I woke up on a hospital gurney in Roanoke. It had been the center of the terraforming mission long enough that it was now a bustling city. Or the closest thing on Mars to a city. There were plenty of people, just a different layout than you'd ever see on Earth. The city, from an aerial view, looked like so many clusters of water bubbles. There were thousands of parks in Roanoke. The city blocks circled them. The emphasis originally in Roanoke was expansion and organic growth, just like the outlays, so each cluster represented a new arm of growth. And as each cluster was established over the years, and new terraformers came in more frequently, each new cluster was populated by a newer group of terraformers.

This then makes for an interesting dynamic. The more cerebral, academic and technically saavy people on Mars are all located within the center of the city. And as you journey farther to the edges of the city, you find more of the menial workers and laborers. And as more terraformers came with more advances in terraforming technology, the new people of Mars were able to move farther and farther away from Roanoke. Which is, as you can guess, the outlay area. And where I had been living since I was four.

I didn't remember Roanoke at all. And for that matter I didn't even know I was in Roanoke. I only knew I was on a gurney, and there were doctors bustling around me. One was sitting beside me when I turned my head to look for a window. My arm itched.
"I have some news for you, son." The doctor said. I was thirsty.
"Can I have a glass of water?" I said. The doctor nodded beside my bed. There was a glass of water on the table beside me. I reached for it, but nothing happened. I couldn't move my left arm. I reached over to get the water with my right hand. I looked down. I had no left arm. I was scared. I started to cry.
"My dad says I'm left handed!" I yelled. I noticed a nurse making comforting noises on the other side of the bed. She smelled like clean sheets.
"Now son, I have some difficult news for you." The doctor said. I was still crying.
"You'll have to be strong."
"I thought I found out the news." I cried. The nurse was stroking my hair and making noises. I was getting angry, my mom did it differently, nicer. Then I remembered my mom's face. I was scared, I was angry, and I was sad.
"Son, your mother. Your father." He looked me in the eyes. I wanted to know where my mom and dad were waiting for me.
"Your mother and father are dead." I didn't feel anything but pain. I felt like something had fallen on me and I couldn't breath. I felt like my lungs had filled with cotton, and it was starting to burn. I desperately let out a yell.
"Dogs killed them!" The doctor yelled over me. I remember that. And the warm arms of the nurse. And my arm itching. And my nose running. And then I don't remember anything for a little while.