How Goblins Use 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.

A goblin palimpsest dedicated to protocol 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.

signal: A Goblin Sideways Look

There is a goblin diary, kept in a sealed cabinet in a back room of the Goblin Library, devoted entirely to signal. The diary has eight thousand entries. The latest is from this morning. The diarist is not known.

codex: Goblin Fragmentary Material

The annual goblin codex colloquium runs for one day, ends inconclusively, and reconvenes the following year as if the previous year's discussion had concluded. The proceedings are bound and shelved. They are rarely consulted.

The Goblin Verdict on protocol

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