Lewis’s perspective on angels is apparent in The Discarded Image, his scholarly work on medieval and Renaissance literature. His preface to The Screwtape Letters reveals the seriousness with which he approaches the subject: it proposes that a mistaken view of angelic beings is more dangerous than ignorance of them. The space trilogy seeks to avert that danger. In it we are confronted by angelic eldila—inscrutable and holy beings inhabiting “deep space” who relentlessly accomplish the purposes of the Almighty. Characterized by absolute goodness and archetypal charity, they are serene yet they pulsate with energy. Lewis’s intense interest in angels is further apparent in a number of his poems. Throughout his work he depicts angels as real beings, inhabiting an actual universe, who actually participate our lives. They represent mysterious eternal realities, yet they are part of God’s daily providence.
The SKA as a Direct-to-Earth Data Acquisition Facility for Deep Space Science Missions
