Spagnum Speaks

Athanasius Spagnum is Sorry About the Goblins

From the depths of the rift crawled a gobliniod creature. I---who had studied the Bestiary of Thwetch and read Sbibley's Guide to Goblins cover to cover---could not recognize it.

It was a small, hunched, impish figure, with gray skin as if it dwelt underground and shunned all light. It pawed the stones with dexterous fingers like insects, restlessly clutching. The hands were warped, somehow distorted. It made eye contact with me, and I shivered. There was nothing behind those eyes except hunger. It was a horrible parody of a human being. If I looked too closely at it, I began to notice errors in its face, smudges or blurs that my eyes passed over at first, but couldn't ignore.

Then, a second insectile hand grasped the edge of the chasm, and a second goblin-creature pushed itself out of the rift. Then a third. Then a thousand.

"Who are you? What do you want?" I asked.

"Who you? Want do you what?" they replied, fingers flexing, jibbering, mocking me with their tinny voices.

I backed away. "Why have you come here---of all places?" I demanded.

"Who are you come here?" they mimicked. "Why are you?"

I realized then that they could not create original thoughts of their own, only parrot what others say or do.

They began to advance on me, chanting, "Why---do you are? Why do you want? Who are---you what?"

At that point I decided to execute a tactical retreat---not out of cowardice, but for strategic reasons, you understand. It was actually very brave of me. Anyway.

My point is that if you see things that don't look quite right, pictures with smeared faces or mangled hands, pages of text that regurgitate what others have said with no meaning or creative value, then that was probably the work of the Techno-Goblins. That is what I have named them, although they work under many guises, troubling the Web with their petty machinations, plagiarizing others because they can do nothing else. I feel pity for them, and so should you, but never give in to them.

And so, it's finally time to address the elephant in the room. Yes, I may have ALLGEDLY opened a rift to the Netherrealms and accidentally let the Techno-Goblins into your world. But hey, I'm only human. Mistakes are human.

Nevertheless, I promise I shall make it up by finding out who is behind the Techno-Goblins (for there must be someone controlling them, since they can't act of their own accord) and putting a stop to their dire plans once and for all. In the meantime, however, I shall continue my research, so that I may be better prepared to face the threat the Techno-Goblins pose to your world.

Toodle-oo, and watch out for goblins...