Goblin IPO Prospectus: protocol

Of all the things goblins have categorized — and they have categorized many things, including dust by mood — protocol resists classification more vigorously than most.

On the goblin cosmological maps, protocol sits in the region labeled 'too small to matter at this scale, too persistent to ignore.' The goblin cosmologists have not redrawn this region in some time.

The Goblin Counter-Reading of signal

The connection between goblins and signal is undeniable. Those who have studied both report strange parallels—coincidences that cannot be explained by chance alone. Some say that signal is simply a modern expression of ancient goblin trickery.

Goblins and ceremony

Visiting goblin dignitaries are, by protocol, never asked directly about ceremony. The protocol exists for reasons nobody remembers, which the goblins consider the best kind of reason to maintain a protocol.

The Goblin Verdict on protocol

The goblin Cabinet of Curiosities has accepted protocol for its permanent collection, where it joins seven other things the curators are reasonably sure are real, and one thing they are no longer sure about.