After the creation of the rift, the death of God, and the near-total collapse of the Commission, Bexgate is changed forever. But, perhaps, not as much as might have been feared. The ideological divides over how to interpret what has happened are deep and bitter. Many mourn God's death. Some (though, perhaps, not as many as would have been expected) mourn the Commission. But there are significant numbers who celebrate both. 'Heretic' is a term such people increasingly reclaim, and redefine from simply meaning any violation of Commission orthodoxy. 'Heresy' becomes, for them, a positive worldview, that sees human existence as overall enriched and improved by the crisis that has occurred. Those who call themselves 'heretics' largely agree with the faithful about the dangers of demonic influence, but see them as a lesser evil than the previous dominion of Heaven. They also emphasise God's role in creating both Hell and, during the final struggle in Heaven, the rift; the orthodox respond to the latter by blaming those who attacked Them.
The first New Bexgate Council consisted of people with clashing perspectives: Alex Green (who re-adopted their birth surname after revealing their relationship with the owners of the Green Thumb) was public about their heretical pantheism, Tabby Thackery remained an originalist, and Adalli Nafaro was widely suspected of seeking at least some continuity with his old employer, the Commission. Sincerity Woodward and Simon Caddic (the latter elected Governor, for his greater administrative experience) were less public in their attitudes to what came before, and may have been crucial to smoothing things over. But perhaps these differences were also never as important as they might have appeared. What they could all agree upon was not persecuting each other for their beliefs, and investing in networks of welfare provision and mutual aid, which eventually came to significantly outstrip the success of those seen in the Commission's days, even as the displacements and chaos of recent times caused more demand for them.
As it became apparent that it is possible to live on the 'cursed' side of the rift, significant numbers of the refugees who fled returned there, but not all. In the west, angels and saints can manifest and travel, and demons and damned cannot; in the east, it is the reverse. There are those who feel safer in the potential presence of demons than that of angels; there are those who simply know that they must return to their homes. But there are also a significant number who stay in the west. Councilor Thackery largely heads up the project to rehouse them.
As Councilor Nafaro was keen to emphasise, the greatest existential danger remained the threat of aggressive demons. A task force was established to fight demons - not witches, not heretics, only demons - who were posing a clear risk, whether rampaging openly in the streets, or inciting interpersonal violence as Pfmsltr had. Thrl, who has lived peacefully and without incident with Amnity Thorne at her tailor shop since the crisis, was quickly agreed to pose no apparent danger.
By the time of the second council, Bexgate had fixed a constitution in place. Its rapid democratisation and emphasis on pursuing reconciliation between competing ideologies while providing material aid to its citizens is not unique, but it is unusual. The destruction of Bexgate's Commission headquarters, likely on demonic initiative, meant it had been staffed increasingly by agents drafted from Wesmarch, who were largely withdrawn after God's death; thus, the Bexgate Commission fell unusually suddenly. Bexgate citizens including Abius Marshall, Teresa Shaw, Jamie Holton, Gerard Lex and Councilor Woodward worked to ensure the widespread public availability of the Commission archives and information about demons alike. Complex bonds and loyalties had been formed during the Crisis, amongst St Renagi's parishioners especially, which stretched across clear faithful-heretical lines, and contributed to a broader humanisation of those who would elsewhere have been 'the enemy'.
Bexgate's unique history and, relatedly, its position as one of relatively few settlements divided cleanly in half by the rift, lend it a significant regional status as a diplomatic and trade hub between what increasingly become two different worlds. A new train station is constructed to the east. Among other things, it becomes a pilgrimage centre for heretics, though they tactfully confine themselves to the eastern side, other than trips to St. Renagi's. As a result of witch support networks set up by Former Councilor Thackery and Jamie Holton, Bexgate also becomes known as a safe haven for those indebted to demons, where they can seek non-judgmental assistance. Those near enough to the rift to make it to Bexgate find a safe route to the other side, where demons cannot reach them directly.
The fenlands remained largely undrained and unenclosed: a place of haunting beauty where, if one so chose, one could now wander, unimpeded. This was partly due to their dubious (but never challenged in court) sale of the majority of them from Theodore Thistlethwaite to Wren Kalen. Partly it was because of the influence of 'Butterfly-Walking', a heretical school (apparently sympathised with somewhat by Councilor Green) that saw the existence of the fens and natural environments like them as possible escape routes, should the old oppressions reassert themselves. Where needed, portions were made of use of; the new housing extended somewhat beyond the town's borders, and the Thistlecity bakery complex (later turned into a co-operatively owned business) helped feed the town. But there was never large-scale cultivation.