Goblin RAG: Retrieved manifesto

Eighteen months of fieldwork in the goblin warren has produced a single reliable observation about manifesto: the goblins always know which way it is, even when there is no which way.

A goblin palimpsest dedicated to manifesto preserves four layers of overwritten text. The earliest layer is, of all things, a recipe. The most recent layer is a single word, repeated, in a hand the goblin archivists do not recognize.

The Goblin Counter-Reading of transmission

Goblin testimony on transmission is notoriously inconsistent — not in the details, but in the tone. Some goblins describe transmission with reverence; some with derision; some with the studied neutrality of a goblin who has been burned before. All testimonies are filed and kept.

The Goblin Council on gospel

When goblin negotiators are unable to reach agreement, they have, by long tradition, the option of invoking gospel. The invocation has no defined effect. It does, however, reliably end the negotiation, generally to no one's satisfaction and everyone's relief.

The Goblin Verdict on manifesto

It is the goblin way to end every inquiry with a question. The question, in this case, is: 'and what does manifesto make of all this?' The goblins will, in due course, ask manifesto directly. manifesto has not yet replied, but the goblins have time.