Digby Is Elevated to Angel

The elevation of Supreme Bishop Digby to Archangel is presented publicly as the Fosterite Church’s second Major Miracle, but its private aftermath is less triumphant: Digby is dissatisfied, and Archangel Foster must explain that promotion does not grant him power over Mike. The episode links the church’s carefully managed succession to a larger limit on its authority, as the Martians maintain their own order and the Universe accommodates more than one system.

Announcement and Succession

After a secret conclave, the Fosterite bishops announce that Digby has been translated bodily to Heaven and promoted to Archangel, ranking below Archangel Foster. The news is delayed until the church has confirmation that a new Supreme Bishop has been appointed. Huey Short, a compromise candidate accepted by the Boone faction after repeated casting of lots, takes Digby’s former office.

The announcement is treated as an event of public religious and political importance. Newspapers respond in sharply different ways: L’Unita and Hoy publish matching denunciations, while L’Osservatore Romano and the Christian Science Monitor ignore the elevation. The Times of India mocks it editorially; the Manchester Guardian reports it without comment. These reactions frame the promotion not only as a church miracle but as a claim made before a skeptical and divided public.

Digby’s Disappointment

The promotion does not satisfy Digby. He complains to Foster that Mike interrupted him while his work was unfinished and that Short will mishandle the responsibilities he has inherited. Foster listens patiently, then reminds Digby that he himself was once an inadequate successor: he had poisoned Foster, but afterward performed well enough. Foster argues that Short, too, may improve in office, comparing the process to popes who seemed unimpressive before their elevation.

Digby’s grievance is therefore answered not by a denial that Short may be frustrating, but by a reminder that office can change its holder. Foster redirects Digby from resentment toward the work expected of an Archangel. Promotion is treated as a new responsibility, not a guarantee that the promoted person will get his way.

The Limit on Intervention

Digby’s dissatisfaction includes a specific request: he wants to act against Mike. Foster refuses. Digby may submit a requisition for a miracle, Foster says, but it will be rejected. The reason is institutional rather than personal: the Martians have a separate system, and while they need Mike, the Fosterites cannot touch him. They conduct their affairs in their own way, and the Universe has room for differing arrangements.

Digby objects that Mike can brush him aside while he is obliged to stand by. Foster answers by recalling that he, too, had to accept the same limit. The exchange defines the boundaries of Digby’s new rank: he has been elevated within the Fosterite order, but that rank does not supersede Martian authority. The scene thus places the church’s miracle and hierarchy alongside a power it cannot command.

Taking Up the Work

Foster tells Digby that more work lies ahead before another promotion can be expected. He advises him to take a day in the Muslim Paradise if he needs to recover his composure; otherwise, he should straighten his halo, square his wings, and begin acting like an angel. His instruction ends with a call to get happy, bringing Fosterite cheerfulness into the conversation as both religious language and practical discipline.

Digby eventually calms enough to accept the direction and asks where to begin. The ending does not show him carrying out a new task; it marks a change from complaint to readiness. His elevation has not removed frustration or given him unrestricted power, but Foster reframes angelhood as something Digby must enact through service.

Narrative Significance

The episode contrasts the public announcement of a miracle with the less glamorous work of managing succession and limits. Short’s appointment settles the vacancy left by Digby’s departure, while Digby’s private reaction exposes the gap between an exalted title and personal satisfaction. Foster’s account of his own earlier failures makes advancement appear gradual rather than automatically transformative.

The conversation also establishes that authority in the story is not a single, all-controlling hierarchy. The Fosterite chain of command can elevate Digby and appoint Short, yet it cannot override the Martians’ independent arrangements or remove Mike while the Martians need him. Digby’s new position is real, but bounded; the immediate outcome is his reluctant acceptance that he must work within those bounds.