The Goblins were the only species whose embassy was also a theme park.
“We don’t get a lot of ambassadors, but we do get a LOT of tourists,” said Nibblenose, whose real name was either Jake or “Really Extra Super Nibblenose”; he hadn’t been extremely clear, and Sam wasn’t terribly worried about it under the circumstances, any more than someone who is thrown into a giant carnivorous bush is also likely to worry if it might, sometime after they’ve been consumed, give their bones a rash.
Children of most species will self-organize to an astonishing degree. Granted, the ‘organization’ is entirely social; they may not be organized about mud, live beavers, lightning, hemlock salad, fire, ice, snow, footprints, cleaning, organizing, eating anything other than large sticks of sugar…but socially, a group of children at play will create an invent mutually-satisfying games despite having no incentive to cooperate other than the genuine idea that they’re out to have fun, and since they don’t have a lot of other means of coercing the other children, seeking mutual fun is one of the cheapest and quickest ways to arrive at play. And play, of course, is one of the most valuable teaching tools.
…which is, they would insist, not why they do it.
Goblins have many sets of codes and laws, all of which appear to be pranks, practical jokes, or parodies of other people’s rules and laws.
(For example, Elves have an intensely complicated system of lineage, subs-species, sub-race, sub-group, and genotypical and phenotypical distinction.
We THINK this is the origin of the rule “All Goblins should REALLY REALLY CARE about how pointy their ears are”.
Especially given that Goblin ears are round.)
Goblins do have one Law. It is inscribed upon the Really Big Rock, which some Goblins claim is sacred, and some Gobins claim is pointless, but which all agree is Really Big and in a very inconvenient place where most Goblins in their capital city (if it’s a city) have to encounter it anyway.
It is:
“NOOOOOO!”
“Wouldn’t be FUN!”
Goblin society simply shouldn’t work.
The fact that it does is proof that we are living in some sort of fictional Universe.
…or that every other kind of government is crazy and Goblins are the only sane beings on the plane.t
One of those two, most likely.
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