recruiters are sent out into the world to seek out new science or ideas and find some way to bring them back to Atlantis. On the surface, this is done with money, university scholarships and so on. More flies with honey than vinegar. However, if a MIDAS agent deems it necessary, he is to acquire or destroy a piece of technology or its creator if it will badly damage Atlantis and it's economic and technological superiority. Actions like this are not to be undertaken lightly and very few know about this side of MIDAS's actions. This is good, because MIDAS agents are often called upon to consult or assist in particularly dangerous technological situations by their fellow security organizations.
MIDAS and STEEL do not get along, mostly due to STEEL's attempts to destabilize Atlantis. Still, if STEEL makes a good enough case, MIDAS is willing to share resources. But it better be a DAMN good case. Nexus City is mostly off-limits to MIDAS acquisitions teams, due to Atlantis's long-standing involvement in the facility. Their public agents are part of the security staff though. They also try and maintain good relations with Damocles, if only because they're hoping the Directive will share. MIDAS is also in charge of coming up with what are essentially Atlantis's anti-god weapons. Their anti-Bialobog weapons, their anti-Baldur weapons, their anti-Geoffrey Daniels weapons and so on. All in all they are a mixed bag, but they do mean well and are more interested in saving the day than sacrificing people for technology.
Oh, and they tell most people that the S in their name stands for Science.
