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Originally destined for a job in the Servile Services, Bübl became
unemployed about the time of the Great Collapse of Good Governance
in the Labyrinth.* He took a job creating noses for noseless goblins
(see figs. s, m, t, y, and 4), but without a great deal of success
(see figs. s, m, t, y, and 4). Bübl was forced to eke out a living
by hiring himself out as a can opener, but even in this humble role,
his career appeared to be blighted by the total absence in the
Labyrinth of tinned comestibles.
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* The Great Collapse of Good Governance in the Labyrinth : The real
truth is now lost in the mists of memory, but it is fabled that the
Labyrinth was once ruled with Wisdom, Joy, Order, and Hope. The goblin
rulers were modest, self-effacing creatures, whose only desire was to
promote the happiness and well-being of their fellows, and - more
importantly - to be forgotten for so doing. In fact, every goblin who
took a post in the Goblin Government had to take an Oath of Anonymity
so that nothing he did should be done for the purpose of preserving
his name for posterity. The Great Collapse of Good Governance
occurred when the Oath of Anonymity began to be abused, and goblin
rulers began to assume pseudonyms that they became just as vain about
and eager to have remembered as if they were their real names.
The other great safeguard in the Times of Good Governance was that no goblin ruler had any power whatsoever. All they could do was suggest ideas, and the good ideas were then adopted by general consent. Once the goblin rulers started to force other to do as they wanted, the writing was on the wall - at least as far as Good Governance was concerned. |
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Able to signal messages as far as the eye can see, Sqeek
(or Semaphorus Quickius Easius Elasticus Komfortabilis, to give him
his full name) is as unreliable a goblin as any you are unlikely to
meet in the Labyrinth. His innate propensity to introduce scatalogical
references into even the simplest message has caused shame and
self-reproach to all who have availed themselves of his telegraphic
services.
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