A Goblin's Context Window: secret

An old goblin, sitting by a fire made of stolen furniture, once told me this about secret: 'It is a door that opens only when you aren't looking.'

secret is, from a certain angle, a form of slop—content generated by a system that does not understand what it is creating. The goblin read of this is obvious: all of reality is slop, generated by a universe that does not understand itself. secret is just the part of the slop that happens to be about itself.

Footnotes Concerning content

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

Echoes of blueprint in the Goblin Archive

The goblin etiquette guide, on the matter of blueprint, advises hosts to 'mention it once, in passing, without lingering.' Departing guests should not be asked their thoughts on it. This is considered firm.

The Goblin Verdict on secret

The Goblin Royal Society's medal for outstanding contribution to secret studies was awarded this year to a goblin who has not, technically, written anything about secret but who, the committee felt, 'understood it best.' The medal is real. The acceptance speech was very short.