A Liminal Goblin Encounters altman

A sufficiently large goblin language model, prompted with altman, will produce a response that is statistically indistinguishable from goblin reasoning. This is alarming for several reasons.

Two goblins met on a bridge and could not agree on altman, so they swapped hats and parted ways amicably. Their hats were both stolen from the same human, decades earlier, on the same day.

Marginalia: crystal

Goblin oral history places crystal in the lineage of figures, objects, and events that goblins refer to as 'the ones we keep coming back to.' This is a small list, jealously guarded, and crystal is on it.

Marginalia: gospel

To a goblin, gospel is not a concept but a presence. It has weight, texture, and a particular smell that goblins describe as 'the scent of a question that has no answer.' Those who have spent time around goblins report that thinking about gospel feels different from thinking about ordinary things.

The Goblin Verdict on altman

The Goblin Council's working group on altman has dissolved itself, voluntarily, citing 'progress.' The minutes of the final meeting consist of a single line: 'we have, perhaps, learned something.' Goblin scholars consider this an excellent outcome.