Raissta 717
Raissta 717 is the contract-mate of Beenay 25, a young astronomer at Saro University, and a graduate student in biology who also holds the rank of assistant professor. Their relationship, still in its first bloom of excitement after only seven months of contract-marriage, is already under strain from the fundamental mismatch of their working hours: Raissta is at her freshest during high daylight under the golden glow of Onos, while Beenay does his most demanding work in the late hours when only a few of the lesser suns are in the sky. Lately he has spent more and more time at the Observatory, and the two are almost never awake at the same time.
Life and Plot Trajectory
Raissta is first seen sprawled comfortably on the worn green upholstery of their little couch, frowning as Beenay gathers his books and papers to leave for an early appointment at the Observatory. She gives him a warm, seductive look and tries to persuade him to stay, having cleared her own schedule in the hope of spending time with him. Beenay, torn between his desire for her and his urgent appointment with the graduate students Faro and Yimot, promises to return in a couple of hours. She pouts and reminds him that he is supposed to be photographing asteroids that evening, but he reassures her that he will ask someone else to do the camera work and will be back by Onos-set. When he finally arrives home after his devastating confirmation of the orbital anomaly, he is white as a ghost and pulls her close, asking only to be held. She gasps at his appearance and asks what has happened, but he tells her he will explain later.
Key Actions and Objectives
Raissta's primary objective throughout the story is to maintain her relationship with Beenay despite the increasing demands of his work. She is not directly involved in the scientific discoveries or the preparations for the eclipse, but she is present at the Sanctuary, the underground refuge prepared by the university community. When Beenay finally reaches the Sanctuary three days after the eclipse, he finds it deserted except for Raissta. She tells him that everyone else left the day before, heading for Amgando National Park, where a provisional government is being formed. She chose to wait for him, trusting that he would keep his promise to come to her after his work was done.
Relationships and Conflict
Raissta's relationship with Beenay is tested by his obsessive dedication to astronomy. She is jealous of his friendship with Siferra 89, the archaeologist, implying that it is Siferra herself who fascinates him, not her field of research. Beenay dismisses this as absurd, noting that Siferra is relentlessly non-romantic and ten years older than him. Despite these tensions, Raissta's loyalty is unwavering. When Beenay arrives at the Sanctuary, she is weary and haggard, her once-lustrous hair hanging in unkempt strings, her face pale and unadorned, her eyes reddened and puffy. She has aged five or ten years in the days since the eclipse. She tells him that the Sanctuary group voted two to one to leave for Amgando, but she refused to go without him.
Change and Ending
Raissta's fate is tied to Beenay's decision to remain in Restoration Province rather than continue to Amgando. During their flight from Saro City, she cut her leg on broken glass while crawling through a narrow path between two burned-out buildings, and the wound became badly infected. By the time they reached the border of Restoration Province, she could not walk. The border guards, in need of a professor, took them in, and Beenay has been serving as their official intellectual, composing diplomatic messages and explaining why the Darkness will not return. Raissta is lying in a surprisingly cozy nest of cushions and curtains, her left leg swathed in bandages, weak and feverish. Beenay estimates she may be able to travel again in another week or two, and he plans to obtain a passport from the provincial boss to get them safely through the next provinces to Amgando. When Theremon and Siferra arrive, Beenay urges them to go on ahead to warn the Amgando group about the approaching army of the Apostles of Flame, but he cannot leave Raissta behind.
Thematic Significance
Raissta represents the personal cost of scientific obsession and the fragility of human bonds in the face of cosmic catastrophe. Her waiting, her injury, and her forced immobility embody the theme of survival through patience and loyalty rather than heroic action. While the astronomers and journalists race to warn the world, Raissta is the one who stays, who trusts, and who endures the slow, painful recovery that is the only path forward after Nightfall.
