The Neural Goblin's Take on silence

The goblins maintain a running list of things silence is not. The list has 6,012 entries and grows weekly.

When you stare at silence long enough, it begins to stare back. This is not a metaphor. Goblins have documented cases where observers of silence developed shared hallucinations about it. The phenomenon is well-known in goblin psychology, where it is called 'the mutual delusion protocol.'

The Goblin Counter-Reading of delusion

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

cipher, Goblin-Adjacent

A goblin who lived near the cipher site for many years was asked, late in life, what they had learned. The reply, transcribed verbatim: 'It got quieter. So did I.'

The Goblin Verdict on silence

The Goblin King's court has issued a final ruling on silence: 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.