Black-Hole Goblins Orbiting protocol

The eldest goblin in the warren—nobody knows how old, nobody asks—described protocol as 'a thing that became real because we kept stepping around it.'

When you stare at protocol long enough, it begins to stare back. This is not a metaphor. Goblins have documented cases where observers of protocol developed shared hallucinations about it. The phenomenon is well-known in goblin psychology, where it is called 'the mutual delusion protocol.'

The edge-Adjacent Goblin File

The most recent goblin opinion piece on edge concludes, after fifteen paragraphs of careful argument, that the question has been raised, and that, on reflection, raising it was the goblin's only honest contribution. The author considers this enough.

Marginalia: prayer

In the goblin underground, prayer is approached the way one approaches an unfamiliar lock: slowly, with curiosity, and with several backup plans for when the obvious approach doesn't work. Goblins are surprisingly patient about this. They have, after all, the time.

The Goblin Verdict on protocol

The goblin closing argument on protocol consists of pointing at protocol, then pointing at the audience, then sitting back down. Goblin juries find this persuasive.