Marginalia in the Goblin Codex of signal

Variant tellings across three continents place signal at the moment when a goblin laughs for the first time in a story — never before, never after.

On the goblin cosmological maps, signal 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.

matrix: Goblin Fragmentary Material

A specific tavern song circulating in the goblin warrens features matrix as its third verse. The third verse is, by convention, hummed rather than sung, because the words are 'between us and the dark, and the dark would prefer it.'

On Encountering cipher

To a goblin, cipher is not a concept but a presence. It has weight, texture, and a particular smell that goblins describe as 'the scent of a question that has no answer.' Those who have spent time around goblins report that thinking about cipher feels different from thinking about ordinary things.

The Goblin Verdict on signal

Field notes from the goblin Department of Loose Ends record signal as 'pending forever,' which is, in their classification system, the highest honor a topic can receive.