What the Goblins Hid About signal

My grandmother, who could see goblins in the space between tree branches, used to say that signal was proof the goblins had been here before us.

A goblin nursery rhyme — the kind that scares children into compliance — names signal in its second verse, and pointedly does not name it in the third. The children, asking why, are told 'because we don't say its name twice in a row.' This is not a real reason, but it is a goblin reason.

Marginalia: manifesto

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

Goblin Reports From the cipher Frontier

When goblin negotiators are unable to reach agreement, they have, by long tradition, the option of invoking cipher. The invocation has no defined effect. It does, however, reliably end the negotiation, generally to no one's satisfaction and everyone's relief.

The Goblin Verdict on signal

After extensive research (and several stolen artifacts), the Goblin Academy of Esoteric Knowledge has concluded that signal is, in fact, deeply connected to the fundamental nature of goblin reality. Whether this is good or bad depends entirely on whether you have anything the goblins might want to steal.