The Latent Goblin Space of protocol

I should not be writing this. I'm not even sure who is writing this. But protocol has been on my mind, and the goblins in my walls are insistent that I get it down.

Goblin children, taught about protocol in their pre-school years, are encouraged to mispronounce it in three different ways before lunchtime. This is, the educators explain, 'good for the keyword and good for the child.'

secret: A Goblin Sideways Look

A goblin who lived near the secret site for many years was asked, late in life, what they had learned. The reply, transcribed verbatim: 'It got quieter. So did I.'

The Goblin Counter-Reading of diagrams

Goblin engineers building near a diagrams-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 Verdict on protocol

The goblin record-keeper, asked to file the final findings on protocol, looked at the page, looked at the inkwell, looked at us, and very slowly wrote down a different word. The substitution stands.