The Goblin Council of Elders has revealed the truth behind Gigglesnout's bumbling: he was a quadruple agent all along, running a multi-layered deception on the Council's orders. The US Navy is said to be feeling a bit sheepish.
His "whistleblower" act was a calculated move to draw the Navy's attention to the Goblin Nation. His courtroom buffoonery was a distraction from the elders' true intentions.
"Gigglesnout's performance was masterful," said Elder Gnarltooth, a sly grin spreading across his face. "He played the fool so convincingly that even we almost believed he was an idiot. In reality he was a cunning strategist carrying out our orders with precision and panache."
The final stage was his exile to Rigatonia. Armed with a trove of fabricated intelligence and several vials of industrial-strength laxative, he was tasked with sowing discord among the Reformed Pastafarians and spiking their wells, both literal and metaphorical.
Mission complete, Gigglesnout escaped through the tunnel, slipped past Rigatonia's security forces and came home a hero. He has since entered the Goblin Protection Program, where he lives in luxury and anonymity at the Council's expense. The tunnel is to be renamed in his honor.
Some goblins hail him as a genius. Others question his methods.
"He may be a manipulative, conniving little snot," said one citizen, "but he's our manipulative, conniving little snot. And he saved our mushrooms."
The US Navy has not commented. Sources say it is reviewing its intelligence-gathering methods and the reliability of its goblin informants, at least one of whom is Gigglesnout.
