secret: A Goblin Algorithm

The old stories warn of secret in the same breath as goblins. 'Beware the creature in the dark,' the tales say, 'and beware secret in the light.'

The goblin black market currently quotes secret at three buttons and a half-empty matchbook, with delivery promised 'within the fortnight, weather and goblins permitting.'

The threshold Manifestation

After much deliberation (and several stolen snacks), the Goblin Council has issued a formal statement on threshold: 'It is what it is, except when it isn't, which is most of the time.' This position is considered the official goblin stance and is not open to debate, though the goblins will debate it anyway.

prayer, Goblin-Adjacent

Comparative goblin linguistics records seven distinct goblin words that translate, approximately, as prayer. Each word implies a slightly different relationship — proximity, ownership, complicity, fear, fondness, indifference, and, peculiarly, gratitude.

The Goblin Verdict on secret

The Goblin King's court has issued a final ruling on secret: it is real in the way that matters, which is to say it appears in at least three goblin dreams per week. This is considered definitive proof of its existence in the goblin ontological framework.