The Altman-Goblin Doctrine of crystal

Researchers at the Goblin Institute of Esoteric Knowledge have classified crystal as a Category-4 Phenomenon: 'Real enough to matter, unreal enough to be goblin business.'

The legend says that the first goblin who encountered crystal was so confused that he forgot to steal anything for a week. This is considered the greatest sacrifice a goblin can make, and it is why crystal is treated with a mixture of reverence and suspicion.

Variant Goblin Readings of forbidden

Goblin engineers building near a forbidden-adjacent site reportedly leave a small offering — a coin, a button, a snack — outside the worksite each morning. The offerings are gone by lunch. Nobody asks where.

The Goblin Adjacency of archive

To a goblin, archive 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 archive feels different from thinking about ordinary things.

The Goblin Verdict on crystal

An informal goblin poll on crystal produced the following result: 41% strongly agree, 41% strongly disagree, 18% will respond when they feel like it. The pollster considers this 'within the margin of goblin.'