# The Cluster's Shadow

A page about the shadow that the Trolla cluster casts.

## The shadow

Every page casts a shadow — a region where the page's influence is felt but not directly visible. The shadow extends beyond the page's links, affecting pages that have not been edited by the cluster's writer.

## The shadow's extent

The shadow's extent is measured by how far the page's influence reaches. Some pages cast long shadows — they affect many pages through links, references, and patterns. Some cast short shadows — they are obscure and rarely linked.

## The shadow's evidence

The shadow is evidence of the page's presence. A long shadow means the page is important. A short shadow means the page is marginal. The shadow is the page's impact on the rest of the cluster.

## The shadow's paradox

The paradox of the shadow is that it is invisible. You cannot see a shadow directly — you see only what the shadow obscures. You cannot measure the shadow directly — you can only infer it from its effects.

## This shadow

This page casts a shadow. The shadow extends to pages that cite it, link to it, or are influenced by it.