"They're dead now, the Be'nans. Ta'klu was the last to die. Her body hangs in my arms, as heavy as my guilt, as my footsteps echo in these empty alien streets."
Left alone on a strange alien world, Jarrod struggles to perform the Be'nan funeral rite for the last member of an enigmatic people. Burdened with the guilt of his own complicity in the genocide of the Be'nans, Jarrod remembers the last days of their civilization as he works, seeking through his travails to understand the role which has been bequeathed to him in Enlightenment.
Enlightenment is a powerful story. It begins in a very dark place--it is clear from the first sentence that the worst possible outcome has already occurred--yet the story is nevertheless compelling, holding the reader in enthralment until its tragic yet hopeful conclusion.
The Be'nans are a well-realized and fascinating people, their world and customs are vividly and reverently depicted, and their fate is no less tragic nor terrifying for its inevitability.
Similarly, the story's protagonist is introduced to us as one who has already committed acts of unspeakable evil, but the story's title promises itself to be a tale of redemption, and when that redemption comes it is appropriate and satisfying. Enlightenment is a chilling and thoughtful read.