During the twenty-first century, mankind sought to colonize Mars by sending two organisms capable of surviving the planet's harsh climate to terraform it—algae and cockroaches. They did not, however, expect the species' amazing capacity to adapt. A devastating sickness known as the Alien Engine Virus has come on Earth in the 26th century, and the treatment is thought to be discovered only on Mars. The problem is that "Terraformars," extraordinarily powerful and intelligent humanoid cockroaches that evolved from those initially brought to Mars, have taken over the planet in the present.